Acting Commander of ‘C’ Division Paul Williams has urged the owners of shops and supermarkets to take precautionary measures to prevent robberies, following a recent spate of attacks on businesses around closing hours.
“What we have established is that there is a trend these criminals are following; most of them are attacking around the closing hours of businesses, which is worrying,” Williams told Stabroek News.
Williams said police have determined that the criminals usually first monitor their targets and then go in pretending to be patrons.
As a result, he suggested that staff should always be on the lookout during closing hours. “Not everyone should be inside packing up and locking up; some of the staff should be on the look-out by the gate or doors to notice suspicious activity around and in the store,” he explained.
He also highlighted the fact that while most business owners are licensed firearm holders, many are often not present to protect their staff or their businesses from being robbed. He said the workers are often the ones who are being hurt in the absence of the owners who are licensed to carry weapons to protect their premises. As a result, Williams said that licensed firearm holders should be at their businesses during closing hours to aid in the protection of staff and their businesses.
However, he stressed that while those persons are licensed to have guns, they should only use them when they can justify the use of force and if the force they are confronted by warrants them resorting to the use of their guns.
Williams also stressed that owners should not use excessive force on those who pose a threat and urged that they always call the nearest police station.
The acting Commander also said shops with liquor licences, which permit them to sell up to midnight, are now operating beyond their closing hours and are putting themselves and even patrons at risk. “When you go beyond the closing hour, what you see is that when they rob the shops, they can get in and out a place easier and quicker since there is less traffic on the road that hour of the night,” he noted.
Williams cited a popular bar at Ogle, on the East Coast, which was robbed in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday. According to him, just a few patrons were in the shop at the time of the robbery and the criminals made good their escape. The acting commander noted that the little advice can go a long way and can help prevent robberies and break-ins.
A Chinese restaurateur was robbed on Monday night of a quantity of cash by gun-toting bandits as she was closing her business at Mahaica.
The woman, Yan Mani, 40, of Mahaica Market Road, told police that hours before closing she saw two persons sitting on a market stall but did not consider it a security threat.
On Wednesday, armed bandits stole almost a million dollars in cash and valuables in an attack on the Fresh Mart Supermarket, at Covent Garden Public Road, East Bank Demerara. Following the robbery, the owner said workers were closing the supermarket when the attack occurred. He said the men entered and forced everyone to lie on the ground. The victims were also told not to raise any alarm as the gunmen threated to open fire.
Just over a week prior, an East Bank Demerara restaurateur and his family were robbed by five bandits, posing as customers.
The attack occurred on August 22nd around 9pm at the Craig Public Road residence that also houses the Hing Fat Chinese Restaurant and Off Licence Liquor store, which is operated by Zhuocheng Dai. He is also involved in a fish glue operation.
A relative said that the restaurant is usually closed around 8.30pm every day but on the night of the robbery it remained open because two of the bandits, posing as customers, had entered the restaurant and ordered beers. They later ordered a case of beers after which they were seen making a call.
Shortly afterward, they were joined by three other men. The five men waited for the other customers to clear out of the restaurant and then attacked Dai, who was behind the counter and tied him up.
They then held his wife at gunpoint and forced her to the upper flat of their house, where they demanded that she “hand over the US money.”
