September 29, 2009
Four held in Tain rape, murder
Victim was strangled
A post-mortem examination conducted on the remains of the 49-year-old woman who was found dead at her Tain, Port Mourant, Corentyne home around 11 am on Sunday revealed that she died from manual strangulation and the police have held four persons.
Chitra ‘Chandra’ Poonwassie’s nude body was discovered in her bed in a pool of blood with a wound under her chin and her tongue protruding. It appeared as though she had been raped and then murdered some time early Sunday morning.
Two persons had been taken into custody at the Whim Police Station shortly after the gruesome discovery, including a man she was said to be having a relationship with. Yesterday, a woman who resided opposite her house, along with another neighbour was arrested.
Reports are that Poonwassie was having disputes with the woman and her husband who is currently serving a one year sentence for possession of an illegal drug. The woman who moved out of the area about a month ago had reportedly beaten Poonwassie on several occasions and the assault matters were engaging the courts.
Reports are that around 4 am on Sunday, neighbours heard the woman screaming, “Ow me buddy, lef me nah, ow me buddy lef me nah.” But no one suspected anything was amiss as the woman would normally consume alcohol and “holler” in the house.
However they became suspicious later in the morning after they did not see her and informed her sister, Kawalah Dabidyol, 52, of Block 4, New Scheme, Tain. Dabidyol told this newspaper that she got the message around 10.30 am and arrived at her sister’s home at 11 am with her husband and made the gruesome discovery.
She said her sister’s nude body which was lying on her bed in the upper flat of her two-storey property was partly covered with a sheet. Police recovered a blood-stained knife on her bed.
The woman said her sister’s killer(s) entered the house by ripping out a board from the enclosed stairway and opened the door to the lower flat to escape, apparently with the aid of the light from the refrigerator; the door of which was left standing open. Poonwassie’s son Viren Veerasammy, 28, of Ankerville, Port Mourant told Stabroek News that the neighbours had accused his mother of reporting them to the police for trafficking in illegal drugs.
Police had searched the neighbours’ house and found the drugs and a man was sentenced to one year imprisonment. Veerasammy said that the neighbours had threatened to kill his mother and she reported that to the police. (Stabroek News)
September 28, 2009
Tain woman raped, murdered
Chitra Poonwassie
The nude body of a 49-year-old woman was discovered at her house at 132 Tain, Port Mourant, Corentyne around 11 am yesterday in a pool of blood with a gaping wound under the chin.
The dead woman, Chitra ‘Chandra’ Poonwassie appeared to have been raped and then murdered some time early yesterday morning. Police have recovered a blood-stained knife on her bed in the upper flat of her two-storey property.
Reports are that around 4 am yesterday neighbours heard the woman screaming, “Ow me buddy, lef me nah, ow me buddy lef me nah.” But no one suspected anything was amiss as the woman would normally consume alcohol and “holler” in the house.
However they became suspicious later in the morning after they did not see her and informed her sister, Kawalah Dabidyol, 52 of Block 4, New Scheme, Tain.
Dabidyol told this newspaper that she got the message around 10.30 am and arrived at the scene at 11 am with her husband and made the gruesome discovery. She said her sister’s nude body was partly covered with a sheet.
Poonwassie’s son, Viren Veerasammy (left) and her sister, Kawalah Dabidyol
According to her she could not bear to look at the body and “me scream and run out of the room. If you see what dem do to me sister…”
She said her sister’s killer(s) entered the house by ripping out a board from the enclosed stairway.
They then opened the door to the lower flat to escape apparently with the aid of the light from the refrigerator; the door was left standing open.
The woman said her sister had problems with some of the neighbours who entered her yard several times and “beat she with paling stave and broadside she with cutlass.” The assault matters were engaging the courts.
She said her sister who lived in Canada for 10 years had even become sick because of the blows she suffered and visited the doctor only this week. Poonwassie’s son Viren Veerasammy, 28 of Ankerville, Port Mourant told Stabroek News that the neighbours had accused his mother of reporting them to the police for trafficking in illegal drugs.
The board that the killers removed to enter the woman's house
Police had searched the neighbours’ house and found the drugs and he was sentenced to one year imprisonment.
Veerasammy said that the neighbours had threatened to kill his mother and she reported that to the police.
The man said he was returning home from church at around 12.30 pm when a cousin approached him and “asked me if I heard what is going on and I said no.
My cousin paused for a while and then told me that someone went into my mother’s house and murdered her.”
He said because of the state the body was in he was sure that more than one person attacked his mother, “because she had her size and I know she woulda fight back.” (Stabroek News)
September 21, 2009
Teen dies after throat slashed
Part of the crowd at the scene
A 17-year-old boy of Bush Lot, West Berbice collapsed and died around 4 pm yesterday after his throat was slashed during an argument, and his attacker was taken into custody at the Fort Wellington Station.
Eyewitnesses told this newspaper that Darshanan Ramanan was seen talking to the attacker before an argument ensued. They claimed that he asked Ramanan, “You believe me can’t chop you?” He then dealt him a single chop to his neck and calmly walked away. The eyewitnesses said too that Ramanan was seen running frantically up and down the street a few times before collapsing to the ground, bleeding profusely.
Reports are that the attacker went to his house in another section of the village and told a neighbour proudly, “Me just chop a man and kill he.” The neighbour did not believe him as he would usually “make those kinda jokes.” A resident telephoned the police who arrived promptly at the scene. They conducted a search for the assailant and found him at his house.
The teen’s distraught mother, Celina Ramanan told Stabroek News that when the police arrived at the scene her son was still breathing and she begged them to take him to the hospital. In tears, she said one of the officers told her that an ambulance would arrive shortly to take him.
She waited in vain but no ambulance arrived. However another officer said they received a call about a “murder” and felt that the man was already dead. When this newspaper arrived at the scene a large crowd had gathered to get a glimpse of the bloodied body that was lying at the corner of the street.
The lad’s mother and other relatives were wailing uncontrollably, lamenting the fact that the police did not take the teen to the hospital and even threatened to shoot one of the relatives for trying to “speak fuh we rights.” The mother kept shouting, “Ow whey the ambulance deh; me son na dead. How dem know me son dead? Tek he to de hospital na.”
Celina said her son left home just before 4 pm on a bicycle and she was shocked when a child arrived with the news that the attacker “buss me son throat and kill he.” She said along with other relatives she hurried to the scene and saw her son, the second of five siblings, covered in blood. His brother, 18-year-old Dianand told this newspaper that his brother knew the killer and as far as he knew they had never had a problem.
“Me buddy neva had a problem with anybody,” he shouted. “Why dem had to do this to me buddy?” Celina alleged that the police “na had time wid me son now but as soon as dem get report that he break anybody house dey would come and lock he up.” She swore that her son was never involved in any robbery, claiming that residents would make false reports about him.
She said it was only yesterday she went to church and prayed for him that he would not get in trouble with anyone, “and look wah happen to he now…” (Stabroek News)
September 17, 2009
Another suspect held in Berbice armed robberies
The improvised rifles and other equipment unearthed by the police.
The group committed many robberies using the improvised home-made guns they fixed from scratch.
Following up on investigations into several robberies committed in Police ‘B’ Division, Berbice, diligent enquiries coupled with sound intelligence led to the arrest of five suspects and a cache of arms about 14:30h September 14, 2009.
Investigators were taken to an area on the Port Mourant foreshore where one 12 gauge single barrel shotgun, three improvised 12 gauge shotguns and face masks were dug up and lodged in Police custody.
One of the suspects was shot in his leg on September 8, during a robbery committed on two fishermen at Albion. In that incident, Police said that one of five bandits who robbed a Berbice fisherman and held three others hostage may have shot himself during the robbery.
At about 20:30h Tuesday, five men, four of whom were armed with guns and cutlasses, robbed Brijanand Carpen, called “Rakesh”, 35, a fisherman, of Chesney Front, Corentyne, of a fishing boat, an engine and other articles at Albion foreshore, Corentyne, Berbice.
Police said the victim and a crew member came in from sea with their catch when the suspects held up and robbed them. Three other fishermen who were in the area were held hostage by the bandits who took them all to another location where they were subsequently freed. Charges will be instituted shortly as investigations are continuing. Fireman chopped to death at Land of Canaan
Dead: Patrick Daly
Dead is 30-year-old Patrick Daly, of 28 Esau Street, Land of Canaan, and formerly of 102 Canterbury Walk, Better Hope, who, relatives said, was “literally minced”, by his assailants at his Land-of-Canaan home.
The incident reportedly occurred around 05:10h yesterday, a police report said, as Daly was in a toilet facility in his yard. Police said Daly was surrounded by three male suspects with whom he had a recent misunderstanding.
The men confronted and threw a corrosive substance on him then inflicted several chops about his body and fled the scene. He reportedly died before receiving medical attention.
Relatives said the house in which Daly and a female companion lived was also occupied by three male tenants in an adjoining apartment on the ground floor of the two-flat building. Police said Daly’s body is awaiting a post-mortem. At press time, the suspects were still being sought by the police.
A female with whom Daly shared the apartment was said to have run out to intercede in the attack, but was warned by one of the assailants brandishing a weapon. On seeing this, she hastily retreated, neighbours said.
Meanwhile, despite his agonising wails as he was under attack by the men, neighbours failed to venture outside to offer the wounded man any assistance for fear of being harmed also. It was not until he had dropped dead and the perpetrators had fled that neighbours came outside and surrounded the corpse lying on the ground. Meantime, the man’s female companion summoned the Timehri Police and cops arrived at the scene later.
Barker’s son Tyrese and his mother Marcia Kelman
She had just received the message of the killing. On enquiring, the Barkers were told that Patrick had been chopped and killed at Land of Canaan.
Simultaneously a telephone call was received from a cousin who confirmed the story. When the Guyana Chronicle visited the Barkers’ home yesterday, Paul Barker, the dead man’s father, was inconsolable and literally shook as he spoke.
Anguish best describes the mood that prevailed in the home as the elder Barker and family members huddled together, trying to come to terms with the shocking news of their loved one’s death.
Paul Barker said what intensified the agony was that when he and other family members arrived at his son’s home, they were restrained from entering, because, as they were told, “it was a crime scene.” Further, he said they were told they could not view the body until after the post mortem would have been performed.
Distraught, he proceeded to the Timehri Police Station where he said he was met by two police ranks whose attitude was most callous and uncooperative. He said when he enquired about his son’s death, the men literally ‘looked through him’ as though nothing had happened.
And at the home of Marcia Kelman at Beterverwagting, Patrick’s son and child-mother wept uncontrollably, with her fainting occasionally even though she tried to console the child.
Over the last three months, she recalled the father and son had been spending time at Patrick’s mother at Kuru Kuru on the Soesdyke Linden Highway. “It was just yesterday that he returned to his Land-of-Canaan home, and he promised he was going back to see her today,” Marcia recounted dolefully.
This newspaper understands that the rift between the murdered man and the suspects (known to him and his female companion), came about over their occupancy of the building her grandmother had given over to her.
Relatives said that after Daly’s persecution at the hands of the men, he had made a report to the Timehri Police Station. Again on Monday he made another report, but got no redress.
On realising that the matter was getting ‘out of hand’, Patrick Daly sent a text message to one of his brothers, asking him to “come to Land-of Canaan” for he wanted to discuss it with him. Unfortunately, the brother never managed to get there on time.
From all appearances, death was calling Daly, those close to him surmised, for he had a wonderful time at Kuru Kuru, but decided that he should return to the Land-of Canaan house.
Meanwhile, Patrick’s son recalled that he had cherished memories of time spent with his father on the Highway during the August holidays: “We played ball games together, fished, and planted greens at the backdam. But now that daddy is dead, I think granny might have to reap the greens and provisions,” he said.
Patrick Barker is survived by his parents, six brothers and three sisters, one son, one daughter and other relatives. (Shirley Thomas/Guyana Cronicle) Dr. Ramsahoye, ex-policeman charged for abduction and assault
Dr. Walter Ramsahoye and ex-policeman Clairmont Marcus, a well-known photographer, have been charged with the abduction and assault of Girdharry Surujdei, 39, of Chateau Margot, East Coast Demerara. The duo appeared at the Mahaica Magistrate’s Court yesterday where they were jointly granted bail in the sum of $1M each for abduction and $50,000 each for assault.
Surujdei, 39, said that on Monday, about 17:00 h, he was forcefully taken from his home by two men who claimed that his sibling owed one of them $10M for a quantity of gold which was supposed to be sold in Suriname. Surujdei was conveyed to a house on Church Street, Georgetown, the doctor’s residence, where he was beaten before he managed to escape through a window.
He was observed by a passing police patrol and taken to the hospital for medical attention and his abductors were arrested when he reported the incident to the police. Surujdei sustained a broken leg, lacerations, and bruises about the body. (Guyana Cronicle)
September 12, 2009
KIDNAPPERS CHARGED Remanded to prison
Three men charged with wrongful confinement were yesterday remanded to prison for allegedly abducting the daughter of popular Pike Street businessman, Beharry Dookie called ‘Natoo’. The men appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson.
Frenz Prince, 23, of 3 East La Penitence; Sivon Warner, 27, of Tucville Government Ground; and Tyrone Solomon, 22, of Stevedore Squatting Area were not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that between August 26 and 27, 2009, they abducted Roreema Dookie with intent to keep her in wrongful confinement for a ransom of $40M.
Police Inspector Robert Tyndal, prosecuting, objected to bail and stated that the kidnapping act states clearly that bail should be refused. Attorneys-at-law Mr. Mark Waldron and Mr. Roger Yearwood represented Solomon and requested that an early date be given for the commencement of trial. The other two accused were not represented.
The accused will appear in Court again on September 25. According to reports, Roreema Dookie, 21, was abducted on August 26 by three gunmen as she left classes at a school on Thomas Street, North Cummingsburg, to meet her waiting boyfriend. Reports stated that the victim’s boyfriend was hit twice to the head by one of the armed men.
Mr. Dookie told reporters on the night of the incident that he received a call from police informing him that his daughter had been kidnapped. Dookie was reunited with her family on August 27, after she was pulled out of a house in the city by a woman who thought she may have been the girlfriend of one of her kidnappers. (Nathalene de Freitas/Guyana Cronicle)
September 8, 2009
Two netted in Dookie kidnapping
.... after early morning raid
Rorhema Dookie
The investigation into the Rorhema Dookie kidnapping was blown wide open yesterday when police arrested a man in a shack at the Stevedore squatting area, believed to be the place the young woman was held.
Another man was subsequently held in the Ministry of Housing compound a short distance away and the police are on the hunt for at least two other men from the area who are suspected to have played a part in the August 26 kidnapping.
A woman, the common-law wife of the man held in the Ministry of Housing compound, was also taken away for questioning and at press time this newspaper was unable to ascertain if she had been released.
Police swooped down in the Stevedore area around 5:30 am and after searching at least three houses, arrested their first suspect, who according to reports had been the one who was holding Dookie for the kidnappers until she was released a day later. From all appearances, the suspect provided them with some information and implicated the other suspect, who was held while attempting to evade capture.
Senior police officers, including Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, confirmed the arrests of two men in connection with the kidnapping. According to him, investigators have known the location of the house for some time now.
Several other persons are also being sought, but Persaud could not say how many. When Stabroek News visited the area yesterday morning, many residents were tight-lipped and some even denied seeing any of the morning’s activities.
Both men, according to reports, particularly the one who was held in the Ministry of Housing compound, have had numerous brushes with the law. France is known to be a petty thief while the other man has been linked to more serious crimes.
A section of the shack that Rorhema Dookie was reportedly held in.
Some residents of Tiger Bay were relocated to the Ministry of Housing compound by government several years ago until they were able to construct their own homes.
Several residents said yesterday that the suspect arrested there was not one of those persons but had moved in with his partner after the original occupant moved out.
They stressed that persons who are not supposed to be living there continue to give them “bad name” because they get involved in illegal activities and then go into the area. One resident said that the suspect was one such person.
Recounting the events, one woman said that some time after 7 am, a little boy rode into the compound, shouting “police coming, police coming.” This newspaper was told that shortly after the police arrived and went straight to the house where one of the suspects resided. The man attempted to jump through a back window but was caught by ranks, who ran around the building.
A woman who lives a few doors away recalled seeing three van loads of police in the company of the first suspect. According to her, the woman that he lived with was later told that she had to accompany the police to the station.
Dookie, the daughter of popular businessman Beharry ‘Natoo’ Dookie, was abducted by three gunmen just as she had exited classes from a school on Thomas Street, North Cummingsburg. At the time, she was going to meet her waiting boyfriend Joel Oudkerk. The kidnappers assaulted him before abducting Dookie. She was released the following evening by a woman she thought may have been the girlfriend of one of her kidnappers.
One of the shacks which was searched by police yesterday morning in connection with the Rorhema Dookie kidnapping. It is located behind the shack that she was reportedly held in. The suspect who was arrested is linked to both structures.
Rorhema had told the media that after she was grabbed she did not know where she was taken but remembered that there were many turns.
She was then taken into a building where she was placed in a room which had a mattress and garbage on the floor.
Rorhema stated that she was not tied up nor was she hurt by the kidnappers. They told her to cooperate with them and she would be reunited with her father, she said.
Shortly after her release, she recounted that a woman who she believes was a girlfriend of one of the kidnappers had burst into the room and started questioning her about who she was. She believed that the woman suspected that she was the girlfriend of one of the men.
The ‘Rampin’shack
Yesterday, several persons pointed out a green shack as the one where Dookie was kept. It was nicknamed the “Rampin’ House,” according to residents. They said the shack, and a smaller one nearby where the first suspect lives, were ransacked by the police during the early morning raid. The shacks are a stone’s throw away from the East La Penitence Police Station.
The shack in Stevedore Squatting area where it is believed that Rorhema Dookie was held after being kidnapped on August 26. Police searched the shack early yesterday morning and arrested a man suspected to have been working for the kidnappers.
According to the information reaching Stabroek News, the green shack belongs to another man who is wanted in connection with various crimes but the suspect has been staying in it for some time now.
Both shacks were ransacked and the yards were littered with various items, including crockery and pieces of clothing.
The two shacks are located on a dam which is bordered by two trenches and are accessed by unstable wooden bridges. The green shack had signs that someone was staying there recently; there was a pair of boots in the middle of the walkway separating the kitchen from the sitting area.
The curtains were blackened by dust and the furniture, including a dinette set, a chair set, a centre table, a hammock, a carpet and a complete bed set, all looked worn. In another room there was an old bed frame and some barrels. There was also a kerosene oil stove on a chair and personal items and clothing strewn about. Illegal electricity wires were connected to the two shacks.
One man said that about a week ago police searched his home, which is a stone’s throw away from the shacks. It seemed that they had targeted the wrong house. A resident recalled seeing the police around 5:15 am but like other residents she opted to “mind her own business.”
Sources have told Stabroek News that shortly after Dookie was released, the suspect began telling persons in the area that the kidnappers had asked him to look over the girl and that was what he was doing. At the time the girl was pulled out of the house, plans were reportedly being made to drop off the ransom. Dookie had told the media that while a ransom had been demanded none had been paid. (Stabroek News)
September 1, 2009
Robbery/murder of Dweive Kant Ramdass
New larceny charge read to police trio
Kevon Denny
The three policemen charged with stealing millions they retrieved from suspects held for the robbery and murder of gold dealer Dweive Kant Ramdass, were yesterday read a new larceny charge and further remanded when they appeared before Magistrate Fazil Azeez at Vreed-en-Hoop.
It is alleged that on August 20, at Schoonard, West Bank Demerara, Cadet Officer Kevon Denny, 26, of Kitty and police constables Gordon James, 28, of Lot 80 Amelia’s Ward, Linden and Leyland Fraser, 24, of Lot 1602 Kaluri Street, Ituni, all police constables attached to the Leonora Police Station took $5.8M from Shawn Ageda, of which they stole $4.3M from the said Shawn Ageda.
The money is said to be the property of Azeem Baksh. The trio pleaded not guilty to the charge of larceny by public officers when it was read to them by the Magistrate.
The men were initially charged with the offence of simple larceny. But the charge was, however, yesterday withdrawn after being reviewed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the new charge of larceny by public officers instituted.
Leyland Fraser
According to attorneys Nigel Hughes and James Bond, who represented the defendants, the first charge of simple larceny was an incorrect charge instituted by the police since for such a charge, the stolen article would have had to have been stolen from the owner of the property in question.
Since the items were stolen by someone else, however, the charge was changed to that of larceny by public officers.
Hughes, in his bail applications, told the court that the accused persons were executing their lawful duty on the day in question. He explained that the men were told to intercept bandits who were fleeing from the Essequibo. This, Hughes said, propelled the officers to set up a roadblock at the Leonora Police Station in a bid to apprehend the men.
Hughes also emphasised that the case, which has attracted widespread public attention, is now a very sensitive one. He said that his clients retrieved only $1.5M from the bandits and the sum was lodged at the station. He stressed that at no point did his clients receive $5.8M.
“My Worship, bandits fleeing could say that they had any amount of money on them. No one can prove that my client had more than $1.5M in their possession,” he argued. He said also that the men had no antecedents, pose no risk of flight and have been fully cooperative with the police in their investigation.
Hughes pleaded with the court also to remember that the granting of bail is only to guarantee that persons return to court and cautioned against the accused persons being treated in a prejudicial manner because of the widespread attention the matter has received thus far.
Hughes said also that considering that the men were police officers, if they were to be denied their pre-trial liberty they should be placed in protective confinement as opposed to being kept with other prisoners since this can result in victimisation and injury to them.
Bond, in his application, asked that the men be viewed without prejudice, adding that his clients should be deemed innocent until proven guilty and not the other way around. He said too that the accused persons have suffered a tarnished reputation ever since their incarceration.
Police Prosecutor Sherwin Matthews, however, objected to the bail application made by the attorneys on the grounds the offence committed is a serious one. Matthews said also that there is a likelihood of the defendants tampering with witnesses. Hughes, however, refuted the point, highlighting that when the three men first appeared, the possibility of witness tampering was never raised.
Despite the arguments put forward by the attorneys, they were unable to secure bail for their clients. The men were subsequently remanded to prison until September 7.
The trio first appeared before Magistrate Priya Beharry on Tuesday last at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. They appeared along with Constable Jermaine James, 24, of Lot 80 Amelia’s Ward, Linden and his brother Collin James, 24, of Richmond Hill, Linden, who were not required to enter a plea to the indictable charge of supplying the police with false information. They were each granted bail in the sum of $50,000 and ordered to return to court on September 2. Denny, James and Fraser were however denied bail.
On August 24, at the Criminal Investigation Department, Eve Leary, Jermaine and Collin James allegedly gave false information to Detective Inspector Trevor Reid, a Public Officer. When the men first appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Prosecutor Denise.
Gordon James
Griffith told the court that Cadet Officer Denny was in charge of Constables Gordon and Fraser while on patrol duties on August 20, when they received instructions to throw up a road block in search of the perpetrators of an alleged robbery, involving the sum of $17M.
The prosecutor stated that the ranks responded and apprehended two persons, including Ageda, with a black bag containing $5.8M. However, she said the ranks only lodged $1.5M, claiming that this was the amount found.
Griffith said that an investigation was launched but the ranks maintained that they only retrieved $1.5M from the two men. She said that the rest of the cash was not recovered and that investigations are ongoing to find it.
Meanwhile, it is alleged that Jermaine and Collin Jones-brothers of Gordon James-misled Inspector Reid when questioned about the car used to remove the stolen cash. The charges were subsequently laid against the men following advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The police said Dweive Kant Ramdass, who the $17M was initially stolen from, had the money in 34 parcels made up of $500 bills. The police alleged that the three Coast Guards, who are accused of robbing and killing Ramdass, divided the parcels among themselves and then passed it on to relatives who were later intercepted. Only $12.7M is currently in police custody.
On Monday last, the three Coast Guards, Sherwyn Harte, 26, of Lot 123 Block C Eccles, East Bank Demerara, Delon Gordon, 21, of Lot 108 C Field, Sophia and Deon Greenidge, 20, of Lot 166 Middle Road, La Penitence were charged with the murder of Ramdass between August 20 and August 22 at Caiman Hole, East Bank Essequibo.
Ramdass was on his way to Bartica with the money in a box to conduct business for his employer when he was taken off a boat he was in at Parika by three ranks in a Coast Guard vessel. The vessel left with the man heading in the direction of Bartica and that was the last time he was seen alive. (Stabroek News)
Man, 51, killed by taxi in Agricola
DEAD: Douglas Forrester
Douglas Forrester, of Lot 35 Agricola Public Road, Greater Georgetown, is the latest road fatality. He died instantly when a speeding taxi hit him on its way to Timehri, East Bank Demerara, on Sunday night, his relatives said.
They said they were at home watching television when they received the dreadful news and ventured out on the roadway where his broken body lay. It was about 23:30 h when the 51-year-old left a wake in the same ward and was standing on the median when he was killed, they claimed.
According to them, Forrester was going across the road to make a purchase from a nearby shop and the driver of HB 3721 was speaking on his cellular phone when he lost control of the vehicle at the junction of Brutus Street and Agricola Public Road. Police took the man at the wheel into custody for the continuing investigations.
The death of the father of seven prompted called from family members for stiffer penalties on defaulters and the installation of traffic lights at the location where Forrester met his demise and many other accidents had previously occurred.
Skid marks were still evident on the thoroughfare yesterday when the Guyana Chronicle went there but Forrester’s wife and children were too distraught to speak.
Meanwhile, Police Traffic Department revealed that, so far this year, 73 persons were killed in 63 fatal accidents and the victims include nine children. For the corresponding period in 2008, 65 accidents claimed 76 lives, including those of three children. (Michel Outridge/Guyana Cronicle)