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Resort owner, workers arrested for beating truck driver, vandalising truck
Kaieteur News – An argument over sand price on Friday ended with the owner of a popular resort along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway and some of his workers being arrested by police after they assaulted a truck driver and vandalized his company’s truck.
The beaten truck driver was identified as 49-year-old Ramkumar Persaud, an employee of Chief Trucking Services Limited and a resident of La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
According to information received by Kaieteur News, the resort owner owns the sandpit. He reportedly assaulted the truck driver after a heated “cuss out” between Persaud and the resort owner’s workers ensued at around 06:30h.
The truck that was vandalized
Persaud alleged that the argument stemmed over the right price for sand.
“This problem start since last time (a previous day) when I come fuh buy sand, I stop at the boot and pay $4000 for the load and gone in fuh them load me up… When I come out back, the manager stop me and seh that is white sand I collect and is $6000 fuh white sand”, Persaud told Kaieteur News while adding that he explained to the sandpit manager that he did not have any more money and would cancel the balance when he returns for a “next trip” (the following week).
“He [the sandpit manager] tell me, “Boy you know this thing don’t wuk suh, you ga pay,” Persaud said while recalling that they argued for some time before the manager eventually allowed him to leave with the sand.
On Friday, Persaud reportedly returned for more sand and allegedly paid $7000 at the sandpit’s boot before entering to uplift his sand.
“I pay $7000, $5000 for the load and $2000 wa me own them from the previous trip but when me gon in fuh load-up, the manager call and tell them worker fuh don’t load me up. So I just drive out back empty and collect back me $5000 from them,” the truck driver told Kaieteur News.
It was at this point that Persaud allegedly got into a heated argument with one of the workers over the price for sand.
Persaud claimed, “The man [worker] cuss me out about me mother, suh me cuss he back”.
While they were cursing each other, the resort owner arrived.
The empty battery shelf attached to the truck
“Me ain’t know way he come from, if them call he or wa but when me see he coming, I seh he musse coming fuh see wa is the problem so I start explaining to he wa happen,” Persaud said.
To his surprise, the truck driver alleged that the resort owner joined in cursing him too, and walked straight up to the truck, jumped on one of the steps and cuffed him to face before turning off his ignition and taking possession of his truck keys.
The shattered truck window
The resort owner’s workers then reportedly joined in the assault and started by shattering one of the truck’s windows with a large rock.
Persaud said that he tried to secure himself in the truck but the workers and the resort owner dragged him through the shattered window and took him to a shed where they allegedly took possession of his wallet containing $120,000 – money for diesel- and his cellular phone.
The workers then allegedly held Persaud down while the resort owner pounded away on his body and face with cuffs.
“He [resort owner] bus up me mouth and cuff me all in meh stomach and suh”, the truck driver told Kaieteur News.
Persaud’s alleged assaulters then abandoned him under the shed and went away with his wallet, cell phone and truck keys.
The truck driver reportedly remained stranded there until 11:00 hrs when his employer sent men to rescue him.
Persaud’s superiors said that they found Persaud beaten and sitting under the shed.
Photo showing the area where the power steering and fuel pump were removed.
They took him to the Madewini Police Station where he reported the assault before returning for the company’s truck.
However, Persaud’s bosses claimed that when they returned for the truck, it was further vandalized.
They claimed that the battery, power steering and the primary fuel pump were gone. The resort owner and his workers also refused to give them the keys and Persaud’s wallet.
The police were called and ranks arrested the resort owner and his workers.
Up to press time on Friday, they were still locked-up as ranks conducted their investigations.
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