A burglar failed to escape with his loot after he was discovered by vigilant neighbours and was beaten mercilessly with several different implements on Saturday night, before being handed over to the police.
According to reports, residents of One Mile, Wismar caught the man leaving the house of an education official with two bags of loot. He is now a patient of the Mackenzie Hospital under police guard.
According to a police press release, around 11:30 pm on Saturday, public-spirited citizens arrested the man and handed him over to them after he was caught leaving the premises of a resident who was not at home at the time.
He was found in possession of two bags filled with foodstuff and other articles taken from the house, which he had apparently broken into through a window.
Stabroek News was informed that there were several activities in the mining town that night, including a teachers’ karaoke event and two wakes, so many persons were not at home.
Vigilant neighbours noticed the man walking around the house “as if he lived there”, this newspaper was told and one of them decided to go around to the backdoor.
There, it was found that the man had already placed two bags filled with items outside the back door.
When the residents confronted the man, he initially tried to pretend that he was the owner of the house.
This apparently angered the residents who had already armed themselves with pieces of wood and iron and they began to rain blows on the man, who then pleaded with them not to hit him on his feet since he had to use them.
The police were subsequently called and the man, who may have suffered broken bones, was handed over.
Residents in the area said the man was a stranger, but there are reports that he had been caught under similar circumstances in a house in another section of Linden – “the valley” – and was hospitalized after he received a sound beating. (Zoisa Fraser)