Women charged with assaulting mother, 70

A woman was yesterday charged with inflicting a sound thrashing on her 70-year-old mother with a piece of wood and fracturing her hand.

Dhandai Sahadeo, 47, called ‘Black Jamoon,’ appeared at the Fort Wellington Court yesterday charged with assault. It was alleged that on May 11, at Bath New Housing Scheme, West Berbice, she assaulted Jagmattie Sahadeo so as to cause her actual bodily harm. The woman pleaded not guilty to the offence and Magistrate Nigel Hawke ordered her to sign a recognisance and to return to court on June 3 when the case comes up again.

Reports are that Jagmattie, sporting a bandaged  right hand, had to be treated at the Fort Wellington Hospital. She is also said to be suffering from severe pain about her body and was “spitting blood.”

According to the facts of the case, around 12:45 pm Jagmattie was in her house watching television when she heard her someone “cursing” on the road. She went to investigate and when she saw her daughter she asked her why she was behaving like that. The woman allegedly ripped off a piece of wood from the bridge and ran into the yard. She also picked up a cutlass that was on the stairs and Jagmattie grabbed on to the weapon. As the struggle for the cutlass continued, Dhandai reportedly dealt her mother several lashes about her body with the piece of wood. She also allegedly kicked her in the stomach.

Jagmattie finally managed to wrest the cutlass away her daughter and threw it into the yard. According to reports, her daughter only stopped beating her after neighbours ran to her rescue.

The woman had told this newspaper that her three sons tried to get her to “settle” the matter and dropped the charges against their sister. But because she refused they too have turned against her and ridiculed her. Sources said the woman is willing to give evidence against her daughter because this was not the first time she was beating her. At one time, she said Dhandai cause her to be hospitalised.