Andre Williams, STAR Writer

Police were called to a Kingston bar on Thursday after an ex-soldier turned technician, 72-year-old Kenneth 'Tro Pex' Hutchinson, lay dead on the floor.

Hutchinson is believed to have died from a longstanding battle with an unknown illness he was constantly being treated and hospitalised for.

He operated a refrigerator and air conditioning repair shop at the corner of North and Orange Street in Kingston.

Reports said the owner of the bar adjacent to Hutchinson's shop, arrived to open up for business at about 1p.m. He noticed Hutchinson laying on the ground and notified the police.

The bar operator said Hutchinson was a regular visitor in the area and that people knew him as 'the fridge man'. He said, "He did not live around here, but him fix fridge for a lot of people and the community know him. I think he's from Papine and when him lock up that's where he goes. He did complain to me that at times he felt stressed and pressured, him even owe me some money but that's life, a so it go."

An elderly man at the scene said he knew Hutchinson well and had spoken to him around 9:30 a.m. that morning. He said, "Him just come from hospital last night. He had been admitted to Kingston Public Hospital since last Wednesday, complaining about belly pain and he was troubled with swollen feet. I helped him out of the taxi last night when he came home".

Curious onlookers converged as police cordoned the area causing traffic pile-up. Some motorists diverted.