Bandits storm Kaneville home, rob family

Jul 05, 2010 News

– family upset at slow response from cops

Three bandits armed with handguns and a shotgun escaped with an estimated $1M in jewellery and $150,000 in cash during a pre-dawn attack yesterday on a Kaneville, East Bank Demerara home.
The bandits forced their way into the home of Poonam Singh and her husband, Peter, while Mrs. Singh, a food vendor, was about to leave for the Medowbank Wharf.
Before fleeing, the robbers also gun-butted taxi driver Lester Andrews, who was waiting to take the woman to her destination.
Mrs. Singh told Kaieteur News that the bandits struck at around 04:00 hrs, while the family was up and she was preparing to head to the Meadowbank Wharf.
She had already telephoned for the taxi when the men scaled the veranda and entered through the open front door.
One of the sons told Kaieteur News that he was in the bottom flat with another sibling and his father when three men entered the house. According to him, one of them had a “pump-action” shotgun while the others brandished handguns. Two of them were masked while the third wore sunshades.
Warning them to be silent, the bandits placed the lads and their father face down on the floor. The son said that the gunmen then ordered him to call his mother, who was in the top flat. Two other children, aged 12 and seven, were asleep.

Mrs. Poonam Singh with a piece of the telephone cord that the bandits used to tie the victims

When Mrs. Singh came downstairs, the men also ordered her to lie on the floor. They then cut the telephone cord and used bits of it to tie the victims. Mrs. Singh was kicked in the side by one of the men when she resisted.
The vendor told Kaieteur News that the men then began to demand money and jewellery and she eventually directed them to an area in the top flat where her valuables were concealed.
One of the men went upstairs and collected an estimated $1M in jewellery and $150,000 in cash.
While the robbery was in progress, taxi driver, Lester Andrews arrived and began to honk his horn to let Mrs. Singh know that he was there.
This annoyed the gunmen, and one of them indicated that they should shoot the driver.
After relieving the family of seven mobile phones, the robbers exited the house and confronted taxi driver Andrews.
Andrews said that one of the robbers gun-butted him. They then ordered him out of the car and threw his car keys into a nearby lot before fleeing on foot.
The Singhs alleged that after the bandits had left they attempted to contact ranks at the Grove Police Station but the phone repeatedly rang out. They also dialed 911 to no avail.
Mrs. Singh said that a rank at the Grove Police Station eventually answered and a Detective arrived at the home several hours later.
She said, however, that no attempt was made to dust the scene for prints.