A Guyanese medical student was up to press time last evening in a Havana, Cuba jail after he reportedly stabbed a man to death and seriously injured a woman during what has been described as a bitter fall out.
Details about how exactly Shurlon Austin, originally of Hamilton Road, Pattensen, South Sophia ended up in this situation on Friday are sketchy.
Public Service Minister Dr Jennifer Westford, when contacted, said she was still awaiting an official report from Cuba. She said the information released thus far was that the student was in police custody assisting with investigations into a homicide.
The minister, when asked about legal representation, said that based on the information received a decision would be made on the way forward.
Based on the information gathered by Stabroek News, Austin left Guyana in 2006 at the age of 24 and was due to return home in July to complete his final year here after which he would graduate.
When this newspaper visited his home last evening a woman who identified herself as his mother declined to speak with this newspaper saying that she was not in Cuba and that the truth will be twisted.
Meanwhile, a source indicated that he received news of the incident around 11.20 pm on Friday. He said that based on that information, Austin had killed a man and slit a woman’s throat. The man who did not want his name mentioned for fear of victimization said that according to what he was told the incident was sparked by “bad business”.
He said that he was shocked when he heard of the incident since this was the first of its kind since Guyanese started studying in Cuba. He noted that the most serious incident he could recall was when a student had hit and killed a man while riding a motorcycle.
Stabroek News was told that that student, who was allowed to complete the Cuba leg of his studies before serving his sentence, only returned home last week.
The source expressed the view that there seemed to be a lot more to this latest incident as a few details do not add up.
Meanwhile, a parent who has a child studying in Cuba told Stabroek News that students often succumb to the pressure of poor conditions and being away from relatives for so many years.
It was explained that the Guyana government only provides airfare to travel to Cuba when the scholarship starts and to return to Guyana when it has ended. If the student wants to return home in between the scholarship period, she explained, parents have to foot the airfare expenses.
The parent stressed that if students do not have support from parents it affects them mentally.
She also said that scholarship students face many problems including poor living conditions. She said that many students have moved out of the living quarters provided to escape conditions such as poor quality food and would rent apartments at the expense of their relatives.
While a stipend is provided by both governments, the parent said it is not enough to upkeep students.
