Three members of a family were admitted to the New Amsterdam Hospital after being attacked on the night of Mother's Day at their Betsy Ground home by a cutlass-wielding man believed to be insane.

Still hospitalised after the attack last Sunday night are Rakesh Balgit, his wife Latchmi and her sister Sursatie.

They were all rushed to the hospital after a man carrying a cutlass walked into their yard and started firing chops, claiming that he was paid by someone to attack them.

Latchmi's sister-in-law Shoba was also attacked by the man with the cutlass and was treated at the hospital and sent away. Shoba said she had gone to her sister-in-law's residence to make a phone call around 7:55 pm on Sunday night. She said further that she was sitting in a hammock under the house with Latchmi when a man wearing long pants and carrying a haversack on his shirtless back marched into the yard with a cutlass. She stated that the man came up to her and raised his cutlass in a threatening manner and fearful for her life she begged him: "Ow uncle, wha you come chop awe fuh, wha awe do yuh." She then attempted to get out of the hammock but the man lashed her with the broad side of his cutlass and she ran screaming behind some flower plants in the yard.

Shoba also said that from behind the flower plants she saw Latchmi struggling with the cutlass-wielding man who struck her about her back and body and also dealt her two chops to her left hand.

When Latchmi asked him why he was attacking her he said a resident from the area had paid him to chop her. He also said he was from Sandvoort.

Shoba stated that Latchmi's younger sister Sursatie, who was sitting on the steps at the time and saw what had taken place, started to scream and ran up the stairs. The man went after her and dealt her chops to her hand and at one point the cutlass was stuck in her hand.

Sursatie's fiance who had just entered the yard ran to call for help. Rakesh, who had opened the door upstairs after hearing Sursatie's screams was also chopped by the man who forced his way into the house.

Latchmi, after being chopped went up an interior staircase to her second floor and again met up with the cutlass-wielding man as he was struggling with her husband.

The man then calmly walked down the stairs and onto the street where he headed to a creek in the backdam. The three wounded family members then made their way to the side of their yard where a neighbour pulled them over the fence. They were then rushed to the hospital.

Shoba explained that the Friday before the incident someone had broken into her sister-in-law's home and had stolen a number of items.

The neighbour who pulled them to safety, Sainpattie Hukumchand told this newspaper that her family called the police after she heard shouting from next door. At first, she thought that the family next door was being robbed because she knew of the robbery that had taken place the previous Friday but when she came out, she saw them all covered in blood.

According to Hukum-chand, as the man was passing on the road he saw three bicycles and chopped at them causing the tyres to burst. He then walked away as if nothing had taken place.

According to Shoba the man is still at large.

 

rangeela