Bharrat Jaikarran, 45, was on Friday remanded to prison on a charge of murdering his six-year-old son, Orlando, whose decomposed body was found in a West Coast Berbice canal on Tuesday.

Jaikarran, also called Vijay and known as "Frank," of Waterloo, Bath Settlement, appeared before Magistrate Shareefah Parks at the Weldaad Magistrate's Court, where the charge was read to him. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge.

Orlando's mother reportedly broke down in court.

Jaikarran indicated that he wished to speak, but Police Prosecutor Sergeant Garfield Edwards objected, telling the court the accused had already confessed and that the matter was not a trial. Jaikarran then alleged that he had been beaten while in police custody.

Sergeant Edwards told the court the case file was complete and legal advice had been sought, but investigations involving another accused person were continuing. The matter was transferred to the Fort Wellington Magistrate's Court and will be called on November 12 for a report.

Orlando was reported missing and his body was found in the Waterloo Main Canal near the sea dam at Bath Settlement in the early hours of Tuesday, nearly a week later. A post-mortem examination on Wednesday was inconclusive, Ignite News earlier reported.

The Guyana Police Force said the incident reportedly occurred on Thursday, October 15. Preliminary investigations suggest the child was taken to the canal and struck on the neck with a cutlass, police said.

Further enquiries on Tuesday led to the recovery of several items of evidential value at the location. Police also searched a residence at Bath Settlement, where six cutlasses and other items were seized and lodged as exhibits while investigators work to establish their relevance.

Orlando's father and another man, reportedly a pujari, were arrested during the investigation.

Region Five Commander Senior Superintendent Lonsdale Whithrite confirmed that investigators were continuing to search for the child's missing head and portions of his limbs.