Grandpa begs for Saada’s release

MIKE SINGH, grandfather of this country’s youngest ever kidnap victim, three-year-old Saada Singh, yesterday made an emotional appeal to her kidnappers to release the child back to her family since she is semi-asthmatic and in need of her medication. “Please contact us. We want our baby back,” Singh begged, as he spoke during a hastily arranged press conference yesterday at his son’s Hubert Rance Street, Vistabella home. Singh said the child’s parents — Sean (who owns Compression and Power Services Ltd) and Ria — were still too distraught to speak publicly about their daughter’s kidnapping.

An emotional Singh said since the first call which was made shortly after Saada’s kidnapping, the kidnappers have neither contacted the family nor made a ransom demand. Saada, who will celebrate her fourth birthday next Wednesday, was taken from her kindergarten school — Giselle’s Montessori — at Archibald Street in Vistabella, on Thursday morning by a woman wearing a black and gold wig and driving a white Sentra car. A woman telephoned the school at around 11 am claiming she was calling from the family’s businessplace. She told the teacher she was be picking the child up from school because the parents were attending to an emergency and could not do so. Shortly after, the kidnappers contacted Saada’s mother on her cellular phone and warned her not to go to the police or the child would be killed.

Saada’s kindergarten school remained closed yesterday and efforts to contact teachers for a comment proved futile. Singh (Mike) told reporters he did not believe his granddaughter knew the woman who picked her up. “Our baby hardly goes with anyone, even some of our family members,” he said. He also blamed the school, saying the kindergarten did not carry out the proper protocol required. Saying that Saada’s semi-asthmatic condition acts up when she gets excited, Singh said, “I think she (Saada) is quite upset and is giving her kidnappers a very hard time.”

The businessman said his granddaughter was taking prescribed drugs and the kidnappers should not try to administer any medication to her. Singh said it was time that politicians stop using legislation for political mileage and pass the legislation to deal with the kidnappers.  San Fernando Mayor Ian Atherley, who has been a family friend for the past 30 years, also pleaded with the kidnappers to release the child. He also asked the media to stop putting kidnappings and other crimes on the front page of newspapers. Anti-Kidnapping Squad and Marabella police, led by Supt Krishna Maharaj and Insp David Cooper, are continuing investigations.