Boy on errand robbed of gold chain
Perpetrators linked to other attacks
Stabroek News
August 7, 2002
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An 11-year-old boy who was on his way to purchase fish for his mother yesterday had a horrifying encounter with two men, one of whom placed a gun to his head and relieved him of a gold chain.

The 15 pennyweight gold chain was a present to Mark Sukhu on his 11th birthday, last year August 24. The robbery took place not far from the boy’s home at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara at about 10.45 am, in the full view of several residents, including the fish vendor.

At his home yesterday, the lad explained that he went to buy fish for his mother when two boys came up. “One stay couple feet away and one come with a gun and say, `Pass de gold chain.’”

He said each robber rode a pedal cycle.

The one who snatched his chain was on an unpainted `Mountain’ bike.

Mark Sukhu (Photo by Clairmonte Marcus)



The child said he suspected the men’s motive before the chain was snatched, because of the way his assailants looked at his neck.

“Dem watch meh neck and me done know they din come fo rob me...De gun went in a kerchief. A red kerchief wrap up, and de gun point dey out. After he come to me, he watch me neck and say, ‘Don’t holler, don’t move!’ Me done know is de gold chain he come fo. I was tekking it off [but] he bust it and he ride away,” recounted the primary school student.

According to Sukhu’s mother, Gaitri Singh, the incident occurred just about seven houses away from where they live.

“De chain got about 15 dwt. Only last birthday, me buy that chain for him...later dis month he turning 12. Imagine how scared he be. He [couldn’t] ride through back that street fo come home”.

The fish vendor, upon witnessing the theft, raised an alarm, but the two men sped off on their bicycles.

One resident told this newspaper that he saw the men on the Coldingen road, but was unaware that they had robbed the child.

As they passed him, he said he recognised them as the men who held up and robbed a Beharry salesman two Mondays ago.

But the man said that by the time he turned his car around to go after the men, they had disappeared.

Recently, residents of Enterprise have been complaining of frequent and daring attacks, many of which are committed during the day.

Just last Friday, residents told Stabroek News, there was a confrontation with the same men who robbed Sukhu. The men were reportedly armed with handguns and one of them entered a shop in the area and asked for another man.

This newspaper understands that the gunman lifted his shirt and displayed his weapon to the proprietrix, threatening to shoot the man when he finds him.

As a result, the villagers contacted the police who eventually turned up on Sunday afternoon.

Then on Monday evening, several taxi drivers who were parked at the road head of the village were terrified by two armed men. While not far away in the housing scheme, a household was held up and robbed of cash and jewellery.