Police yesterday said they had arrested a man in connection with Wednesday’s attack on two nurses attached to the Wismar Hospital during which one of them was raped.
A release from the police said that the man was arrested at about 9 pm on Saturday at One Mile, Wismar.
Stabroek News understands that the man was arrested while liming under a tree. Residents yesterday reported that they had been very fearful of the man since he was released from prison in February of this year. Some said that since the incident involving the nurses the man has been sighted passing by the residence of one of the two nurses.
Meanwhile, nurses at the two hospitals yesterday vowed to continue their strike even though the man was arrested. They said that while they are happy that an arrest has been made they cannot be sure that the right person is in custody.
The nurses told Stabroek News that they have several demands that must be met before they return to duty, among which is the removal of the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Gordon Gumbs, since according to them he is not very supportive of their cause.
The nurses are also calling for the permanent presence of an armed police officer along with the regular security at both institutions and that both police stations at Wismar and Mackenzie must have sufficient ranks on duty especially at nights. They said that on many occasions whenever there is need for a police presence only one rank is at the post.
Nurses said that they are expecting an audience with Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy tomorrow morning.
The nurses said that during a meeting on Friday regional officials were trying to negotiate the resumption of duty by some of the main nurses including midwives but to no avail. At that time there was an emergency which required the transfer of a pregnant woman to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). There being no nurse midwife, a hospital official insisted that the ambulance attendant accompany the patient. “No way could an ambulance attendant accompany such a case without a nurse. So they refused. However in the interest of the patient a third year medical student went along,” a nurse said.
The officials in their negotiation had committed on a temporary basis, a bus to take night nurses to and from their homes and one armed guard at the facility but they were unsuccessful.
Speaking with Stabroek News yesterday Chairman of Region 10 Mortimer Mingo said that he was very concerned about the service to residents. He said that he had inquired from the hospital’s CEO about outpatient care at the Wismar Hospital. “I feel strongly that residents need to be informed officially about the system of care at this time. There should be a public notice to this effect.”
Speaking on the issue of security for the hospital, its staff and patients, Mingo said that arrangements implemented through the Ministry of Health are grossly inadequate even at its best. Investigations revealed that the ministry had arranged to have an armed guard taken from his regular post at the RDC building on a 12-hour shift and placed at the Linden Hospital Complex. It was also confirmed that no outpatient care was being done at the Upper Demerara Hospital.
I’m glad someone is in custody, was he identified by the victim in an identification parade if so he should face the full force of the law. No less than 20yrs to life that would teach the next wouldbe rapist.
amen-ra
My sentiments exactly. According to the SN report, the nurses claim that they are still uneasy because they are not certain if the police have the right person in custody.
You would expect that there would have been a confrontation between victim and alleged perp, or a police line-up. Duh! rocket science right?
And what’s this about the alleged rapist arrested while “liming under a tree” Hmmm, hiding in plain sight or just downright bold.
well done, an improvement of the S.F., hope the citizens will contribute to find and report these criminals to the authorities and not sit on the info.
well done, and hope the nurses return to work because the needed residents will suffer.
Bring back the Cat-o-Nine, Bring back the Cat-o-Nine, Bring back the Cat-o-Nine
and after trice used, crime will drop by 80% nationwide guaranteed.
Side-effects include; rise in respect for the law and peace of mind.
Guyana should try this product, even for a short time (say 6 months)
Hmmm
Sorry Vatvic, but we have become “civilised” remember? And convicted criminals have “rights” too, just ask the various human rights groups out there.
I am always amased at how they are paraded like prime possessions on TV in the US. It’s as if the more horrific the crime the more pampered they are handled during processing.
For serious crimes such as rape and murder, suspects should be brought before the courts, tried, and if found guilty, convicted.
And when I sat “tried” I mean allowing DNA and polygraph test into the trial, and by “convicted” I am not talking about being assigned a place in the prison system where they are allowed to get fat on tax payers dollars for the rest of their miserable lives. No sir, I mean that they should not live see the light of the new day………………….oops! I almost for forgot that we are now civilised.
Those of you who think I am too severe on rapist then consider that with the advent of HIV / AIDS the act of rape may very well be a death sentence on the innocent.
I do hope they have the right person (should be brought in for identification), if he is the said person, think he should be put away for a very long time, This waste man didn’t learn anything, just came out of prison and went right back to inflict trouble in society. I think the system is too soft on these guys they need longer sentences keep them away from law abiding citizen for long time. I hope the joint service do a good job to get the right person.
keep pulling these thugs off the streets and keep them faraway from civilized society.
keep up the hard work brothers.
The demands of the nurses should be met they are not asking for increased wages all the are asking for is a safe environment where they are able to serve the community, I think that the relevant authority should move swiftly to meet the nurses requests since they are persons who may be in urgent need of medical attention and prolonging this could be dangerous to those persons. The apprehension of this alledged rapist should see the relevant DNA testing conducted in order to facilitate a quick conviction and bring about some form of satisfaction to the victim and the community.
A good security measure would be to equip the building with an alarm and monitoring. Give the nurses panic buttons to wear so that it can alert the security. There should be at least 4 security on duty at nights.
the nurses should hold on untill they get what they want
i do support the striking nurses 100% they must hold out untill thier demands are met, security arrangements must be fixed and the attitude of the admin of the hospital should be repremanded.
cant any of the Nurses identify the person that commit the act? dont want to hold the wrong person while the culprit is roaming the streets and may do this sick act again!
I WISH TO CANCELL MY VERY EMOTIONAL COMMENT HOWEVER THERE SHOULD BE AMORE PUNITIVE LAW TO DEAL WITH RAPISTS AND SEXUAL PREDETORS
According to Kaieture news this guy was arrested at the home of a nurse’s aid . his alledge accomplice in on the run with a gun shot wound from another incident. The nurse’s aid is also arrested. The victims could not identify them in a line-up because they were masked.
anyway there should be a national registry for all convicted rapest and murderer and persons charged with robbery under arms,and they should be made to report to the police atleast once a month. given the cimesin guyana I don’t think this is too much to ask to keep the rest of citizensat ease.
When the other guy is caught (who also has a number of charges against him),and the nurse’s aid should all be locked up and the keys thrown away.