A restaurateur on the East Bank Berbice was brutally robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash, phone cards and other valuables.
Tai Hong Fen, 49, of Four Sea Chinese Restaurant at Edinburgh was closing his business around 10 pm on Sunday when five armed men rushed in.
Tai told the media yesterday that initially he saw two men armed with cutlasses rushing into his premises. Realising they were there to rob him, he tried to run to safety but three other men caught him before he could have secured himself in his premises. He added that the men at that point started to demand cash and other valuables.
Fearful for his life, he told the men where the money was and they then took a hammer and broke open the drawer which had cash and phone cards.
The men then went upstairs where his family was asleep and also assaulted them while asking for more money. They ransacked the house and found a second drawer with money, which they also collected. Not satisfied, they brutally bashed Tai in the face. However, he pleaded with them to spare his life as he told them that was all the money he had.
Prior to the incident, the businessman explained, a man had gone into his restaurant to purchase $100 worth of cigarettes but he did not sell the man as he was about to close his business for the night. He explained the man left the shop and was standing on the road for some time.
The restaurant owner also related to the media that after his last customers who had just left realized that he was being robbed they went for help, but by the time they returned, the bandits had fled.
Tai recalled that recalled that in 2002, his business was robbed by a group of gunmen who had attacked, the PPP Congress that was being held at the J C Chandisingh Secondary school.
Police are investigating.
