Retired head teacher, Debra Mootoo who was set ablaze by her husband after she refused to provide him with $500 to purchase alcohol last Monday is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery today.
Her daughter, Marissa Persaud said that doctors have informed her that they will be begin the debridement process (removal of burnt tissue) and skin grafting surgery today.
Persaud said that her mother remains in “a lot of pain.”
She noted that the woman has to be fed through tubes and only consumes a small amount of food.
The accused, Prakash Ramdeo, was arrested and on Friday charged with setting his common-law wife’s house at Block 8 Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara on fire. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was on Friday sentenced to four years imprisonment.
He appeared at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul, who handed down the sentence.
Persaud had previously related to this newspaper that based on what her mother told her, Ramdeo tied her up with a mosquito net before dousing her with kerosene and setting her alight after she refused to provide him with $500.
The fire quickly spread and engulfed the one-bedroom wooden house, which the couple had been sharing for the past eight years. Mootoo sustained second and third degree burns from her shoulders down.
She had noted that Mootoo was rescued by alert residents and rushed to the hospital by a community pastor.
Police investigators only obtained a statement from Mootoo on Thursday and Ramdeo is likely to face additional charges.
