Remigrant beaten to death on Hogg Island
By Nigel Williams
Stabroek News
September 11, 2002
The severely beaten body of a man who had recently returned from Venezuela was found on a farm in eastern Hogg Island, Essequibo River last Thursday. Two persons are in police custody.
Dead is Deryck Pierre known as `Dapo' 45 of Mabaruma, North West District who reportedly returned to Guyana after living in Venezuela for a number of years. He had visited the area in Hogg Island to inspect a plot of land he was interested in buying. The men in custody are said to be the same two persons who accompanied Pierre to the area. Stabroek News visited the island yesterday, and was told that Pierre was beaten for over two hours by four men.
According to a resident of the area, who preferred to remain anonymous, at around noon last Thursday, the victim accompanied the seller of the land and the seller's agent, and boarded a speed boat at the Hubu Stelling.
The resident said Pierre had been asking the seller to sell him the land for a very long time but the man had been reluctant until the agent started assisting with the sale. The seller is a resident of Parika while the agent lives on Hogg Island. Stabroek News understands that several persons saw the three men last Thursday while they were going to the island but no one paid any attention since it was customary for the seller and agent to be seen in the company of strangers.
The resident said at around 12:30 the trio arrived at the island and went to the seller's farm which is next door to the plot of land that Pierre was interested in buying. Pierre was reportedly given a tour of the area after which the men cooked chicken, boulanger and rice.
It was while they were eating, around 2 pm, the trio reportedly spotted four men disembarking a speed boat and heading in their direction. The resident said the men ran to the trio with their guns aimed at their heads and began to curse using a series of expletives. "Wheh de contraband boat dat y'all tek from K...... ".
The resident continued that Pierre and his two partners denied knowing anything about the boat and the four armed men tied their hands behind their backs and severely lashed them with the butts of their guns. For over 15 minutes the three were beaten non-stop and during that time one of the four men pulled out a chopper and slashed the agent on his left wrist and then punctured his right forearm. He then accosted the seller and dealt him two wounds to both sides of his torso. Meanwhile Pierre was made to lie face down and his chains, finger rings and a small sum of cash were taken away. Immediately the bandits began to dish out blows on him. Pierre, according to reports, received the most severe beatings and it was while he was trying to defend himself, at around 5 pm, one of the bandits lashed him on his forehead which floored him. No one assisted him as his colleagues' hands were tied to their backs. Pierre died some ten minutes after the last blow. The resident said the four men continued to beat the seller and the agent until around 8 pm when they left.
When the attackers left the island, the seller and agent managed to untie themselves. Later a report was made to the Parika police station and a few ranks went into the area where they discovered Pierre's body. Close by was a shallow grave where he was apparently to be buried.
Late Thursday evening, Pierre's body was transported via a speedboat out of the area and for several hours it lay in front of the Parika Police Station where passersby had the chance to look. He was said to have been a very tall person with broad shoulders and had spent most of his life in Venezuela where the majority of his family live. A police source told this newspaper yesterday that a post-mortem performed on Monday revealed that Pierre had haemorrhaged to death. Efforts to reach his relatives yesterday proved futile. Stabroek News understands that his body will be flown to Venezuela for burial.