Opposition leader Robert Corbin was hospitalised yesterday after complaining of chest pains.

Robert Corbin

Up to press time Corbin, 61, was a patient at the Woodlands Hospital in the city, where he was admitted after experiencing a sudden discomfort in his chest while driving in the morning. Although it was initially suspected that the PNCR leader might have suffered a heart attack, his brother Charles Corbin said that test results were negative. “The results are in and they are negative,” he told Stabroek News last evening. He also explained that his brother’s physicians in the US have requested that he be flown overseas to be placed under their care. Although preparations were being made, there no decision had been made up to press time. “I can’t say when he will be flown out,” he said, while noting that his doctors both here and overseas were making arrangements.

In a brief statement, the PNCR yesterday confirmed that Corbin had been hospitalised after complaining of feeling unwell. It added that his condition was being evaluated to determine a treatment option. Meanwhile, PNCR General Secretary Oscar Clarke would keep the public informed of any future developments.

According to Charles Corbin, the PNCR leader told doctors that he experienced discomfort in the chest region while driving to a scheduled party meeting. As a result, he drove himself to the hospital for a check-up and subsequently underwent tests to diagnose the problem. At the same time, there were discussions between the treating physicians and Corbin’s doctors in the US, who indicated their wish that he be flown there for treatment.

Corbin was still sedated and resting when Stabroek News visited the hospital, where his wife Carol as well as party executives gathered.

When contacted, Clarke was unable to say whether Corbin would be flown overseas, noting that no decision had been made.

In Corbin’s absence, the party’s acting Chairpersons Basil Williams and Volda Lawrence usually function as acting joint leaders of the PNCR. In the event that he is flown overseas for treatment, Williams and Lawrence would be at the helm of the party. Corbin assumed the leadership of the party his predecessor, former President Desmond Hoyte, died of a heart attack in 2002, receiving unanimous support as leader at a Special Delegates Congress in 2003.

But since that time, Corbin has been criticised over his leadership of the PNCR, which has coincided with the migration of several leading members of the party. He withstood a leadership challenge by former executive Vincent Alexander and a group of supporters from the party’s executive.

However, in the aftermath several members were disciplined, including James McAllister, who was recalled from the Parliament–developments which preceded a departure of several leading members.

More recently, Winston Murray gave up the post of Chairman on a matter of principle though he has remained a Member of Parliament and the party’s shadow finance minister.

The party has also faced piercing questions about its stance toward the government and whether it was providing effective leadership of the opposition. Corbin has been accused of taking a soft line on the government and this at one point led to President Bharrat Jagdeo rising to his defence.