A suspected thief was chopped to death early yesterday morning after he and two others were allegedly caught stealing chickens from a Perseverance, East Bank Demerara (EBD) farm.
The identity of the dead man remains unknown.
Police confirmed the incident which occurred sometime between 3am and 4am. They said one of thieves fled the scene while the other was arrested.
A 41-year-old watchman, who allegedly inflicted the wounds was taken into police custody as the investigation continues.
According to a police report, enquiries disclosed that the watchman was awakened by noise coming from a chicken pen. Upon checking, the police said he saw several persons moving in the pen.
As a result, the watchman armed himself with a cutlass and returned to the pen where he was confronted by the three thieves.
At the time, the police said that the three suspects were making their way out of the pen with two bags suspected to have contained chickens.
However, the watchman block-ed their exit and ordered that they drop the chickens.
This led to a confrontation between the watchman and two of the thieves.
“….Two of the males whipped out a cutlass and a hammer and rushed towards the watchman, who dodged from a chop and dealt the male armed with the hammer a chop,” the police said.
“The unarmed male then armed himself with a piece of wood and rushed towards the watchman and he was chopped several times,” the police added.
The suspect, who was armed with the cutlass subsequently fled the scene.
The police stated that the watchman then contacted his employer and informed him of the incident.
Upon arrival at the farm, the injured men were taken to Providence Police Station where the matter was reported. They were then escorted to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where one was pronounced dead.
The suspect in custody has been identified as a former employee of the farm’s owner. He is the prime suspect in two larceny reports which were made by the owner over the past week.
