Investigators have recommended criminal charges against four of the suspects who were arrested and questioned in relation to the murder of Bath Settlement businessman, Mohamed Haniff, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum says.
Contacted for an update yesterday, Blanhum told Stabroek News that the case file in the matter was yesterday sent to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
Although Haniff’s widow, who was the first person to be arrested in connection with the matter was implicated by a suspect who confessed to the crime earlier this week, she was released on station bail. However, she is still assisting with the investigation and is required to report to the police regularly.
Haniff, also known as ‘Raymond’, 47, of Lot 56 Experiment, Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, was reportedly beaten with an iron bar and chopped multiple times in his head with a cutlass last Friday evening.
He was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital after which he was transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he died around 1.30 the following morning.
Haniff, who was working in St Martin with a relative, returned just over a week ago to Guyana. Stabroek News was previously told that the man returned with US$8,000 which he hid after he had noticed some men acting suspiciously in front of his house.
A post-mortem examination showed that Haniff died as a result of multiple incised wounds to the head.
A police source had previously told this newspaper that Haniff was apparently given sleeping pills.
As a result, the police have obtained the contents of Haniff’s stomach and blood samples for testing.
The police on Monday confirmed that one of the suspects admitted to the crime and he reportedly provided investigators with a detailed statement of what transpired.
The suspect reportedly said that last Friday, he was at his Bath Settlement home in the company of one of the other suspects, called ‘Devon, when another suspect, known as ‘Son,’ contacted him and told him that he had identified an individual to rob.
The attack, he said, was supposed to be a robbery but they allegedly killed Haniff after he refused to hand over the money they asked for.
The man told investigators that he along with two others were transported to the scene by a fourth suspect.
Upon arrival, he said, they jumped a fence and went up the front step. Once there, he claim-ed, they were led into the house.
The suspect further detailed that they proceeded into the room where Haniff was and started to beat him. During the attack, the man said, they decided to kill Haniff after he refused to comply with their demand and hand over his money.
One of the suspects was armed with a knife, while the other others had cutlasses.
Following the killing, the suspect said he and his accomplices were dropped back to his house.
