A 36-year-old labourer of Little Africa, Corentyne, Berbice, Collin Smartt also known as “Rastaman,” is now nursing injuries after he was chopped about his body while attempting to purchase marijuana.

According to a police report, Smartt ventured to Number 79 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, to purchase the substance from two known suspects, a male and female, whom he alleges to be drug dealers.

The victim reported that upon his arrival he was asked for $160 which he had owed from a previous transaction, and as a result, an argument ensued between the victim and the two suspects.

It is alleged that during the argument the male suspect armed himself with a cutlass and dealt the victim one chop to his right hand, severing his index finger and causing damage to his middle finger, while the female dealt the victim several lashes to his back with a piece of wood.

Smartt reported the matter and was escorted to the Skeldon Public Hospital where he was seen and examined and later transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he is now a patient. The police say that an investigation is in progress.