Williamsburg man dies weeks after being chopped by angry villager

By Royan Abrams

A Williamsburg Corentyne mason died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital almost three weeks after he was attacked and chopped by a man in his village.

Mohamed Aslam, 54, died on Sunday, October 29, 2017, from chop wounds he sustained during an altercation on October 3, 2017. The News Room understands that on the day of the incident, the man’s wife, 48-year-old Basmattie Aslam, was carrying dry wood from the public road into her yard when the suspect, 29-year-old Vijai Rickbarran, charged towards her armed with a cutlass.

According to Basmattie, she ran into her yard and her husband confronted the suspect, who reportedly chopped the man about his body, including his neck.

Basmattie noted that during the attack, her husband collapsed; residents converged at the scene but were scared to assist the badly wounded man because the suspect was still armed and inside the yard.

Mohamed was eventually taken to the Port Mourant Public Hospital and later to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital but after his condition began to deteriorate, he was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died while receiving treatment.

The police were subsequently contacted and arrested the suspect at his home, which is located four houses away from the crime scene. Police also recovered the cutlass.

Over at the suspect’s home, his 55-year-old mother, Nona Devi Rickbarran disclosed that on the day of the incident, her son was acting strangely. She told News Room that she saw when he collected the cutlass but she had no idea what his intentions were.

According to the woman, her husband asked the young man to give him the cutlass, but he came annoyed and cut his father’s fingers instead with the very cutlass.

She related that her son left the house and it was moments later she heard that he chopped Mohamed. He remains in custody as investigations continue.