Belize City shopkeeper beaten and robbed
It’s not exactly an unknown type of crime, but what was once a near nightly occurrence on the streets of Belize City has in recent months been reduced to a rarity. Jacqueline Woods reports from Mahogany Street.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The armed assault and burglary against Gabu Wu and his wife was the first incident of its kind to take place in the New Year. The crime occurred around 10:30 on Monday night at the Wu’s store and residence at number 6648 Mahogany Street.
The Wu’s had already closed their shop and were about to retire for the night when two armed men armed masked men held them up.
According to the Wu’s, the yard’s gate was closed with a padlock and the wife was just inside the compound picking clothes off the line when two dark complexioned men, wearing black masks and holding handguns, jumped down from the building’s roof top into the yard. At that time, the only door that leads to the couple’s residence, located to the back of the shop, was opened. That gave the men an easy opportunity to get inside the building.
A.S.P. Simeon Alvarez, Head of C.I.B.
“Definitely, the person who may have committed this crime, he did some homework before he actually made his way into the building. Because as a matter of fact, as you can see, there is a dog in the yard, and apparently the dog was locked up in the shop. And they jumped because it is a one flat building–it has a stair for the second floor–and they made their way from that flat down and into the shop.
Once inside the shop, the men demanded money. And then one of them knocked Mister Wu on the right side of the face with the handgun injuring his right eye, while his accomplice grabbed a gold chain from around the neck of Mrs. Wu. The couple was then ordered to kneel on the floor while the burglars searched for money. They found one thousand, five hundred dollars in Hong Kong currency and five hundred dollars cash in Belize money.
A.S.P. Alvarez speaking with Wu
“So you have to be careful now when you go out in the night to open the door…two of them have guns?”
Today the police were back at the crime scene to get additional information. According to A.S.P. Simeon Alvarez, Head of the Criminal Investigation Branch, he suspects that once again the Chinese business community is being targeted.
A.S.P. Simeon Alvarez
“So they really have to be careful. You know we have patrols in this area, but again you have to watch the entire length of Mahogany Street Extension. And because of the fence, the place is enclosed, the police could have been in the area, but then they would not have been able to see what was occurring inside the building.”
Jacqueline Woods
“You have any suspects at this time?”
A.S.P. Simeon Alvarez
“Well, we have some key players that the modus looks very similar and definite we will be looking at those suspects.”
The Wu’s say that although they were frightened by the incident, they have decided to remain open for business. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
Up to news time, police have still not yet made any arrests.
