…One in custody
By Fareeza Haniff
The community of Bath Settlement on the West Coast of Berbice has been hit by
yet another rape. This time the victim is a 40-year-old woman from the area, who
was beaten mercilessly by a gang of men.
Morgan-indecent-assault Parker-addresses 10-year-old stepdaughter Harold Branford
Kaieteur News understands that the woman is of an unsound mind, but is very well
known in the community.
This newspaper understands that the incident occurred at approximately 18:00 hrs
on Monday evening, as the woman was on her way to her brother’s house.
She told officers at the Fort Wellington Police Station that as she was walking
on the road on her way home, some boys grabbed her and forced her into an
abandoned house in the area, where they proceeded to rape and beat her.
The woman could not say exactly how many men there were, but could only identify
one of them, who it turned out is in his late twenties and is currently in
police custody assisting with investigations.
Resident of the community, Sandra Baldeo told Kaieteur News that the woman would
visit her daily and receive meals, after which she would go home to her
brother’s house to sleep.
Baldeo noted that the woman was beaten so badly that her entire face is swollen
and discoloured. As a result of her injuries, Baldeo said that the woman is
currently vomiting blood and she cannot see through her left eye. “Her back,
shoulders and hips are also black and blue.”
After the men committed their act, the woman was left motionless in the house.
According to Baldeo, the woman’s constant scream for help is what caught the
residents’ attention, and they in turn rescued her at around 6:00 am
yesterday.
After realising what had happened, the residents rushed the badly injured woman
to the Fort Wellington Hospital, where it was confirmed that she was sexually
assaulted.
Currently, the woman is at home resting.
Baldeo told this newspaper that it appears as if the incident was committed by a
gang of known drug addicts in the community. In this regard, she urged for the
authorities to take immediate action and demolish all the abandoned houses in
the community, which she said provides a safe haven for drug addicts.
Only recently, 13-year-old Kavita
Panday, also of Bath Settlement, was raped and
murdered. Her body was found in a canal, a short distance away from her home.
When her father found her, he discovered that her underwear and tights were
below her knees and the left side of her face was swollen and “black and
blue,’ while the left side of her abdomen was badly bruised.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
