Armed bandits rob Chinese-owned supermarket at Hampshire Village
- four held for questioning
A young couple, owners of the ‘Good Life Supermarket’, in Hampshire Village, Corentyne, were left in a traumatized state on Tuesday evening, after two masked men invaded their one-month- old business and robbed them of a quantity of cash.
The ordeal lasted for an estimated ten minutes and was caught on surveillance cameras. The Chinese couple who are not fluent in English, showed the footage to Stabroek News. It was observed that the two bandits arrived on a motorcycle, with one wearing a hoodie over his head, with a handkerchief across his face, while the other robber’s head was encased in a motorcycle helmet. The perpetrator in the helmet was armed with a shot gun, while the accomplice carried a brand new cutlass which still bore the price tag on it.
The men entered the supermarket around 7 pm, which at the time was still open for business, and ordered the couple to lie face down on the ground. Three customers who were in the supermarket at that time, were also ordered to do the same.
During the review of the footage on the tape, it was observed that the husband seemed somewhat reluctant to follow the perpetrators’ orders and was dealt a gun butt to the shoulder, which resulted in him falling to the ground. His wife, upon witnessing her husband being assaulted, immediately ran around the counter in an attempt to assist him, however, the robbers kicked the woman in her left side, also sending her to the floor.
Meanwhile, one of the robbers then stood guard while the other ran to the other side of the supermarket. Stabroek News learnt that the man went upstairs and ransacked the upper flat of the building. During this time, the thief that stood guard continued to broadside the owners with the cutlass.
Five minutes later, the bandit returned downstairs, where he ordered one of the owners to empty the cash register, the proceeds of which were placed in a backpack carried by one of the robbers. The men then made good their escape on the motorcycle.
They also ran off with the keys to the automatic door, which is located at the main entrance of the store. Shortly after the men escaped, the owners and customers were seen on the tape rushing out of the supermarket, as the automatic door closed behind them. The couple regained entry into their premises around 10 am yesterday.
Commander of B Division, Ian Amsterdam told Stabroek News that the men had escaped with approximately $500,000 in cash, and one iPhone 6. According to Amsterdam, four men were held for questioning as of yesterday afternoon. However, a police source close to the investigation relayed to this newspaper that investigators are looking closely at one of the suspects in custody, and that they have so far uncovered that the men were staking out the business place, waiting for the opportune time to launch their attack.
The source noted that the men who are in custody hail from Rose Hall, Corentyne and Williamsburg Village, Corentyne.