‘You can’t trust anyone’

“I feel like I do not know who to trust,” said Blaide. “I do not want to travel anymore. I don’t want to walk the streets at night. I must insist to people travelling at night to be very careful and observe your surroundings. And now women are degrading themselves by committing crimes. It shows they have a low mindset. It is disappointing.

You just can’t trust anyone.” Blaide, an employee of the Ministry of Education, said had she not kept her wits about her, she may today be a crime statistic.

Blaide stood at a taxi stand near the Bon Air mall on Monday evening awaiting transport for home.

She just came from the grocery and was holding several bags along with her purse which contained cell phones, a small quantity of cash and personal documents. At 9 pm, a silver-coloured Nissan Sylphy car pulled up in front of her.

The vehicle was being driven by a woman who appeared to be in her 20s. The car also contained two passengers, one male and the other female. Believing the woman behind the steering wheel to be a PH (private hire) taxi driver, Blaide got in. The driver later made a detour to Viceroy Road, claiming she was dropping off one of the passengers.

But when she dropped the man off only to pick him up again, Blaide said she became suspicious and shifted towards the car door in the backseat. “I insisted that I be let out of the car but the driver began speaking loudly and aggressively,” Blaide said. “While the car was moving I tried to jump out, but still had my bags in my hand.

The man in the back seat grabbed the bags. I asked, ‘what are you doing? don’t you know I am a police officer?’ and with that, the driver tried to spin the car around and leave with me. I started to scream,” Blaide said.

On hearing the screams, residents came out of their houses to see the vehicle driving erratically with Blaide hanging outside.

She was dragged several feet before she let go of her bags with all her belongings. The vehicle then sped off. Concerned residents rushed to her aid and the police were called in. She was taken to the Arima Hospital where she was treated for soft tissue damage to her arms and legs. Police officers took a statement from her and are now searching for the driver and her accomplices.