The paternal grandparents of the 17-year-old student of a private school who attempted suicide by ingesting a poisonous substance after they allegedly abused her were arrested by the police yesterday.
Stabroek News learnt that the grandparents of Johanna, Black Bush Polder have been granted station bail but the matter is still being investigated by the police and the Child Care & Protection Agency.
The girl was discharged from hospital yesterday and was placed in the custody of a maternal uncle, along with a smaller sister.
The matter has attracted the attention of the Caribbean American Domestic Violence Awareness (CADVA), headed by US-based Guyanese, Sukree Budram. The girl was able to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination from the hospital and completed the last one yesterday.
Teachers of the school told this newspaper that the girl is brilliant and it is expected that she would be among the top students.
Reports are that the girl ingested the poison after her grandparents took drastic steps to reprimand her following complaints that she was misbehaving. They had reportedly tied her hands and beat her as they forcefully took her home.
She had refused to go with them because she was afraid that they would physically abuse her when she got home.
There are reports that the girl had tried to tell her teachers that she was being abused but they never took her seriously.
The attempt to end her life, this newspaper understands, was her way of crying out for help.
When this newspaper had contacted the grandmother she denied that they had abused the girl. Admitting that they tied the girl’s hands, she said it was done to prevent her from opening the car door to escape.
She said the girl tried to resist while they were tying her hands and that her grandfather “give she two slaps.”
