Three men are expected to be arraigned for the murder of 47-year-old Mohamed Haniff who was killed at his home at Experiment, West Coast Berbice (WCB) on Saturday.
Murdered: Mohamed Haniff
They are expected to make their appearance at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court today.
The man’s wife, who was arrested as the alleged mastermind of the brutal killing, was released on station bail, but has to report to the Fort Wellington Police Station on a daily basis.
The three men who were reportedly paid to execute the taxi driver were arrested after their names were given to the Police by the man’s wife.
It was reported that while the men did not give a full confession, they have given a detailed report on the plan to murder the man. The men, including a security officer, the source noted, are from Bath Settlement, WCB.
As the men were being questioned, one of them told detectives that he was not involved in the actual murder, but rather drove the suspects to the address. He noted that based on discussions in the car, the plan was to commit a robbery, but there was no mention of killing the man.
The now dead taxi driver returned to Guyana a few days prior to his death and was in self-quarantine. One of the suspects told the detectives that they were told he returned with lots of cash.
The man’s wife reportedly did not have access to the money that the man brought back, hence the planned robbery.
“The plan was to get money to repay the man she had pawned the house to…the man had told her that if she does not pay, he will take possession of the house…but based on investigations, the husband was not aware of the business transaction,” a source had told <<<Guyana Times>>.
It was reported that three men entered Haniff’s house last Friday evening. At the time, the man’s 44-year-old wife was also at home.
The masked men were armed with a small handgun, a metal bar, and a cutlass. One of the suspects dealt the victim several chops to his head as the others demanded cash.
After he did not cooperate, Haniff was severely beaten in the presence of his wife. After ransacking the house, the bandits found an undisclosed sum of money and a quantity of jewellery.
After the robbery, the suspects left the home and made good their escape. Sometime after the ordeal, the injured man was found lying on the floor in a pool of blood, with several chops to his forehead and one to the back of his head.
He was picked up by a neighbour and rushed to the Fort Wellington Public Hospital, and later transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he was admitted in serious condition and subsequently died about 01:30h on Saturday.
It was reported that the man’s wife called a friend who was several villages away and reported the incident to him. That friend then called a neighbour, who called the Police.
After speaking with investigators and allegedly giving conflicting stories, the woman was taken into custody.
The couple’s daughter, Bibi Haniff, who lives next door with her husband, revealed that her father returned from Sint Marteen and had approximately US$8000 and gold jewellery in a bag hidden away.
According to her, she was told that when the men entered the house, they demanded that her mother hand over the money and gold. She said that her father was in the bedroom while her mother was in the sitting room at the time of the incident.
