By Shabna Ullah
A policeman suffered gunshot injuries to his face while responding to a robbery at Hampshire, Corentyne around 7.30 pm on Wednesday and is currently a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
Ramsammy Moonsammy
Constable 20387 Sadram Singh, 20, a member of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) based at the Albion Police Station and four other policemen responded to the call. As he was about to exit the vehicle at the scene, Singh told this newspaper, he was hit by a shotgun blast which saw four pellets enter the left side of his face and lodge in his upper and lower jaw, forehead and temple.
He was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was treated and subsequently transferred to the GPH. His condition is listed as stable.
Singh and the other members of the TSU were on an anti-crime patrol when they received a call about a robbery at the Hampshire Village home of Ramsammy Moonsammy.
According to reports, five masked bandits were making their way out of Moonsammy’s premises when the police patrol arrived.
The bandits immediately opened fire, hitting Singh, and as the policemen took cover, they turned back and escaped through the backyard.
According to reports, two officers took Singh to the hospital, while the others remained and conducted investigations.
A press release from the police said “two male suspects have been arrested and a motor car suspected to have been used by the armed men was detained by the police.” Their accomplices are also being sought. Four empty cartridges were recovered at the scene by the police.
This newspaper learnt that the masked gunmen stormed Moonsammy’s home and carted off over $4 million including $600,000; US$8,000, a quantity of gold jewellery, a digital camera and three cellular phones.
Moonsammy, 53, a US-based Guyanese from New Jersey had come home along with his wife, Nadira, daughters, Nadina and Laleena and son-in-law Lincoln Maharaj to perform a religious function.
Moonsammy told this newspaper yesterday that he and his family were sitting under the house just before 8 pm when the bandits barged into the yard. They ordered him to get down on the ground and gun-butted him in his face.
They also ordered him to remove the gold jewellery he was wearing at the time, worth some $1 million. One of the bandits guarded him while the others took his wife and one of his daughters upstairs and demanded that they hand over money and more jewellery.
They gun-butted his wife and kicked her. The woman who was in severe pain when this newspaper visited the home yesterday had to seek medical attention. She was too traumatized to speak.
Moonsammy said the gunmen threatened to assault his daughter forcing her to retrieve US$8,000 from a bag. They then kicked open the three bedroom doors which the family had locked earlier and ransacked the rooms, upturning mattresses in the process.
Moonsammy said his family had ordered a quantity of jewellery and the jeweller had delivered the items on Wednesday, the day of the robbery.
Meanwhile, Constable Singh, originally from 72 Maria’s Lodge, Essequibo told this newspaper that after he was hit in the face, he dropped to the ground and sought cover in the drain, while more shots were fired at his colleagues who were also forced to take cover. He said after the bandits escaped, he was rushed to the hospital.
Singh said yesterday that he was waiting to be examined by another doctor after which the next course of action would be decided. Singh said the pellet that was of the most concern to him was the one in his upper jaw since it was almost on the bone.
The left side of his face was swollen and Singh said that he was in a lot of pain.
Singh has been in the police force for nearly two years.
(Additional reporting by Tiffny Rhodius)
Is this why some of you guys are afraid to come back to Guyana???….well blame the government!!!
Absolutely, SHF. How can you enjoy your vacation if you have to keep looking over your shoulders constantly? No time to relax, always have to have your guard up and trust no one. Cannot blame the government – just do NOT go!!!! It is cheaper to go elsewhere in the world – less baggage, less money, less fear = total relaxation!!!
Blame the government my foot. If you are saying that the government is to be blamed tell me why.
blame the govt, that is why you are where you are, on the key board.
Sandy: I won’t blame the government. What? No, man. Blame the people who voted for them and will vote for them again!
Blame the government for WHAT??????
Its people/comment like that made Guyana backward
It’s time I pay a visit to the Mother country. Africa. Sandy tell aunt Gertrude uncle Bob, I said Hi.
Hell yeah! blame the govt. 17years ago they never had somany drugs!homeless kids! guns! corrupt officials … big drugs dealers linked to govt ,,,,,the pnc jail TAPS a well-known drug dealer of their time,,who did jagdeo jail?NOBODY.
crime and drugs comes hand-in-hand.
The government has nothing to do with this Sandman, give jack he jacket. This was a setup. Imagine the same day the jewelry was delivered the people get rob. I am getting tired of this type of robbery. It always have someone who knows what de people have, believe me. SandHurst if anybody we have to blame ah dem robbamanblkman dem. Ok now i’m drinking the cool-aid.
IT ALL HAPPEN ON THEIR CLOCK!ANY GOVT THAT BLAMES ANOTHER AFTER 17YRS NEEDS TO BE REMOVE ,,
Sand man. High time I visit the Mother Country. Africa. Tell aunt Gertrude and uncle Gussie I said Hi.
HEY I AM A WELDER(MOBILE) THANKS TO BURNHAM!RAIN IN TORONTO JOB SUITE FLOOD-OUT,THATS WHY I AM HERE! USA HAVE NO JOBS THATS WHY YOU ARE THERE!!!!LOL YOU CAN FIND OUT HOW MUCH A MOBILE WELDER MAKES $$,MORE THAN YOU!LOL,,,,,,,
Good Morning everyone, did any of you listened to Mark Menschop radio program last night. Well the President ask for us to show him corruption and the evidence, well Mark did just that last night when told us what’s happening at the National Frequency Management Unit. Corruption and discrimination at that place to the Highest. One set of people get huge salaries and another set get chicken feed. LOLOLOL this country. Go Uncle Bharat Go.
SN post my blog.
We have to blame the government because it is them who are in control of the police and army who haven’t perform above their call of duty and are constantly taking bribes from all angles. This government lacks the vision to promote safety to all if not most of it’s citizens through transparent governance and leadership that is above par. It’s no joke that we cannot stop anyone from committing a crime but we can reduce the number of crimes that are taking place through communication, education, co-operation and jobs…
If the government continues to separate us economically,racially and or socially…who must we blame when the country becomes divided???
I decided ahead of time not to sleep day or night for two weeks when I go to Guyana.
No, no,no,no SF you got it wrong. Blame PNC for what happened on their watch then blame them again for what’s happening now. You can’t blame PPP for anything. They are not responsible.
Pepe. The President has lost his sense of shame. If he had any, he would have rebuked his representative in Barbados, Reddy, for blogging so much trash. Every time I read Reddy’s blog, all I can say is, GUYANA HAS REALY GONE TO THE DOGS.
I agree with you SF, the government lacks it’s responsibilities to protect the law abiding citizens. I love my country. I prefer to spend my vacations there, but who do i turn to for protection??? even the police are corrupt….a little bit of bride and case close.
SANDHURST, yea, blame all the gov’t of all the countries that have a hig crime rate… 40 years ago when teh PNC was in power do u think the PNC would have done an EXCELLENT job than what the PPP currently doing? NO! None gov’t is a great gov’t .. they all do need help in perforning a job. no one is perfect.. this is a case of where these policemen shoudl have been prepared & trained better to deal with situations like these.. something like a SWAT team training.. its all about training to deal with dangerous situations like these..
Why blame the Government? Blame the People who go back home and harness up with them $1M jewellery and show off.
I lived in Canada 20 years and lived in a $1M house in Canada now. My husband has his own company and when I go back to Guyana ( 2 times per year) I wear my Royal Jewel House wedding band he bought 25 years ago. My flip flop, short and T-shirt. I don;t have to go impress anyone how sucessful I am in Canada.
And I sure do have a wonderful time.
Hell Man,
Vote for the AFC and bring back your PNC. They will solve this problem. Remember how safe things were prior to 1992?
Blameeeeeeeeeeee the government !! never knew they robbed people in that fashion on the corentyne.
Time to promote Rohee hawww…
They should promote the chap who torture the teen on the west coast to corentyne…immediately.
What you say soldier?
ME FRIKEN FUH GO HOME YUH HEAR!
Well, we can’t blame the PNC or PPP, so who to blame for all this corruption and lawleness?
No one wants to take the blame, so the problem will never get solved. Stop pointing fingers and just clean the act up and protect our law abiding citizens….when are we going to stop living behind grill bars? and fear to live a normal life?
When I visit GT I do not even put the correct address on my luggage. I don’t even tell friends where I am staying, i do not stay one place for more than 2 to 3 nights. Tell me why should we have to live in such fear?? why?
why u guys in guyana always blame the government u guys behave like bharrat jagdeo is god or something like he can do everything .u have to blame the bandits them is they who got guyana like that & burnham them ppp is just cleaning up their mess……
Central Ole Boi
have no friken pnc an afc is there to protect you….
gwan home yea and eat some ah duh nice nice kookup yea..
de best taste ever in ah de world…me never friken fuh go ome ever..an me ah walk all ova gragetown every day…..
all yuh ave to do is blend in wid de boizs dem dere an yuh gun be alrite…nah pun on fancie yankee speech….nah ask fuh soda ar pop…ask fuh sweet drinks…..nah ask how much de price fuh dem wata nuts….call am coconuts….
nah feel bad bout cussin like asking fuh CUR-BT…aks fuh Curbatty fish…ehehehehehehehehe nah wear fancie jewelrie…won ole time-x watch gun duh….do like me wen i go ome…meck de bandits feel sarry fuh yuh and let dem think dem could help yuh..dem nah gun rab yuh ehehehehehehehehe
oopsss me mean fuh seh ask fuh Curass fish ehehehehehehhe
SHF your comments have become “long in the tooth”
Oh Hell No Squaddy! Listen to Bone Crusher’s song again,
I THINK THEY HAVE THE WRONG PEOPLE IN CUSTODY, YOU SHOULD TAKE ON AN INVESTIGATIVE APPROACH TO YOUR REPORTING AND HAVE THE REAL BAD GUYS IN JAIL.
Why people feel they have the right to go to people house and rob them.
These people don’t want to work they want easy money.
The bandits have NO right to enter someone’s home with sole purpose to rob and steal. Having said that, the family bears some responsibility – by now everyone should be aware NOT to have those large sums of money at home. When you come from the US DO NOT trust ANYONE – not even your family!!! This clearly has the markings of an inside job. The good is that no one was critically injured. And the lawlessness continues.
what nonsense is that, they bear some responsablty.
what nonsense is that, bear some responsibility.
they have the right to have what ever amount they want.
THE DO THE CRIME TO SUPPORT THEIR DRUG HABBIT THANKS TO A CULTURE OF DRUGS IN GUYANA,,
People have the right to keep whatever they want in their house in any amount. They also have the right to expect adequate protection from crime. Then with the revelation by MXQBH yesterday that he feels safe, maybe this is how the majority of Guyanese still feel. That is why they lug around so much money with them and keep so much in the house. From reading this newspaper I could see that there is a lot of crime, but I am not sure that the Guyanese people realize there is a lot of crime happening in Guyana.
freespeech
they have a right to wear what they want but they have to bear the consequences. i go to guyana every year and i fit in with the peple. what was he doing with 1M in jewellery for all to see? i see it that as an invitation to come on over. its guyana we talking about – when you are on rome do as the romans. i work the night shift here and you bet i go to the gas stations at 3 am wearing enough to attract attention, but do you think i take to guyana – HELL NO
Nene so if you can’t trust anyone, why the hell go there for?
My God 28 yrs of PNC mess . Now we have 17 yrs of PPP mess.No stop it and grow up. Guyanese people wake up, poor leaders and equally foolish followers.You got no job you got to choke and rob , cheat and lie.
wow this is a set up……thank god no life was lost.as for the police man hope he get well soon…i hope the civil rights and opposition will protest and ask for ouside help for the police man who got hurt in the course of duty… by bandits …well why these people got soo much cash in the house and knows what is going on in the coutry. they shuold have stach away the money dig a hole in the yard and bury it or hide in the celing or roof top..and keep a small amount on hand and take out as need…and same with jewellery….
True Guyanese they wouldda still get rob. Your post doesnt make sense at all. The Cash stolen total 2.2 million Guyana dollars so we can safely say they got rob in Jeweley 1.5 Million because ccording to SN report the loot was $4 mil. Why and what are spending so much on jewelry for and in Guyana, Bharrat crime country? They were just simply fooolish to put themselves out there like that.
Take is easy Le pew,
Do not blame Bharrat for this. Maybe these people need to be caught and tortured.
Bandits on the Corentyne,bandits on the East Coast,bandits in Essequibo,bandits in Georgetown,bandits on the High seas,Bandits all over the place.Guns and cutlasses.Frightening.Child abuse,murder of men and women,torture.Is this the No.1 problem in Guyana,or Climate Change???
Bush T, To be on the safe side security wise,… “in Guyana u have to live like a prisoner in your own homes when u have a small peice,” i.e. grills and bars and alarms,…. health and safety would have a fits with how some homes grill up in guyana with no fire escape exits in place…. with all those grills thats in homes and on doors and windows.
There is a lot of excitement about the norway 50 mil a year MOU LCDS money, that money is just a couple of foot ballers anual wages.
Security is not top priority for the GY govt.
Yep, the news circulated about your arrival, Moonsammy. I am sorry,man, but the days of rolling into Guyana with lots of cash to perform religious functions and other things are over.
I must say congrat for the fast respone of the police and speedly recovery for mr.singh
I guess Meri on the ball already. lolololol
For such a small population squeezed on a narrow coastal plain the crime rate is high. Good thing I say my prayers every day.
Hey QXZ,
Don’t forget your vitamin pills
Oh it’s the praying that keeps you feeling safe. Now I get it.
MX -Prayer like milke does a body good.
“Tralalalalala…Me is so ha…..”
The govt has the responsibility for the safety of the citizens of Guyana . I therefore , agree with Sandhurst .
People have an even greater responsibility for their safety.
Guess why Reddy is happy. He’s not in Guyana! Ha!
reddy sorry that the crime did not take place in georgetown…thats his problem.
Guyanese can’t even come home no more without being terrorized by bandits, i hope and wish the young officer recover from his injuries, these bandits must be caught and face the full force of the law, this sound like a set up to me and probably an inside job.
GOOD JOB< well done .
now squeeze the names out of them who the others are.
CHANGE THE LAW, ANY CRIME COMMITTED WITH A FIRE ARM, are not bailable and when convicted no less than 20 years.
agree with that, 20 years with hard labor
You are correct in saying the laws have to be changed, but nothing is being done. Are they not doing so to protect someone?
After all these years, why no deterrent?
Wake up freespeech this is Guyana and it will never happen.
Will they even get to court freespeech? These men will end up tortured somewhere with a crowd behind them clamoring for justice for the tortured. That’s how dumb the police is, they will jepardize their own chances of brining any suspect to justice and cause public sentiment to turn against them. It’s like the US government waterboarding this terrorist mastermind over a hundred times then bringing him here for a civil trial. The whole case could get thrown out just for what they did.
Particular attention should be paid to finding out which one shot at the law officer. Once he is singled out, he should be given special attention if you know what I MEAN.
Bob Particular attention should be paid to the failures of the PPP and their colossal squandering of opportunities to solve the security crisis gripping the nation the past decade.