Attorney and politician Goumattie Singh was yesterday robbed of over $1M in foreign currency outside her home, shortly after returning to the country from Trinidad, where she underwent reconstructive surgery.
Singh, 56, who was doused in the face with acid by an unknown attacker more than three years ago, was not physically harmed in the 3am robbery, but she and her husband, who was with her at the time, were traumatized afterward. They believed that the perpetrators had knowledge of when they would arrive home and laid in wait for them. Only a few persons knew when they would have been arriving in the country, they said.
Police said in a press statement yesterday that around 3am, Singh and Krishna Persaud, 58, of Prashad Nagar, Georgetown, along with taxi-driver Seenauth Ramroop, 36, were attacked and robbed by two men, one of whom was armed with a handgun. They had arrived at Prashad Nagar from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and as they exited the vehicle they were held at gunpoint by the two men. The robbers took away a suitcase with clothing and other articles, a quantity of jewellery, three cell phones, US$5,000, CDN$200, TT$125—equivalent to just over $1M—and personal documents and escaped in a waiting motor car, according to police.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud yesterday afternoon said that no arrests had been made.
When Stabroek News visited the couple, they were both visibly shaken by the incident and expressed the view that nothing much would come of the investigation.
Recounting what had transpired, Persaud said he and his wife travelled to Trinidad earlier this month for her to undergo surgery at the Southern Medical Centre and returned to Guyana on a midnight flight. He noted that a family friend, whom they trusted greatly, picked them up from the airport and transported them home.
According to Persaud, they arrived home around 3:05 am and he immediately contacted his daughter, who was in the house. He recalled that she threw down a bunch of keys from an upstairs veranda to him so that he could open the gate. He said that in the midst of him trying to find the gate key, he noticed two men walking on the road like “ordinary pedestrians heading in the direction of Sheriff Street.” As they reached just past the entrance of his home, he recalled, “they make a swing back.”
One he said went to him and held up Singh, who had just exited the car to help him find the correct key. Pointing a gun at him, Persaud said that the bandit instructed him not to move.
A bag containing just over $1 million in cash, $500, 000 in jewellery, Singh’s medication and their passports containing US visas was snatched. The bag was on the back seat of the car.
In addition to that, a suitcase that was near him “was collected” by the bandit. It contained their clothing, shoes and other personal items.
Asked about the whereabouts of the taxi driver during the ordeal, Persaud related that after he was finding it difficult to find the gate key, the man came to his assistance and so when the bandits struck, he was standing next to him in front of the gate. The men grabbed the taxi driver’s cellular phone.
Persaud said that the episode did not last for more than three minutes and by the time they could react, the men were walking in the direction they came from. Seconds later, a car reversed from a nearby street and the men jumped in.
Stabroek News was told that the taxi driver that had transported Singh chased after the men but lost them somewhere in the South Sophia area.
A report was later made to the police.
According to Persaud the police hotline 911 was useless. “We tried dialling 911… nobody answered. I think they should dismantle 911 because I don’t think it is in operation,” he said.
While explaining the layout of the area, Persaud said that it was well lit. He said that there is a street light and the lights on their gate were on. The couple said that it was the first time they had been robbed.
Persaud said that the theft of the passports is a major set back as it was issued to allow Singh to travel abroad for medical attention.
Singh explained that she was booked for the Thursday midday Caribbean Airlines flight but could not make it because stitches were being removed from her face. That flight had to be rescheduled and they secured the midnight flight. “I don’t know where those boys came from but they had to have known that we were going to be here because a car was parked her waiting,” she noted.
Persaud interjected and said that besides a relative, only the driver, who he described as trustworthy, knew when they were arriving in the country.
An emotional Singh said that the incident was very traumatic. “All through the day, I try to make it but it’s like I have fallen to pieces once more. I though I really had the strength for a second experience,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Obviously with someone putting a gun to your neck at that hour and saying don’t move or I will kill you, will make you surrender to God,” she said. “I told the man, ‘please don’t harm us, you can take everything,’” she recalled.
She said that the money stolen was part of US$30,000 she managed to accumulate so far for surgery to her eye. The surgery is to be done in Miami. She recalled how she guarded that money closely as she travelled to Guyana. “It (the money) meant a lot to us because I was trying to raise that $30, 000,” she added. She said that she is at a loss as to what she will do next.
