December 29, 2009
Twenty arrested after deadly rioting in Suriname
Twenty persons have been arrested in Suriname on suspicion of rape, arson, assault and robbery during Christmas Day riots that targeted migrants in the town of Albina. Suriname police spokesperson, John Jones, according to de Ware Tijd (DWT) newspaper, said most of the suspects in the riots were identified.
At least seven Brazilians were killed during the unrest, unconfirmed media reports state, while many persons were injured, including women who were raped. The riots have also left many persons homeless.
The violence was triggered by the fatal stabbing of a Surinamese man by a Brazilian national. Giving a timeline of the events, DWT reported that Wilson Apensa was stabbed to death at around 22 hrs on Thursday and a mere hour later friends of the man began to assault and rob Brazilians in the area.
At about 12:30 on Christmas morning, vandals and local residents started looting a local supermarket and gold purchasing companies in the towns of Papatam and Albina. Half an hour later, a supermarket was set alight and the fire spread to houses and parked cars, forcing a nearby power station to shut down due to danger of explosions. Much of the township of Albina is now without power.
Looting then became rampant and the police and army stood by helplessly until they received reinforcement at around 2:30 am. Looters were then ordered to leave their booty behind and the wounded Brazilians and Chinese nationals were transported to army barracks.
Fire brigades from the capital Paramaribo and neighbouring French Guiana arrived around 4 am on Christmas day and extinguished the fires and police arrested eight persons.
According to a BBC report, tensions between native Surinamese and hundreds of Brazilians gold prospectors have long simmered in Albina. The town is home to 5,000 people and is the main crossing point into the French territory of French Guiana.
The Brazilian government has since sent an Air Force plane to Suriname over the weekend to take its nationals back home. It is estimated that there are some 18,000 Brazilians living in Suriname, a former Dutch colony of around a half a million people. (Stabroek News)
December 27, 2009
Christmas Day killing…
Brazilian found stabbed to death on Takutu Bridge
A Brazilian national who journeyed to Lethem to party was found stabbed to death near the Takutu Bridge on Christmas morning and investigators believe that the assailant fled to Brazil. Dead is Marcus Paul Da Silva, 34, whose body was discovered around 7.30 am with multiple stab wounds about the face, back and chest.
According to the police, a trail of blood was observed leading from the murder scene unto the Takutu Bridge which links Guyana to Brazil. Police sources have said that the murder may be drug-related and they are receiving assistance with the investigations from their counterparts in Brazil.
Investigations so far revealed that Da Silva, who resides in Bon Fim, about half mile from the Takutu Bridge, borrowed money from his mother several hours before he was discovered dead. The man later walked across the bridge to reach a popular hang-out spot in Lethem, where he partied with friends until sunrise.
Investigators are working on the theory that he was journeying back to Brazil when he was attacked and stabbed before he got to the bridge. The body is currently at the Lethem Hospital Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.
A resident of Lethem told Stabroek News yesterday that Da Silva lived in Moco Moco (a small village 14 miles from Lethem) up to about 10 years ago, when he migrated to Brazil with his mother. The man said that Da Silva would visit the community regularly to party and was last seen by persons early Christmas morning in the company of about six men. The group was on their way back to Brazil.
The resident said that the man was found a short distance from the bridge and during the incident the attacker might have been wounded as there is a blood trail across the bridge. This newspaper was told that it was persons on their way to cross the bridge who made the discovery. While no suspects have been identified police here are still investigating.
Guyana’s side of the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic at 5 pm each day while the Brazilian side is closed at 7 pm. However persons could walk or ride across the bridge unhindered after the closing time. Brazilians, residents told this newspaper, flock to Lethem daily to conduct business and to party. (Stabroek News)
Body of Bagotstown man found with marks of violence
Police are investigating the death of a Bagotstown resident, who is believed to have been killed during a drunken squabble some time yesterday morning. The dead body of Inchan Alli, 53, of Lot 8 Pandit Street, Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara was found on the road outside his home by neighbours in the morning.
Police sources told this newspaper yesterday that the body bore marks of violence and it appeared as if the man was severely beaten with a piece of wood. The dead man’s father with whom he lived, was taken into police custody yesterday.
Residents told Stabroek News that both the deceased and his father were heavy drinkers and they would frequently argue. The two had reportedly had a dispute on Friday evening. One resident said that often the disputes between the father and son would disturb the neighbourhood. “Some night we nah get peace,” the resident said.
As investigations are continuing into the incident, a police officer told this newspaper that the results of a post-mortem examination, which should be conducted next week, will be crucial to solving the case. (Stabroek News)
December 26, 2009
Riot on Christmas rocks Suriname border town
PARAMARIBO (Reuters) - Police and troops on Christmas Day put down a riot and looting rampage in Albina, a Surinamese town bordering French Guiana, in violence which wounded 13 people, a government minister said.
The riots were sparked by the death on Thursday of a resident stabbed by a Brazilian suspect, now in custody, said Justice and Police Minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi. He told a news conference between 100 and 500 people looted a shopping mall and other stores. They also seized the safe of a gold retailer.
At least 80 frightened residents sought refuge in an army barracks. Albina, a town of about 5,000 people, is the main crossing point to the French territory of French Guiana. Firemen from Saint Laurent du Maroni, the town on the French side, helped extinguish the fires.
Tensions have brewed in Albina between Brazilian gold prospectors and native Surinamese, including Amerindians, who have a high unemployment rate. A former Dutch colony which won independence in 1975, Suriname has about half a million people. (Reporting by Ank Kuipers, Writing by Walker Simon, editing by Alan Elsner/Reuters)
December 23, 2009
Woman boater murdered at Foulmouth
Hunt on for passenger
Just before midnight on Monday the partially nude body of a woman was discovered at Foulmouth; just above Makouria on the Essequibo River. Patricia Williams of Far Rock; was found dead on Monday night shortly after giving a group of men a ride to Foulmouth. A suspect said to be hiding in the area is wanted by police.
Police in a press statement yesterday said they are “investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of boat service operator Patricia Williams, 50, whose body was found partly submerged in the Essequibo River at Foulmouth, Essequibo River at about” 11.30pm on Monday.
Initial investigations, according to police, revealed that Williams had transported a group of men from Bartica to Foulmouth (a five mile journey) earlier that day. A relative, police said, subsequently saw Williams’ boat drifting, and after a search found her body partly in the river. The man suspected of murdering Williams is currently hiding in the area and is being sought by police. The body was transported to Georgetown where a post-mortem will be done.
Stabroek News learnt from a police source yesterday that only the top half of the woman’s body was clothed. Her pants and underclothes were discovered, a short distance from the body, at the Foulmouth landing. Marks around Williams’ neck, the source said, suggested she may have been strangled.
A Foulmouth resident, who requested anonymity, told this newspaper that Williams was also employed as a security guard. The deceased, the resident said, lived at Far Rock, a small island about 10 minutes away from Foulmouth via boat.
The resident, who knew Williams and has spoken with her relatives since the incident, said they had learnt that the woman was transporting a group of men, which included one of her brothers, from Bartica.
“Her brother told me that she drop them off and the last man in the boat was coming out farther along so he last was left in the boat with she [Williams],” the resident said. “Like she go to drop him [the suspect] off at the Foulmouth landing and is there he attack she.” Some time around 11pm Monday, the resident said, Williams’ brother and several other residents heard several screams coming from the direction of the Foulmouth landing.
“She [Williams] brother ain’t live too far away from the landing and he heard the screams and by the time he get there to investigate he found her body a short way from the landing in some bushes by the water,” the resident said. “Another woman also heard the screams but said she dismissed it as drunk people making a nuisance of themselves.”
The perpetrator had already disappeared by the time Williams’ brother made it to the landing. Her brother, according to the resident, immediately informed police. The body was removed some time before 9am yesterday.
“I went down to the area lil before the police come to move the body,” the resident related, “and I saw her pants and underwear on the landing and she was only wearing her top…the only marks I see on her body was around her neck area.” This newspaper further understands that Williams was familiar with her attacker since the man, said to be in his 20s, has lived on Foulmouth for a number of years.
Williams’ death has shocked the Foulmouth community and many residents fear the suspect is still hiding somewhere in the vicinity. “Right now everybody afraid,” the resident said. “We know that he [the suspect] still on the island because the only way to get off is by boat…right now everybody watching their boat tonight [last night] just in case he try to steal one.”
A report that the attacker is armed with a “crowbar” has spread throughout Foulmouth. “We hear say he got a crow bar and we not taking any chances,” the resident said.
Meanwhile, the resident said the suspect had appeared before a court about three years ago charged with a sexual offence. The man, according to them, was living with an uncle and is a “known character” in the area.
“Since the police come and move the body this morning [yesterday] they haven’t come back,” the resident said. “I don’t know if they expect the woman’s family to look for him [the suspect].” Up to press time last night the perpetrator was still on the run. Several efforts made to contact Williams’ relatives via telephone were futile. Her husband, the resident said, is currently in “the bush” mining gold. (Sara Bharrat and Zoisa Fraser/Stabroek News)
December 19, 2009
Rose Hall man shot dead by police after robbery
Hemchand Gopaul
Hours after an armed robbery, a man accused of being a perpetrator was fatally shot by police early yesterday morning.
Hemchand Gopaul, 18, of Rose Hall, Corentyne Berbice died after sustaining a gunshot wound to the neck. Police said he was one of three men who robbed a family at Hampshire Village, Corentyne-a charge that his family denied. Another man was arrested, while a third is still on the run.
Police said late last evening that the robbery occurred at about 1.30am yesterday at Hampshire Village, Corentyne, where Maria Mootoo, 45, her sister Savitri Mootoo, 41, their mother Latchmini Narinesammy, 68, and a brother were at home.
Three men, armed with a firearm and a cutlass, broke a window and entered the home. They held the two sisters at gunpoint and took away a quantity of jewelry and $85,000. The trio discharged a round as they escaped, police said.
Acting on information received, police was able to pursue the robbers and came “under fire at the Rose Hall Cemetery. Police pursued the men and again came under gunfire at Port Mourant. They returned fire, fatally wounding Gopaul. One of Gopaul’s accomplices was subsequently arrested in the Port Mourant district; he remained in police custody up to press time assisting police with investigations, police said.
Eight 9mm rounds were found in Gopaul’s pocket, according to police, who say he has been “positively identified as one of the three” robbers. A 9mm warhead was recovered by police at the scene of the robbery.
However, Vishnu Gopaul told Stabroek News last night that his son is innocent. He said the boy was out fetching “scrap metal” with friends when they were suddenly pursued by police. “Meh son, right, he lef’ hand na good…last year police accuse he of robbing this man and when this man and he friend find meh son dem give he two chop on he left hand,” Vishnu said.
Vishnu related that Gopaul was chopped last December and spent almost three weeks in hospital and was later charged. “Dem tell me son last year that he attempt fuh thief fowl,” the man said.
The man said Gopaul was later placed on $100,000 bail which he paid. Meanwhile, Vishnu said his son would usually tend to his sheep and goats in addition to their pigs. Gopaul, he recalled, left home at about 7pm Thursday and ended up at Port Mourant with his friends hunting for scrap metal. “Yesterday (Thursday) now, me son deh whole day ah graze some sheep and goat and help me look after meh pig dem,” Vishnu told Stabroek News, “Dem sheep and goat does graze and come home late…he lef’ house 7 o’clock…he didn’t come home last night (Thursday night).”
It wasn’t until 3am yesterday morning, Vishnu said, that his son returned home to collect their “donkey cart.” Gopaul, he related, said he and his friends were transporting scrap metal from Port Mourant. It was while Gopaul and his friends were returning with the scrap metal that police suddenly pursued then and started discharging rounds at them, Vishnu said.
The shooting, according to Vishnu, commenced at about 4am yesterday morning and didn’t end until about 5.30am. Police, the man alleged, discharged over 20 rounds. “Five police man come ah meh house here around quarter to six yesterday morning and ask me where my son deh. Meh explain and tell them he gone fuh scrap iron…They search up meh whole house, tumble everything,” Vishnu said.
The man said he asked the ranks why they were looking for Gopaul and was told he would “find out later.” “Lil after dem search meh house meh take me bicycle and go around by the post man and trying to find out what happened to meh son and dem people tell meh police shoot me son and kill he dem got he on de damn,” Vishnu said, “Dem shoot he in de neck.”
Police, according to Vishnu, blocked the dam on either side and refused to let anyone enter. The man said when he enquired about his son he was told by police to go look in a near by garden. “They block de damn all two side, cuss up all dem people and chase every body,” Vishnu said. “So dem ah chase everybody and dem bring branch and cover meh son face.”
It wasn’t until the hearse came to collect the body lying on the dam, Vishnu said, that he realized it was his son. “Is when de hearse come and dem ah lift de body is then I recognize him from de clothes he was wearing,” Vishnu said. Vishnu Gopaul insists his son is innocent. The young man, according to him, was hard working and didn’t “drink or smoke.” (Sara Bharrat/Stabroek News)
December 17, 2009
Watchman murdered at Diamond
A 40-year-old watchman was yesterday found murdered in the home he guarded at Sixth Street, Diamond, East Bank Demerara following an apparent robbery.
Dead is Trevor Simon called ‘Neighbour Joe.’ His body was discovered at around 4 pm yesterday by the owner of the home, who was making his regular checks at the building, which is still under construction.
Simon’s hands and feet were tied as well as his mouth which was bound with a piece of cloth and abrasions were seen on his head, the police said. The lawmen, in a press release, said that they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the watchman’s death.
It is believed that the persons who killed Simon had gone to the building to rob. Simon’s bicycle, which he had only purchased recently, was missing and a container that was in the yard was broken into and ransacked, neighbours said. This newspaper was told that Simon had been guarding the place for about a year and lived on site.
One man, who lives close to the building, told Stabroek News that he usually spoke with Simon every night. The man, who asked not to be named, however, said that he did not visit his friend on Tuesday night. Another resident said that he last saw the watchman at about 8:30 pm on Tuesday.
The residents, who consider Simon a friend, as they spoke with him often, said he is usually seen at the building every morning and so when he was not seen yesterday, they were a little surprised but did not check.
One said that he thought that the watchman had probably gone out though the container was seen open and this was a little suspicious as it was normally closed. They said that they had heard nothing on Tuesday night, when the murder is believed to have occurred.
Residents told this newspaper that the owner of the home usually made daily checks and went to the home shortly before 4 pm yesterday. One resident said that he was asked whether he had seen Simon yesterday but said no, noting that he had seen him the previous night.
The owner after checking found the body in the bathroom. Simon’s hands were tied behind his back, his feet were bound and he was gagged. His attackers apparently smashed his head repeatedly against the wall or floor. “He had a big bump on his head and his face mash up”, one resident said. Simon’s bicycle, which he only purchased last week, was missing. The container did not have many items of value, the residents said.
Following the discovery, the police were called and the body was later removed. Residents said that Simon was a very friendly person and they usually chatted with him. “He was a nice guy…we does gaff about football, cricket”, one man said.
He stated that Simon never spoke of having any enemies. Residents said that the murder was “very upsetting” and lamented the absence of streetlights in that particular area. Simon’s body is at the Lyken’s Funeral Parlour awaiting a post mortem examination. Inves-tigations are continuing. (Stabroek News)
December 9, 2009
Brazil police accused of systematic illegal killings
RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Police in Brazil’s biggest cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro routinely execute suspects and cover up the killings as self-defence, U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch said in report yesterday.
The report, the result of a two-year investigation, adds pressure on Brazil, and particularly Rio, to reduce violence before the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
The rights group said it found consistent evidence contradicting police claims that victims, mostly poor youths from slums, had died in shootouts after resisting arrest. It called on Brazil to make police accountable for such killings.
Police in the states of Rio and Sao Paulo have killed more than 11,000 people since 2003, making them among the most lethal in the world. Police in Rio state, whose capital city is plagued by competing violent drug gangs, kill the most, with 1,137 deaths last year classified as resisting arrest.
Police are responsible for investigating alleged abuses by their own officers, a fact the report said was the main cause of the “chronic failure to hold police to account for murder.” Police in Rio and Sao Paulo are very rarely prosecuted or convicted for killings.
“There’s a system in place where police in many poor neighborhoods are completely out of control. It’s a system of toleration that basically relies on the police to police themselves and they don’t do it,” said Daniel Wilkinson, Human Right Watch’s deputy director for the Americas.
Despite Brazil’s strong economic rise in recent years, many of its major cities remain scarred by violence, often linked to the drug trade. A violent police response in slum areas is often tolerated as necessary to combat high crime levels, although rights groups say it only exacerbates the problem.
Human Rights Watch said it had found credible evidence in 51 “resistance” killing cases that contradicted the police account, adding that this indicated a much broader problem. In 33 of the cases, forensic evidence was at odds with the official version — including 17 cases in which victims were shot at close range.
The report said police often cover up their killings by destroying crime scene evidence. One common technique, it said, is for officers to take corpses to hospitals in the pretense of trying to rescue victims.
As its main recommendation, Human Rights Watch called for the creation of specialized units within state prosecutors’ offices that would thoroughly investigate suspect police killings and bring officers to justice. It also called for police to notify the prosecutors’ office of killings immediately rather than waiting a month as they now do. (Stabroek News)
December 8, 2009
FIERY DEATH
Man dies in fire that destroys two houses
He was trapped inside heavily grilled garage
DEAD: Sundar Singh
Overseas-based Guyanese Sundar Singh called ‘Moti’, 57, of Lot 31 Second Street, Success, East Coast Demerara, met a fiery death Sunday night when his house was destroyed by fire.
Reports said he was trapped inside and was found dead in his heavily grilled garage.
His father, Johnny Singh, 88, of Mora Point, Mahaicony Creek, also on East Coast Demerara, said he received the dreadful news late Sunday night and went to the scene yesterday.
He said he was told that his son perished in the blaze and his body was at a city funeral home. The victim lived alone in the building and his family resides abroad but he is survived by six siblings. Singh said the tragedy is a real shock to the family.
Pandit Bissoondyal Maraj, 43, also of Second Street, Success, who lived next door and whose house was also consumed by the disaster, said it was about 23:30 h when he, his wife and daughter were alerted to the flames.
He said he tried to save all his worldly possessions but was unsuccessful and managed to only rescue his cows and is now staying at another neighbour’s house. Maraj told the Guyana Chronicle the conflagration reportedly started in the upper flat of Singh’s residence and quickly spread to his.
The two gutted houses at Second Street, Success, East Coast Demerara.
Maintaining that, if the fire tender had water, his house would have been saved, he criticised the GFS for the way it tried to douse the flames.
His wife was too distraught to speak yesterday and has taken ill.
One other neighbour, Shaheed Hamid, 42, said he was at home, with his aunt and two children, but was unable to save anything from his house. He was trying to salvage some property from the water-soaked premises yesterday, with the help of relatives and others in the neighbourhood.
The windows on one side of his house were destroyed by the fire which he confirmed originated in Singh’s and quickly engulfed his neighbour’s which was destroyed within minutes. Meanwhile, the police said that they have launched an investigation into the fire of unknown origin.
The Police said based on investigations so far, Pandit Bissoondyal was awakened by the heat coming from a fire that had engulfed his neighbour Sundar Singh’s home. The Police said an alarm was raised and units of the Guyana Fire Service responded and extinguished the fire.
Sundar Singh’s house after the fire.
The Police also stated that Sundar Singh, a re-migrant from the United States, lived alone and was known to be a heavy consumer of alcohol.
The two-storey concrete building which he occupied was completely grilled and it is suspected that he may have been trapped inside, the Police said. (Guyana Cronicle)
Supreme Court frees cocaine in fish glue case accused
A magistrate had sentenced him to jail.....
.....imposed a $254.4M fine
FREED: Vishnu Bridgelall c/d ‘Halfa’ leaving the court on Friday last.
The full sitting of the Supreme Court last Friday freed 45-year old Vishnu Bridgelall called ‘Halfa’ of trafficking in narcotics and set aside a conviction by a magistrate who had jailed the convicted man for 10 years and fined him $254.4M which represented the value of the cocaine allegedly found in fish glue.
But the court found that the magistrate erred in finding the accused guilty of possession.
Bridgelall and three others were charged with the offence of having 20 kilogrammes of cocaine in their possession for the purpose of trafficking which was said to have been committed on Wednesday May 16, 2007, at Charlotte Street, Enterprise, East Coast Demerara.
The two charges had accused them firstly of having a narcotic in their possession, that is to say 20 kilogrammes of cocaine, for the purpose of trafficking. The other charge had accused them of having 86.5 kilogrammes of cocaine, for the purpose of trafficking.
Bridgelall who normally buys and sells fish glue for export, had in a statement said he heard that a man at Enterprise had some glue to sell so he hired Thakoor and Khan and they went to enterprise. He added, “We arrived there about 11.30 a.m. We met the fella who selling the glue. His name is Percy.
“As we were discussing price in the yard, I see two minibuses pull up and some men jump out and said that they are CANU (Customs Anti Narcotics Unit) officers and Percy asked me to open the gate for them. They said to us they come to look for drugs and I said I don’t know anything about any drugs. I told the officer I only just come a few minutes ago to buy glue.”
After allegedly finding cocaine in the glue, the officer charged Bridgelall, Chandrika Chattergoon c/d Percy, Thakoor Persaud and Azad Khan with having cocaine in their possession. The Magistrate dismissed the charge against Persaud and Khan but found Bridgelall and Chattergoon guilty.
Bridgelall was fined $48,000,000 in one charge and $206, 400,000 plus five years on each charge, with an order that the sentences should run consecutively. Chattergoon was fined $10,000 together with 4 years imprisonment. Chattergoon did not appeal.
Senior Counsel Mr. Bernard DeSantos had argued the appeal on behalf of Bridgelall and got the judges, Chief Justice Ian Chang, S.C. and Justice Rishi Persaud to agree that the magistrate erred in finding that Bridgelall was in possession of cocaine. The appeal against the appellant Bridgelall was allowed. Conviction and sentences were set aside. Bridgelall was awarded costs in the sum of $2,000.
Lawyers who appeared for the appellant and the other defendant in the magistrate court were Mr. Anil Nandlall, Mr. Vic Puran and Mr. Sanjeev Datadin. Mr. De Santos did not appear in the small Court. (Michel Outridge/Guyana Cronicle/George Barclay)
