A horse cart operator was yesterday fatally stabbed by a neighbour over a pack of cigarettes.
Dead is 27-year-old Clifton Banwandan of Chateau Margot Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara. According to relatives and friends, he was stabbed at about 17:30 hrs last evening over a pack of cigarettes.
His sister Nicole Ramsar told this newspaper that the man’s wife related to her that they were sitting outside of their home eating when the suspects approached and “they beat him over a pack of cigarettes.” She explained that when she arrived at the scene she was told that her brother had been stabbed and beaten. She also said that the police told persons to evacuate the area and that they had no update on the man’s condition because he didn’t die immediately after being stabbed.
She further said that the man knows her brother. This newspaper later learned that the suspect’s wife and children left the Squatting Area where they live about an hour after the stabbing. The police were also able to locate one of the suspects. The sister and other bystanders said that the suspect had not yet been arrested when this newspaper was at the scene. They related that he was helped by another to escape after committing the act.
According to persons who witnessed the incident, the man was stabbed several times about his abdomen but they are unsure of what weapon was used.
