Pensioner beaten, robbed, car set alight during WCB protest
Persons are continuing to come forward to relate their horror after being attacked during the West Coast Berbice (WCB) unrests over the past few days.
The protesters were demanding justice for cousins 16-year-old Isaiah and 19-year-old Joel Henry, whose mutilated bodies were found at a backdam at Cotton Tree, WCB, on Sunday.
Chop wounds on the pensioner’s arm
On Friday, Jerome Basdeo, a pensioner, related that he was stripped of his clothes, robbed, beaten and his car set ablaze by protesters at Mahaicony, Region Five.
The 65-year-old man of Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, came under attack while he was stuck at one of the roadblocks.
Basdeo reportedly left his home on Wednesday morning to drop a Jamaican friend, who was left stranded in Guyana due to the coronavirus pandemic, to Mahaicony.
However, as he entered Mahaicony, the car was intercepted by angry protesters, who punctured all four of the tyres. Shortly after, bricks were hurled at the car and soon after, they were pulled from the vehicle.
During the ordeal, the pensioner was relieved of his pouch containing $15,000 in cash and a 15-pennyweight gold chain. They then took off all of his clothes, leaving him with just his boxers. He was also beaten repeatedly with cutlasses, and was gun-butted. Basdeo said his Jamaican friend tried to help him, but he too was slapped to the face, and robbed of his wallet.
<<<Guyana Times>>> understands that the angry protesters did not stop there. They then doused Basdeo’s car with a flammable substance and set it alight. His NIS card, ID card, driver’s license and old age pension book were all burnt in the fire.
During the ordeal, Basdeo attempted to escape but the protesters started to stone him. He was also chopped on his forearm in his escape bid.
The man and his friend reportedly ran for some distance until they were rescued by residents in the area. He and his friend were both given $500, a pair of pants and a shirt.
They eventually got a lift to Mahaica where they made a report to the police. Basdeo was subsequently sent to the hospital to receive medical treatment. The man is presently home and is recuperating but is still traumatised by the ordeal.
