Sareef Khan, his wife Yoneika Ramjeet and their infant daughter were severely burned with hot oil during a heated altercation involving Khan’s brother last Wednesday.
The ordeal began when Yoneika and Sareef returned home from a nearby shop.
As they approached their residence, a shared family yard, they spotted Khan’s brother enjoying drinks with two men on the front veranda, one of whom was a long-time friend reportedly known to be gay.
Yoneika recounted how her husband and his brother had exchanged playful banter with the friend earlier in the day.
However, what seemed like harmless teasing quickly spiraled into chaos. After making what he considered a light-hearted joke, Sareef and Yoneika retreated to their home at the back of the yard.
The friend, feeling offended, reported the joke to Khan’s brother, igniting a series of escalating arguments throughout the evening.
Yoneika, caught in the crossfire, later ventured out to retrieve some cooking supplies. On her way back, she was taken aback to find the friend urinating on the pathway leading to their home.
“I told him that he can’t pee there, cause that is where we does gotta walk,” she explained, hoping to de-escalate tensions.
Upon returning home, Yoneika shared the incident with Sareef.
But the situation took a turn for the worse when the friend once again complained to Khan’s brother, who retaliated by cutting off their electricity.
Though the power was restored shortly after, it only added fuel to the fire. When the lights went out again, Sareef went to investigate, sparking yet another heated confrontation with his brother.
Things took a violent turn when Khan’s brother’s wife joined the fray, attacking Sareef with a piece of wood.
In an escalation, the brother stormed into the kitchen, returned with hot oil, and hurled it at the family.
“After he throw the hot oil, me run and start holler for my husband that the baby get burn,” Yoneika recalled, her voice filled with distress.
But the nightmare didn’t end there. As they rushed to the hospital with their injured baby, Yoneika claimed her brother-in-law continued to hurl cups at them.
The chaos attracted the attention of a police van, but even as officers arrived, Khan’s brother allegedly launched another attack on Sareef right in front of them.
Regional Commander Khalid Mandal disputed Yoneika’s claims, stating that both brothers were arrested to prevent further harm.
“They arrested both brothers and prevented them from further harming each other,” he reported.
Khan was left with severe burns on his stomach as he attempted to shield his family, while their five-month-old daughter suffered burns to her head, leg, chest, and back. Yoneika also sustained injuries to her stomach.
Since the attack, Khan has been plagued by fever and excruciating pain, rendering him unable to work.