A burglar yesterday died hours after he was stripped naked, tied up and severely beaten in Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, resulting in the arrest of five men who irate relatives said are innocent.
Kurt Mayers, 30, of Better Hope South, sustained injuries to his head and multiple fractures to his body during the early morning incident.
According to police, around 3:35am, Mahendra Persaud, 32, of Good Hope reported that he had caught a man who was found stealing from his house. In a statement, police said ranks responded and upon arrival at the Lot 360 Good Hope address, they found Mayers in “a naked condition on the ground with his hands and feet tied and marks of violence about his body.” A bag contained a quantity of jewellery, a cell phone and a torch light, which Persaud said was found in Mayers’ possession, was handed over to them.
Stabroek News was told that the injured Mayers, who was slipping in and out of consciousness, was taken to the Georgetown Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit under guard. The injured man managed to tell investigators and hospital officials his name, age and address, before he died. Attempts to reach his relatives yesterday were unsuccessful.
Following police investigations, Persaud, his brother, Muneshwar, two cousins and a neighbour, Stephen Singh, were arrested. Although police said four men had been arrested, relatives of the men said five were in custody at the Vigilance Police Station. They stressed that many persons flocked the yard after an alarm was raised and it was difficult to say who was hitting Mayers. During the incident, Persaud, his brother and the neighbour were injured and were taken to the Enmore Health Centre for medical attention.
From all accounts, Mayers used two buckets in the yard as a makeshift ladder to reach the kitchen window, located at the back of the one-storey, three bedroom house. He is believed to have gained entry by removing louvre panes. Inside, gold jewellery was removed from the living room. Mayers is suspected to have then entered Muneshwar’s bedroom and attempted to remove a laptop computer. However, the man woke and raised an alarm.
Malini Inderaj, called ‘Pinky,’ who was asleep in the next room with her husband Mahendra, recalled hearing shouting. She said that after realizing that an intruder was in the house, she ran out of the room. At that point, she saw her husband and brother-in-law scuffling with Mayers in the living room. Mayers somehow managed to escape by opening the front door but he ran at the side of the house into the backyard, where he was cornered. Inderaj said in no time, “de yard full up with people,” including two cousins who lived next door. According to her, “he (Mayers) din getting licks.” She said residents placed numerous calls to the police but two ranks turned up more than an hour after the break-in.
When asked to explain how the man was tied up, she said that she did not know, since there were so many people in the yard. She said he was probably stripped naked due to constant tugging at his clothing. She added that she was told that the man’s skin was “oily,” so during the initial scuffle, her husband and brother-in-law held on to his clothing.
‘The victims’
Upset relatives described the police’s action as unfair. While they accepted that a man had been killed, Premdat Deocharran, Persaud’s father, said “This is unreasonable. Ah don’t know why dem hold them… It seems like den criminals got mo rights in this place man. They were the victims.”
Deocharran, who lives at Goed Fortuin with his wife, said when he arrived at the Vigilance Police Station after the men were arrested, he found his sons and their cousins sitting on the bench. The upset man added that the men had visible signs of injury and one of his sons was bleeding from a head wound which later required stitches. Relatives said that sometime after 1 pm, the men were taken for medical attention at the Enmore Health Centre.
According to Deocharran, he asked the police for an opportunity to speak to his children but he was met with a harsh response and instructed to leave the area.
Meanwhile, Inderaj said that she went to the station to enquire about her relatives and she too was reportedly treated unprofessionally. She explained that a rank asked her who had beaten Mayers and when she replied that there were a lot of people in the yard, she was accused of being one of those responsible. The woman along with other relatives lamented that the men were being treated as criminals. “These are reputable people. They were never involved in police matter besides them minor traffic offence… They are law abiding citizens,” an angry woman said.
Stabroek News was told that Mayers broke into two other homes in the area yesterday morning. An umbrella stolen from one of the houses was found at Persaud’s yard, following the beating.
John De Costa, a member of the Good Hope Policing Group, said that his house was burgled and $600, a ring and an umbrella had been stolen. He said when his wife woke, she discovered that someone had entered the house through a window and removed the items.
De Costa later went to the Vigilance Police Station to make a report and while there he was informed that a thief had been beaten. He said that at Persaud’s residence, he was told that an umbrella was found. It was positively identified as the one stolen from his home.
Residents reported that there is a lot of petty burglary in the area and not much is being done by the police. Davika Persaud said that her family moved into the area about 12 years ago and there was always petty thieving. She explained that things would be stolen from the yard but the house was never burgled. She said that about two weeks ago, another house nearby was broken into.
Residents threatened a protest if the men are not released.
