Well-known dentist Dr Jennifer Bulkan was early Saturday evening assaulted and robbed by two “brazen” gun-toting bandits, minutes after she had entered her Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown home.
The terrifying 15-minute ordeal ended when a neighbour barged through the open door after observing the struggle between Bulkan and the bandits. The two gunmen escaped on foot with an undisclosed sum of money leaving their motorcycle behind.
Dr Bulkan, who is the sister of Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan and who has a practice and also works at the Cheddi Jagan Dental Clinic, said the ordeal has stolen her “peace of mind” even as she commented that the crime situation has gotten out of hand.
Speaking to Stabroek News, Dr Bulkan said that it was just around 6:45 pm on Saturday when she entered her yard and parked her vehicle in the garage. She was about to close the garage door when she was waylaid by a bandit who was armed with a gun.
“The one came first and he had a gun and held on to me and he was cursing and said all he want is the f…king money,” she recounted, adding that the robber was then joined by the second bandit and they told her that if she handed over the money and remain quiet, they would not kill her.
Dr Bulkan recalled that the bandits, whom she said appeared to be in their early twenties and who did not wear masks, demanded that she open her house and they barged in, still holding her captive.
They demanded that she tell them where the money was but Dr Bulkan said she could not have answered because of the suffocating grip with which one held her.
“One of them had their hands over my nose, my mouth. I was gasping for breath. I fell down, they said ‘get up, get up show we where the money is’,” she recounted.
The doctor said she was attempting to show them where some money was but it was very difficult. She eventually got near the filing cabinet and handed them an envelope with a sum of money inside. But the bandits were not satisfied as they kept demanding more money.
“One of them said ‘you got, we need it because we punishing here’ and they dragged me around the bedroom, opening every drawer…they opened every filing cabinet in the living room too, the place was in a total disarray, it was total mayhem…” the doctor said.
After the bandits found no more money, Dr Bulkan said one of them instructed that they throw her onto the bed and it was then she “really started to fight.”
“I got really scared and I said, ‘Please God, no’… I am a very strong personality. I refused to go and I don’t want to contemplate what would have happened but I know I would have preferred they kill me than go on to that bed.”
And it was as she valiantly fought off the bandits’ attempt to get her back into the bedroom that a neighbour rushed in through the open doorway, causing the robbers to flee on foot. The motorcycle they used was left behind and later handed over to the police.
Later, one of Dr Bulkan’s neighbours told her that he had observed the two bandits on the motorcycle parked in the street and attempted to keep an eye on them but got busy with chores. However, later he saw that her car was in the garage but the gate was opened and he immediately became alarmed. He walked past her home and observed the two bandits fighting with her and informed other neighbours. While he told them that the men had guns, some of the neighbours still went to her assistance and it was when one of them rushed in that the bandits fled.
Dr Bulkan was taken to the Brickdam Police Station and the officers responded promptly by visiting her home where they took a statement, dusted for fingerprints and took photographs of the crime scene.
The doctor expressed great concern about the prevailing crime situation.
“The crime situation is totally out of control. My peace of mind has gone, I have lived here [at her present address] since in 1966 and I have always felt safe because everybody knows us but in five seconds that went out the window. All of my peace of mind is gone. Thank God I have good neighbours, otherwise I don’t know what would have happened,” she said.
Dr Bulkan said her neighbours are of the opinion that the men were waiting on her to get home even though she noted that it was not as if she followed a normal routine.
“It is shocking because I never thought it would happen to me. I read about it everyday but I never thought that I would be the victim,” she said.
Meantime, Dr Bulkan said that she has every confidence that the police would solve the crime and let the bandits face the law as she is ready to face them in court.
“I am putting all my faith in the police since they have a motorbike as evidence that they will trace and find the owner on Tuesday. I know the police will come through and bring these criminals to justice. I am grateful that they came immediately, took a statement, took fingerprints and photographs,” she said.
