Police indicated yesterday that the 16-year-old student of New Amsterdam Multilateral School was fatally beaten at Number 63 Beach on Sunday after he had picked watermelon from a farm located close to the beach.

Vivian Singh

Vivian Singh Balrup of Reliance, East Canje was in the company of a female friend, Susan Hernandez, 15, with whom he reportedly shared the fruit. They were both later attacked by an irate farmer.

He sustained several hits to the back of his head which left a gaping wound that bled profusely while Susan sustained gashes on her forehead and other areas.

They were rushed to the emergency unit of New Amsterdam Hospital and Hernandez was treated and sent away but Balrup succumbed while arrangements were being made to transfer him to the Georgetown Hospital.

The boy’s cousin had told this newspaper that he felt he was attacked after he was apparently mistaken for someone else, while a police source had said that “there was a fight.”

In a press release, the police said investigations revealed that Balrup and Hernandez of New Amsterdam were with friends at the beach and Balrup had reportedly entered a yard and picked the fruit.

Later, while Balrup and Hernandez were walking along the beach they were attacked by a man armed with a length of bamboo who dealt lashes to both students, after which he escaped, according to the release. The suspect has not yet been arrested.

Balrup’s mother, Nadira Singh Balrup had told Stabroek News that her son left home around 10 am with three of his friends and a cousin to go to the beach. Around 2.30 pm she received a call that he was hit on his head and was on his way to the hospital.

Balrup, who was preparing to write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations next year, would have celebrated his 17th birthday on November 17.