A taxi driver succumbed in hospital yesterday, five days after he was allegedly assaulted by a prison officer, who is now in police custody in connection with the man’s death.
Dead is Anthony Narine, 28, of Latchman Singh Road, Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara.
A police statement said he was involved in an altercation with a man from Soesdyke last Thurs-day and suffered injuries for which he was hospitalised.
The statement added that the suspect is in police custody.
According to the dead man’s wife Amrita Narine, she got a call at 9pm Thursday last and was informed that her husband was involved in a fight with another man at the Soesdyke/Linden Highway junction, where he operated his taxi cab. She said when she went to the junction, she met a conscious Anthony, who explained that he was with other drivers when insults were hurled at the prison officer “watchmaning” his wife. The prison officer had entered a nearby gas station to meet with the wife.
“Other drivers tell me that the prison officer was wrong,” Amrita said. She explained that she received accounts that suggested that Anthony was singled out by the enraged officer, who pulled out a military badge and identified himself as a policeman and attempted to arrest Anthony.
However, she said that he walked away from his assailant after persons alerted him to the man’s true occupation. It is reported that the prison officer then punched Anthony to the neck and hit him on the head several times.
Despite the attack, Amrita said her husband told her that he was fine and they went home. However, she said that at 1am on Friday, he woke her and complained of a severe headache. “Then 6am he start vomiting and I rush he to the hospital,” Amrita further mentioned, while noting that her husband lost consciousness.
Anthony, who remained unconscious during his admission at the Woodlands Hospital, succumbed to his injuries yesterday afternoon at approximately 3:20pm. Amrita said her husband’s head was swollen on the right side and a blood vessel in his neck was blocked. He was scheduled to have a C-scan done today.
The grieving widow said although a statement could not be taken from her husband, the police have since received two statements from eyewitnesses.
Anthony, who was the sole breadwinner of his family, is survived by his wife and their two children, who are six-years-old, and 11-months-old.
