Dutch Bottle robbery… Businesswoman who tackled armed bandit still hospitalized

Oct 11, 2011 News

-suspect died from perforation of the lungs, blunt trauma to the head

Manager of the Dutch Bottle Café, Renata Chuck-A-Sang, remains hospitalized for injuries she sustained during Friday night’s robbery. Meanwhile, an autopsy raises more questions about the death of Kelvin Poonsammy, the teenage bandit who beat her.
While the nature of her injuries remains unclear, Kaieteur News understands that the 43-year-old Chuck-A-Sang underwent surgery yesterday and is being treated at a private hospital.
Police sources said that the businesswoman was beaten by 19-year-old Poonsammy when she held onto the robber as he and two accomplices were fleeing her Robb Street premises with valuables they had stolen.

Kelvin Poonsammy

According to sources, Poonsammy called out to his accomplices, who went to his assistance and began to assault the businesswoman. It is alleged that Poonsammy, who was armed with a sawn-off shotgun, inflicted most of the injuries.
Police said that persons in the area came to the businesswoman’s rescue and thrashed Poonsammy severely, while his accomplices fled.
According to police, the beaten man was treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital before being detained at the Brickdam Police Station. A sawn-off shotgun was recovered from the suspect and four rounds of ammunition were reportedly recovered from his home.
A police release stated that on-duty ranks had visited Poonsammy at 0900hrs on Sunday and had not observed anything to suggest that he was unwell.
But at around 10:30hrs that same day, the prisoner was found in an unconscious condition. He was taken back to the GPHC where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.
A post-mortem examination yesterday by Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh gave the cause of death as perforation of the lungs and blunt trauma to the head.
“One of his ribs broke, and a splinter punctured the lung,” a source said. “The question arises as to why he was not kept in hospital, and why the injury was not picked up during an x-ray examination.”
Police officials have refuted suggestions that the suspect was beaten while in custody, and have linked the dead man to several robberies, including the one at the home of Ramon ‘Rambo’ Gaskin.
He gave about four written statements (confessing to robberies) including some about robberies we don’t even know about.”
The dead man’s girlfriend Arifa Persaud, said Poonsammy had called her on Friday evening telling her that he was in custody.
She last saw him alive on Saturday afternoon when ranks visited his home for a ‘change of clothes’.
According to Persaud when she saw Poonsammy his face was swollen and he was bleeding from his ears.
“He coulda barely talk. He just come and they went in the house and they (the police) carry he back to the vehicle and he lay down in the back seat.”
The girlfriend said that at around noon on Saturday, she went to the Brickdam Police Station to take the prisoner’s lunch but was told that she could not see him and she should return at 17:00 hours.
But early on Sunday, neighbours informed her that persons believed to be police visited the house and told them that Poonsammy was dead.
The police statement linked Poonsammy to the armed robbery on September 9, 2011, at Goed Fortuin Housing Scheme, West Bank Demerara, in which businessman Bishnu Ramdyal was held up and robbed of $150,000.00, a quantity of cell phone cards and a cell phone; to an armed robbery on October 6, 2011, at Ramroop’s Furniture Store, Lombard Street, Georgetown, during which two sales clerks were held at gunpoint and robbed of cash and a cell phone; and the armed robbery committed on October 1, 2011, where Raymond ‘Rambo’ Gaskin and two female guests were attacked and robbed of $50,000.00, two cell phones and jewellery at his home at Dennis Street, Campbellville. Gaskin was chopped to his head and left arm during the incident.