Robbery victim bemoans absence of street lights – News Room Guyana

Jerome King, 65, of Princes Street, Georgetown believes if streets light were working when he was robbed of his motorcycle last month, the perpetrators could have been identified via the state’s CCTV cameras.

King had picked up his wife from work on the night of June 14 and was moments away from his house when he was confronted by two suspects and robbed.

He told the News Room on Thursday that while no one has been arrested, he is thankful he and his wife were not harmed.

King and his wife only moved into the area in January this year. He is a self-employed plumber and used the motorcycle as his main mode of transportation.

“I usually go to Giftland at around 09:30 in the night cause my wife, she runs a boutique there, so she comes off and would I pick up her up on my motorbike.”

While they were returning home, they passed the suspects liming at the junction of Bent and Hardina streets. But King explained that he often used that route and would often see a group of young men liming at the junction, so he thought nothing of it that night.

“When we cross over Norton Street and we start coming towards Princes Street, then we noticed these lights and my wife picked up something was wrong.

“She said be careful. But it happened so quickly, these two young fellows on this motorbike, they came on my right and the rider told the pillion rider Grab his motorbike handle,” King recalled.

He said he then tried to swerve away from the men but instead he and the suspects lost control of both motorcycles.
King fell off his motorcycle and landed on his head in a nearby drain. He and his wife were not harmed but before they could have gathered themselves, the pillion rider escaped with the motorcycle. King said the key was still in the ignition.

He believes that because the street light next to the CCTV camera was not working, the suspects are still out there.

“I would gather that, that surveillance camera is worth a couple thousand US to buy and to install it where there is a burial ground behind it and there is no light where it cannot really work, it really buggers the mind.

“The reason why it is there is so that with the surveillance footage you can look at it and catch bandits,” King said.

The man is calling on the relevant persons to maintain the street lights and for an increased police patrol in the area.

“It needs to be maintained because I think we could have gotten my motorcycle back if we could see the bandits clearly.”

Nevertheless, he commended the police for their work in investigating the matter but still questioned if he is to get a new motorcycle, and how long will he have the use of it before he is robbed again.

“How long will I be riding this bike passing this group of thieves, would I be fortunate enough like what happened recently, would they just go with the bike and let me and my wife escape unharmed?”