Criminals from Trinidad are hiding out in Tobago. This is the view of residents of Bacolet Point, who are still reeling in shock over last weekend's chopping of British couple, Marion Greene, 59, and her husband Peter, 65. They were chopped badly on Saturday afternoon by intruders at their Bacolet Crescent home.
The Guardian visited the area on Monday afternoon. Worried residents were checking their burglarproofing and making sure that their dogs were ready to attack any intruder.
One resident showed a cutlass he has hidden under his couch, should any intruder attack him while watching television. Elvis Jack, 42, a resident of Bacolet Point for the past 24 years, said criminals had been breaking into houses in the area during the past two years.
Jack said a man entered his house and stole his clothes, and when he caught the thief he was actually wearing them. He said he made a citizen's arrest and took the man to the police station, where he found out the man was wanted for murder in Trinidad and was staying at the home of a relative.
Jack said people believed that the residents of Bacolet and Mount Irvine were relatively wealthy, and "it's not so. "Once a foreigner comes here, buys a house and starts living here, he may be targeted, because the criminals believe the foreigners are loaded with cash." Jason Wallace, 30, a realtor who lives in Bacolet Point, said there were about 500 residents in the area, of whom 40 per cent were foreigners. He said houses ranged from $1.5 million to $8 million.
Wallace said in light of the recent chopping incident, residents of Bacolet Point had started forming themselves into neighbourhood watch groups, and were not taking any chances. He said he would write down the numbers of any strange vehicles in the area. Wallace said more police in Tobago were needed, to ensure that negative elements were not allowed to spread. He also shared the view that several Trinidadian criminals had made their home in Tobago.
EYEWITNESS
A 40-year-old resident said she was mortified when she saw Marion Greene lying on the side of the pavement. The woman, who wished not to be identified, said she, too, was robbed last April. She said after the chopping of Greene, she became extremely frightened. She said Greene lay on the sidewalk for about half-an-hour before help came.
"I was scared. I called my daughter right away to see if they were safe. At that time, I did not know if the people who did this were still in the area. "Since then I have to come home and lock up the house. This has me scared. We have become worried as a community.
"We need more police patrols in the area, and we need them now."
