Days after he was beaten by a gang just outside the compound of an East Demerara high school a student remains in an unconscious state at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).
Leon Benjamin, 16, was rushed to the medical institution on Thursday afternoon after he was beaten to the head and about the body and ducked under water by several classmates and their friends.
A source from the school told this newspaper that shortly after dismissal of classes at 2.30 pm that day a gang of boys from the school and their friends from neighbouring communities attacked Benjamin who is a fifth year student.
“I am not sure whether Leon had a disagreement with any of the boys in this group but they stood there waiting for him just outside the school with pieces of wood and when he walked out they started to beat him,” the source related.
Benjamin, according to the source, was surrounded by the armed boys and battered about the body and then pushed into a nearby trench. “After they push him in this nearby trench one of them jump in the water and started to push his head under and hold him there for periods of time,” the source explained.
As the gang beat Benjamin, the source related, several teachers including the Deputy Head Mistress (DHM) looked on but refused to intervene. “The DHM said to leave the boys to do what they had to do,” the source reported.
After the boy finished dunking Benjamin in the trench, the source further said, the injured teen was left in the water and struggled to keep his head above to breathe. A few minutes later a brave student, the source related, jumped into the trench and hauled the injured boy out.
He was subsequently rushed to the GPHC and has since been admitted to the High Dependency Unit (HDU). Benjamin, according to the source, suffered a severe injury to the head and remained in an unconscious state up to last evening.
When Stabroek News visited the GPHC yesterday Benjamin remained a patient in the HDU. Meanwhile, the source also reported that on the same day there was a second attack on a female student at the same school. A third former was beaten just in front the school and then “her hair was used to wipe the road”. The child sustained abrasions about the body but was not seriously injured, the source said. The attack on the girl was carried out by another group of students.
Hours before the two incidents occurred, the source further said, the Chief Welfare Officer from the ministry had been present at the school sensitizing teachers about various issues.
“It is very ironic then that a senior teacher and other teachers would stand along with students and watch as their peers attack a helpless boy and girl,” the source said.
Several efforts were made to contact both the Head Teacher and DHM of the school for a comment but neither could be reached.
