Police preparing file for DDP chambers

‘A’ DIVISION Commander, Clifton Hicken yesterday confirmed that the police are still actively pursuing the persons who may be responsible for the beating of Johnny Welshman on Sunday evening after he joined a taxi at the Georgetown seawall.

Hicken, when contacted, said that the police are in possession of the medical report, based on the information he received, and the file is being prepared to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Commander said that the police were not able to arrest anyone for the beating of the young man on Sunday, but a statement was taken from him. They are calling persons who may have witnessed the incident to come forward and assist the police in their investigations.
On Sunday, based on information received, Welshman was attacked and beaten by two men, after he was picked up by a man driving a car. The man, who saw him walking on the seawall, reportedly asked him if he was interested in a taxi, and he responded in the affirmative.
As Welshman entered the car, the driver reportedly travelled in the vicinity of Kingstown where he asked to be excused from the vehicle for a few minutes.
During that period, two men reportedly came up to the vehicle and began beating Welshman, demanding certain objects and information.
The driver of the vehicle then returned and sped off from the area with the men still in the car beating Welshman as they made their way to Alberttown.
Welshman said he managed to jump out of the moving vehicle, and made his way to the Alberttown Police Station, where he informed the police of the incident. The police there then directed him to the Brickdam Police Station.
The young man was then advised to seek medical attention, and according to information reaching the Guyana Chronicle, he suffered lacerations to the face and also sustained a broken tooth.
Welshman, who is said to be mentally ill, is accusing Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman of molesting him several years ago when he resided here in Guyana.
Persons have been questioning the validity of the claims, given the length of time that Welshman took to bring the matter to light. He, on the other hand, said that he was going through a period of healing, and was bracing himself for the day when he would go public with the information.
Johnny Welshman currently has a matter engaging the High Court, where the lawyers for Trotman moved to bar him from making public pronouncements and disclosures on the matter and posting that on his Facebook page. He has since been trying to have that decision quashed.

(By Leroy Smith)