After managing to elude the Police for close to three months, a West Coast Berbice (WCB) labourer was on Wednesday remanded to prison after he was charged with attempting to murder cattle farmer, Trevor Jameer, who was set on fire for assisting the Police in moving a car that was involved in an accident.
Kevin Sooklall, 38, of Onderneeming Village, WCB appeared at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Peter Hugh via zoom, where the charge was read to him.
He was not required to plea and was remanded to prison. The case was adjourned to May 18.
Jameer of Hopetown Village, WCB sustained injuries to his right side chest, right arm, back and face during the incident which took place on February 17.
His daughter, Travene McAlmont had told reporters that her father was attacked because he helped officers retrieve the vehicle, involved in the Hopetown accident, from the trench.
On February 5, Nicholas Arjune, a 19-year-old man driving his Mazda RX8, collided with two persons riding on an electric bike.
Subsequently, chaos erupted on the public road when residents converged. They pulled the driver from his car and later torched the vehicle, blocking the public road and preventing the free flow of traffic.
Because her father assisted the Police, McAlmont alleged that residents felt he (Jameer) betrayed them and as such, accused him of being a traitor.
Shortly after, the individual returned with a bottle containing what is suspected to be gasoline/kerosene and a stick that was on fire.
“…He had a bottle with something like gasoline inside and he throw it on him and he had a stick light with fire and he just push the stick to the man and he catch on fire,” the distraught daughter related.
Jameer was taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital and later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was admitted as a patient in the Burn Care Unit.
He is said to be recovering.
