Four men armed with guns, cutlasses and knives on Thursday evening pounced on a Rose Hall Town, Corentyne family who had an overseas-based relative visiting and carted off cash, jewellery and cellphones.
Ryan Rupert, 37, of Lot 60 Charpol Street, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, yesterday told Stabroek News, that his family had just had dinner after which his wife, Oumawattie Khulduith, headed upstairs.
While upstairs Khulduith shouted to her husband that she noticed someone jumping over their fence. “She shout and seh Ryan look somebody jump over the fence but when she see them with the mask she start holler thief, thief,”
Rupert said that after his wife alerted him he rushed to the side of the house where one of the men pointed a gun at him and ordered that they all lie flat in the bottom house as they demanded money and gold.
“My uncle was in the hammock and them put he fa lay down and them knock he with the gun and gun butt he in he head and them put the cutlass on he neck and them take away he jewellery and so that he had, search he pocket up and take away he key.”
According to Rupert, while one bandit stood guard over them, three others headed upstairs with his wife where they ransacked the entire house. “They open the man (uncle) room and go and take all the man large wallet with he cash, four phones, two pair of chain and one married ring and he passport and bank book.”
Rupert said that yesterday morning they searched the back of the yard where they found the documents and so his uncle was able to make his scheduled flight out of Guyana.
Rupert’s uncle, 52, came into Guyana last Sunday and was expected to stay for five days.
Khulduith said that initially, she did not think that they were being invaded by bandits and even told one of the perpetrators to “come off the fence” and asked him “why you coming in this yard?”
“But when me see one other one sneak out me say more than one deh in this yard and me start shout from upstairs”, she relayed.
She said she then ran and picked up a “knock wood” but as she ran outside she was confronted by a bandit armed with a “sword knife.”
“Me say me go knock him and somebody would a get up and knock the other one because was four (bandits) of them.”
However, she said, that her husband told her not to do anything since the men were also armed with guns.
“Them drag me on the stairway and carry me upstairs and them keep asking ‘which is the foreigner room? Which is the foreigner room?’ and them keep saying that if we don’t give them all the money and gold them go kill we here”, she related.
According to Khulduith, the man forcibly removed the jewellery she was wearing and took all the money from the room where the relative was staying.
The men eventually escaped through the back of the yard with around US$1700, jewellery valued $300,000 and seven cell phones.
Meanwhile, according to sources yesterday, police have held four persons for questioning.
Noting that much had been stolen from them, Khulduith yesterday said that she was thankful that no one was hurt.
