A VERY tramautised Nalisha Mohamed yesterday tearfully declared: “No words, no writing, can bring back my loved one, since life is meaningless without him”. Her husband, businessman Frank Persaud, 54, of Lot One, Area ‘L’, Bel Air Village, Greater Georgetown, was murdered during a robbery at their home on Tuesday night. Nalisha described him as a dedicated husband, a law-abiding citizen, and a devoted father.
The inconsolable Nalisha, recounting the tragic incident, told the Guyana Chronicle that her husband had just finished exercising in their home gym, located at the back of the yard, when three men who claimed to be customs officers arrived at the gate. Since one of them had a badge, and they were neatly dressed, she did not think they were bogus customs officers; moreover, her husband asked her to pass him the keys to the gate.
The men entered the premises and asked to inspect the duty slips for goods the family had stored in a bond at the bottom of their house, claiming not to be satisfied with something. She remained in the upper flat of the building with her daughter, watching the news on television.
One of the men subsequently told her that her husband was calling her, so she went downstairs with the toddler to answer her husband’s call.
And as she entered the bond, she realized something was wrong when she did not see her husband. One of the men then attacked her, taking away her golden anklet, then her daughter, before proceeding to bind her hands and feet.
The men also tied her baby’s hands, and threw the child at her whilst demanding that she hand over all money and jewellery in the house. They asked her to comply with the request, assuring her that she would not be harmed.
“I told him to go upstairs where I had a bag with $100,000, and he went but did not find it at first; and returned to me very upset. Then (he) asked me if I was telling the truth, and threatened to kill my daughter because she started to cry loudly.”
Mohamed explained that after the men went back upstairs and looted the place of valuables, including a laptop computer, jewellery and money, they hurriedly left.
She managed to free herself, after she noticed that her daughter was looking unwell, and calls to her husband went unanswered.
The grieving woman said she got up and went looking for her husband; and when she pulled a plastic from the ground, she saw him lying there. She tried to revive him, but he was lifeless, so she went to alert the neighbours, who summoned the police.
Mohamed added that she called for an ambulance, but was told that none was available, so her husband was eventually transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
She noted that the same group of men had visited their home on Monday, and had said they would return to inspect the paperwork and goods the family had stored on their premises, since they were not satisfied that the goods were legitimate.
Mohamed was simply inconsolable as she talked about her husband, whilst several relatives tried to comfort her as she nursed an injured leg.
The mother of two said she is unsure how she would cope, since her husband was her “lifeline” and they had struggled from scratch to start a business and make an honest living.
Meanwhile, police yesterday said that at about 20:30 hrs on Saturday, July 31, 2012, three men posing as Customs Officials entered the home of businessman Frank Persaud of Bel Air, Georgetown. The men, who had earlier visited the home, demanded to check goods that were in a storage bond, and were accompanied by Frank Persaud. The men later called out to Persaud’s wife, Bibi Nalisha Mohamed, and told her that Persaud was calling her. But upon entering the bond with her two-year-old daughter, the men held them and tied them up with duct tape, during which she observed Frank Persaud lying on the ground, his body covered with a piece of plastic.
The perpetrators then entered the building, ransacked the home, and took away a laptop computer, a quantity of jewellery, and an undisclosed sum of cash, before escaping with a quantity of goods from the storage bond.
Bibi Mohamed subsequently managed to free herself and raise an alarm. Frank Persaud was then taken to the GPHC, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Investigations into this incident are progressing.