Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says “he’s fine” after two men robbed him of his gold bera bracelet at gunpoint in his constituency of St Joseph yesterday afternoon.
As news of the robbery made the rounds online, Guardian Media contacted Deyalsingh over an hour later. He said he had made a report to the police who were investigating the robbery, which occurred around 5 pm.
In a 50-second video that surfaced on social media, the Health Minister could be heard speaking on the cellphone to one of his Cabinet colleagues, as a marked police vehicle drove off.
Deyalsingh, 66, explained to the person on the other end of the phone, who he called “minister,” that he was sitting with one of his constituents in front of Nyahbinghi’s Cultural Centre in St Joseph when two men walked up to him.
“Two fellas walk up to me, put a gun to my head, and robbed me of my bracelet, just letting you know where crime has reached,” he explained.
One eyewitness who was outside the centre when the incident occurred, believes Deyalsingh was specifically singled out.
“They target Mr Deyalsingh, is youths who know,” the eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said.
He said the minister had been sitting in front the bar for almost an hour when the two men came with guns in their hands.
“All of a sudden, I just see two fellas come dey and pull the gun from quite by the corner, they crack the gun quite by the corner they and come up to the face,” the eyewitness said.
He said the men knew exactly who they were targeting and what they wanted, which was Deyalsingh’s bracelet.
The man said as the robbers tried to pull off the Health Minister’s bracelet he initially resisted. But with guns pointed to his face, the eyewitness said Deyalsingh eventually gave in.
“He leave them and they take off the gold from his hand and run up the road,” he said.
The witness said the incident also left him traumatised.
Efforts to contact officers from the St Joseph Police Station for a comment on the incident were unsuccessful.
