Two men fled Woodlands Hospital compound with over $1 million which they grabbed from a cashier at the Accounts Department yesterday morning.
A member of staff at the hospital told Stabroek News that one of the men jumped into a black Toyota Raum that was waiting on Carmichael Street and headed towards Lamaha Street.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud confirmed that the female cashier was robbed of $1.1 million by a man who was armed with a handgun, at 09:00 hrs.
The two men entered the hospital compound sometime around 8.30 am and pretended to be patients. The staff said they did not appear suspicious at first. However, the bandits later ran up to the Accounts Department and accosted the cashier. Since yesterday was a holiday. the downstairs cashier was not open prompting suspicion by staff and hospital officials that the robbery may have been planned.
A member of staff who was by the canteen when the robbery occurred, said he heard the commotion and saw two men run out of the compound; they ran in opposite directions. He said the men appeared to be armed.
The staff member, who asked not to be named, said the police were called, but didn’t arrive until much later. He said the officers were heavily armed and they questioned hospital administration and the cashier. He told reporters, “they must’ve scouted the area because it’s holiday and downstairs wasn’t open so they had to know where the money was being kept.”
He said, “both men walked in like normal and went to the Accounts Department; nothing looked out of ordinary. Then people start yelling and both the men run out and one go suh and the other went the opposite way.”
When Stabroek News spoke to residents of the area they reported hearing staff yelling that there was a robbery, but said they did not realise that the hospital itself was looted. Neighbours said the area is dangerous; thieves on small motorcycles and bicycles have been known to rob staff at night and in the early morning hours when doctors and nurses’ shifts change.
