Three male security guards attached to the Couva District Health Facility, are being investigated by the Couva Police for assaulting a patient and his wife.
This follows a claim by Shafeez Hosein that he and his common-law-wife, Beatrice Ramsumair, were not only assaulted by the guards but were chased from the institution without receiving treatment for a wound to his foot.
Hosein, 44, of Powdery Road, Preysal Village, Couva, said the Couva Police officers also refused to take his report of assault, because he was bleeding and they did not want him to mess up the station's floor.
Now Hosein is calling on both Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh and Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams to launch an investigation and take separate action against those guards and officers. In an interview with the Guardian yesterday, Hosein said the drama unfolded on November 23, when he received a deep gash to his right foot.
Accompanied by Ramsumair, Hosein said he went to the Couva hospital around 3 pm to seek treatment for the wound which was bleeding, but eight hours later he had received no medical attention.
As he began feeling weak from the loss of blood, his wife started speaking loudly about his lack of attention.
"My wife was not cursing or anything like that, she was just saying we here so long and not body attending to me. Three male guards came and started pushing her and started to wring up her hand."
Hosein said he attempted to intervene to help his wife when the officers turned on him and started kicking him on his bleeding foot.
"Then they shove me out of the hospital and tell me don't come back."
With both him and his wife in pain, he said they walked to the nearby police station, but the officers on duty refused to take his report when they got there close to midnight.
"The officer said that is not their work and don't bother to come into the station because my foot bleeding and I would mess up the station."
Hosein said it was raining heavily but he and his wife left the station and waited until 1am when they got a vehicle to take them to the Chaguanas Health Facility.
"The staff there were very kind and they attended to me and gave me a letter to go to the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) for an X-ray the next day. On November 24, Hosein said he went to the San Fernando Police Station to report what had transpired the evening before and the Sergeant at the station called Couva and instructed them to take his report.
He also reported the matter to his Member of Parliament Dr Bhoe Tewarie who has promised to take up the matter with his parliamentary colleague Deyalsingh.
Hosein, who is still walking with a limp from the beating he received, said he was horrified by the treatment meted out to him both at the hospital and Couva police station.
"I went to the hospital for help for bacchanal and licks. And why did they have to hit the woman. She was just exercising her right to talk."
WPC Cadogan is conducting investigations.