Police are on the hunt for a man who set fire to the one-bedroom, two-flat house belonging to his former reputed wife at the Bath Experiment Scheme, West Coast Berbice around 11 pm on Wednesday.
Seeta Persaud, 39, and her two children Chandan Persaud, 14, and nine-year-old Omadai Balkarran have been left homeless and are seeking shelter at the home of her daughter, Raveena, 23, located in the same yard.
She told this newspaper that she and the children were asleep when they awoke to a crackling sound like the louvre window being opened and noticed fire in the bedroom.
They started to scream and were about to escape when the man threatened to “kill we if we only come out.”
Fearing that he would make good on his threat she and the children remained in the house screaming.
She also made calls to relatives who contacted the fire service at Onverwagt as well as the one at Blairmont Sugar Estate. When the heat became unbearable she and the children exited the house just before it was completely engulfed.
The fire tenders, she said arrived within a short time but could not do anything to save the building.
Recounting the events which led to the disaster, Persaud said five weeks ago she and the man had a misunderstanding and he physically abused her. He also took a hammer and knocked out three of her front teeth.
She reported the matter to the police and he was arrested and charged with the offence. He was also locked up for three days and then placed on $40,000 bail.
The man was asked to leave her house so she could be in peace. However, he started renting a house behind where she lives and continued to beg her to settle the matter but she refused.
They appeared at court on Wednesday — the day of the fire — and were given a date to return on December 17. She said she travelled in the same minibus with the man after court but he said nothing to her then.
He went straight to the shop and purchased a bottle of rum and “when it get dark he come in front the house and threaten fuh burn down the house and chop up me and the children and kill we.”
Around 8 pm she called the police and when they arrived the man ran away. However around 10:30 pm her son told her that the man was in the yard.
She was afraid but she finally managed to fall asleep only to awake to her house on fire shortly after. She told this newspaper that she became involved with the man about three years ago and he would constantly abuse her.
She would report the matter to the police but the two would end up back together. However after the last beating “me mek up me mind not to tek he back.”