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Ministry employees beat naked man of unsound mind on the seawall

Feb 22, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

On Tuesday morning, I was walking on the Camp Street seawall with my dog. I was minding my own business when a large garbage truck pulled up about ten feet in front of me. The truck was in good condition, like semi-new. It was of faded white colour with the following words painted in green, “Government of Guyana – keep the environment clean.” The licence plate is GRR 9604.
Three men came out of the front seat, jumped onto the wall and accosted a man of unsound mind that I am accustomed to seeing on the wall. He harms no one, is afraid of my dog and rummages through the black garbage bags outside the CID office on the seawall road. They began to beat him. He jumped onto the huge boulders that form the riprap sea defence structure. They went onto the riprap trying to catch him. He was far more agile because he was barefoot. But he lost his boxers in the process and was naked while manoeuvring on the riprap.
A fourth man came out of the truck picked up a piece of wood about four feet in length and went after him. By this time he was in the ocean, pleading with them. It was the water that saved him. They were fully clothed and were at work so they chose not to go into the water. I went up on them and told them they cannot beat a man of unsound mind. They showed no concern.
They exclaimed to me; “He messing up de wall; we gat fuh clean it. He tekking all de garbage and throwing it all over de place.” I responded, “But you cannot beat a person of unsound mind, he doesn’t know what he is doing.”
One of them replied, “unsound mind my sk…, he messing up de place.”
After my encounter with them, they drove off heading eastward. I went to a dwelling house, the only one on the Camp Street seawall between Camp Road where the Eve Leary police head office is and the Pump Station at Clive Lloyd Drive. There is an extended family that lives there with five dogs which are always attacking my dog when I pass there.
A group of them came out and I told them what happened. I urge that they put a pair of trousers on him because he is naked. They agreed to do that.
I drove to Eve Leary CID office, met Superintendent Halley. She put me on to CID detective, Sergeant Sewsanker. He took a statement. I asked for them not to be charged but to be admonished. If their bosses at Ministry of Public Infrastructure read this, I hope they are not suspended but just given a stern warning. They acted illegally and irrationally when they attacked that helpless mental patient.
Their actions were not only stupid but lacked commonsense. If he is throwing garbage on the seawall area then where is he getting the dirty stuff from? Obviously, from the same seawall area! So he is not the only one responsible for the dirty appearance of the ambience.
Secondly, if he were conscious of what he is doing, then why is he taking food from the dustbins and eating it? That he is not in his right mind didn’t mean a thing to them. Thirdly, how is spreading the garbage affecting their work? If he spreads the garbage, then it cannot be more work for them because it is the same amount of stuff they have to pick up, admitting that, it will take them a longer time.
But they work nine to five. So when five comes they leave and go back tomorrow.
For a long time now, there has been a creeping disappearance of civilisation in this country. I cannot recall in my days growing up in Wortmanville, there were the kinds of bestial crimes that I am seeing in 21st century Guyana. A group robs a home in Berbice and sets alight the house with a crippled woman inside. What I am about to write is going to disappoint some people, I know but I have always spoken my mind and have lived with the consequences.
I am a very opened-minded person. I believe in total freedom with responsibilities, of course. But I also believe some cruel, depraved criminals are worthless creatures far below many lower animals. They are worse than some predatory animals. I am not sure if the death penalty should not be applied to them. Some criminals are not fit to live.

 

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