Three armed bandits beat and rob Penal family

A 70-year-old pensioner and his 40-year-old son were shot on their legs by three gunmen, who tortured and severely beat the family at their Penal home early yesterday morning.

The mask bandits who reportedly terrorised the family for almost three hours, eventually escaped with a licensed 16 guage shotgun, 10 cartridges and $85,000 worth of cash, jewelry and household appliances. Alfonsus Ramcharan underwent surgery late yesterday evening to remove two bullets that were lodged in his legs and was said to be in a stable condition at Ward 4 of the San Fernando General Hospital. His elderly father, James Ramcharan, a retired coffee farmer who was shot in his right leg, was transferred to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

According to police reports, the drama unfolded around 2 am when the men cut a padlock on a burglar-proofed door and forced open the front door of the family’s home at Scotts Road. The pensioner, his wife Silvia, 63, their son, Alfonsus and his common-law wife, Savita Nanan, 36, their grandson, Daren Hamid, 9, and a Guyanese friend, were all asleep when the men stormed into the house.

Recalling the terrifying ordeal yesterday, Silvia said she and her husband were jolted out of sleep by two men with guns. “They tied our hands with pieces of cloth and ordered us to lie on the ground,” she said. The woman said the men took them to their son’s bedroom where the other members of the family were already tied up. “They (bandits) were beating them with pieces of cord all over their body. They keep asking us where the money. Where all the money is,” she added. She said she directed the men to a draw where they found a “few thousands” and gave them all her jewelry but the men were still not satisfied.

At one point, the woman said, one of the men grabbed her grandson and cut him with a knife on his leg. She said the men stripped the boy naked, placed a knife to his genitals and threatened to cut it off, if the family did not say where the money was being kept. She said the bandits told her that they knew she sold her land and had a lot more money. “We kept telling them we don’t have money but they keep beating us,” the woman said as she showed the long marks on her back caused by the piece of cord. The elderly woman said before her son and husband were shot the men placed pillows on their legs to muzzle the loud explosions. According to Silvia, even though her husband and son were crying out in pain, the bandits continued beating them about their bodies. She said the bandits ransacked the house and stole several appliances including an air condition unit, CD player and microwave oven. Throughout the ordeal, Silvia said she was praying that the men would not kill them.

“I told them if we had the money we would not lie down here and let my family get beaten like this,” she added.  After almost three hours of pain and torment, she said, the three men left them alone in the room. She said when she did not hear them walking around the house she decided to get help. She said she went into the kitchen, picked up a knife which she used to free her grandson’s hands, who then untied her. Silvia said when she tried to dial the police she realised that the gunmen had severed the telephone line. “I and my grandson was the only ones who could walk. Everybody else could not get up because they were in real pain,” she said.

Silvia said she ran to a neighbour’s house from where she telephoned the police. The elderly woman, who has decided to stay with her relatives for a while, said she had no idea why the bandits thought her family was wealthy. She said her daughter-in-law and Ramsaran, who had been staying with them for a few days, were both treated and discharged from hospital. “This is the first time something like this happen to us. We always hearing about the crime in the country but we never thought this would ah happen to us,” she stated. Visiting the scene was a party of officers including Insp Brathwaite, Sgt Trea, Cpl Monsegue, PCs Badree, Douglas and WPC Johnson. Investigators said the crime was well orchestrated, and they were working on a few leads.