Corentyne man remanded for shooting 5-Y-0, elderly woman

Twenty – six – year – old Suraj Singh of Number 72 Village, Corentyne Coast, appeared before Magistrate Charlyn Artiga at the Whim Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, and was not required to plead to three charges.

The court heard that between November 22 and 23, 2017, Singh stole a gun and ammunition belonging to his employer, Booraj Surajbally of Number 74 Village.

Singh was also slapped with two counts of discharging a loaded firearm with the intention to cause injuries to 5-year-old Renuka Singh and her grandmother, Savitree Hassan.

According to information received, at about 03:30hrs on the day in question, the victims were asleep on a mattress on the floor of their home when they were awoken by a loud explosion and the screaming of the child.

Upon investigating, a male who was later identified to be Singh was seen fleeing the house while the two victims were discovered bleeding.  The duo was rushed to the Skeldon Hospital where they were treated for gunshot injuries while thirteen pellets were removed from the child’s left leg; the grandmother received injuries to her lower abdomen.

At today’s hearing, Singh told the Magistrate that he committed the offence because of a recent incident involving his wife and the husband of the elderly woman.

He claimed that a close family member was attacked and raped by the relatives of the victims. In response, the Prosecutor told the court that the allegation is being investigated.

Singh was remanded until January 4, 2018, and the case was transferred to the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.