An entrepreneur and attorney is some $6 000 in the red following a spate of “devastating” burglaries at his establishment located along Two Mile Hill, St Michael.
So egregious were the crimes against Mohia Ma’at that he recorded an almost five-minute video of his plight which has been making the rounds on social media.
The burglaries according to Ma’at began in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and culminated on Friday when he was forced to run the male culprit “with a sword”.
“The experience was devastating, it hurts you. You feel hurt. I always hear people talk about how they feel when someone breaks into their place but this is something that I experienced myself. I feel raided. When I came and I saw what had occurred because it happened about 2:30 in the morning the Wednesday . . . I felt worse the Thursday and obviously because he get way the Friday from me, I feel bad too.
“But I felt it was necessary to do the video to let people understand not to support people who bringing things to them that they know ain’t got in no store. Because the only way he could exist to break into places like that is if he got people that buying the things from him,” Ma’at told Barbados TODAY.
In the video, Ma’at explained that the culprit had stolen assorted drinks and other goods as well as meats. He said he has not made a report to police about the matter. But Ma’at said the “other man” that he referred to in the video who had reportedly received some of the ill-gotten goods, had complained to police of being harassed.
“I tell him I want the money, he went and report me to the police, so the police come here to me, say I harassing de boy. I went and tell him (the other man) I want my money and he tell the police I harassing he. My thing is to find out what going on for myself first.”
Ma’at said within minutes of distributing the video he found the information on who it was that had been burglarizing his roadside establishment.
“You put something on social media and it will travel and it will get to the ears you want to hear it. Within 10 minutes of me posting that video somebody call me and tell me which part he is. That was immediate effect.
“Somebody [else] called me and say that they are his family and apologised and they understand how I feel and what’s not.
“But I want to find out why he brek in my place. Who send he to brek in my place, not once but three times, back-to-back-to-back,” said Ma’at who insisted that he had not taken matters into his own hands.
“By not going to the police I did not break the law. It is not the police things, it is mine. I didn’t take the matter into my own hands. I am investigating the matter,” said the attorney who explained that he would turn the burglar over to police after he had had a word with him.
However, Ma’at has made it clear that he was in no way advocating for anyone to use his methods of attempting to confront the culprit.
“I am not advocating for nobody to do anything, people got to do what they think they got to do for themselves. I am not advocating nothing for nobody to do!
“I know some people will say ‘Ma’at, you shouldn’t have done this, you shouldn’t have run the man with the sword’, I know people will say that. I can understand and appreciate that but them ain’t me, them ain’t feeling it.
“It ain’t just the items. The man cause damage to my place. He pulled off the panels; the man cut the tarpaulin. I estimate the damage somewhere about $2 000 and the goods could be about
$4 000 but the lil boy hit me good.”
He warned the public: “Do not buy things from thieves because you are encouraging stealing, because them got a market to dispose of these things. If he didn’t have somebody to tek them things he ain’t going to come back again. Somebody would have to be encouraging he.”
(fernellawedderburn@barbadostoday.bb)
