Belmopan Home Invasion Caught on Surveillance Camera
Like the brazen killing of shopkeeper Abel Bardalez last Friday, on Monday night armed, masked thieves entered the home of a Belizean tax collector on Monday night not only ransacked the place, stole jewellery and a gun, but also tied up the family and attempted to kidnap Nan Cheng’s, one-year-old baby. Cheng managed to escape and made her way to the police who responded shortly after, but by then the thieves had already escaped. The home invasion was caught on surveillance camera, and the horrifying footage leaked. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The frightening ordeal was caught on surveillance camera. Just after seven on Monday night, tax collector Nan Cheng along with her three children – ages one, three and eight – and her parents, both in their sixties were inside their house in the American Embassy residential area of Belmopan when three armed masked men breached the house. And what happened later is being described by the family as inhumane. The thieves fought with Cheng’s sixty-six-year-old father, Mark Fa Ling, but not before taking her youngest child hostage. They brandished a knife, an axe and a machete and the incredible footage captured how as the elderly man is being fought to the ground, the eight-year-old is pinned down in a chair as a bandit hovers the machete above him. The baby is then picked up while the eldest child forced to lay face down on the ground.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Three persons entered with machete. From what I am told, I know that among the items stolen was a firearm belonging to Miss Cheng and perhaps a few pieces of jewellery but nothing else was stolen.”
When we met with the family today, they were too distraught to comment as the entire family has been left traumatized, especially since Cheng says the thieves attempted to kidnap the baby. The family was tied up and locked in a room. Mark Fa Ling was stabbed to the right hand and he had a wound on his head. But by the time police got to the scene and entered the premises, the thieves had already escaped with some items.
Chester Williams
“I do not want to speculate at this time as to a possible motive, but we know that a few items were stolen. From the initial information we gathered was that the home invaders had hostage the residents of that premises and so we surrounded the house with the hope that the suspects were still inside. And after a couple of hours outside, we decided to force our way in and when we got in, we only found the residents and the suspects were no longer there. From what we gathered from those residents was that the suspects had left prior to the police arrival, which was not consistent with our information that we received initially.”
Police combed the area for clues and ComPol Chester Williams says that all three persons were of Hispanic descent.
Chester Williams
“We remained on spot until after twelve midnight then we did some searches in the neighbouring communities with a view to see if we would be able to find those who are responsible, but that was fruitless.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
