The Diego Martin business community are said to be bracing for the worst, following the murder of Franklin Wong, 39, proprietor of Wong’s Supermarket.
Yesterday, some managers of businesses called emergency meetings with their respective staff to discuss what they should or should not do in an event of a robbery or some other form of attack.
On Monday, Wong was at his supermarket at the corner of Majuba Cross Road and St Lucien’s Road when two armed men walked in saying it was a hold up.
Wong was shot in the chest after he tried to defend his sister, who was at the time being attacked by one of the men. Wong died while undergoing treatment at the St James Infirmary.
That incident was in fact the second robbery in just a matter of days apart. In the first incident, a businessman was shot and wounded on the leg after he was robbed.
A manager of a supermarket along the Diego Martin Main Road, who wished not to be identified, said that she spoke with her staff and instructed them to do nothing should bandits enter while they are on duty.
“I told them that their lives are more important than anything else and just to give up anything that these bandits want and not to fight, it’s not worth it,”she said.
She added that Wong’s incident has shaken up the entire area, “It is a lot of mixed emotions…I just want my workers to remain calm in any given situation like that. We can only do all we can with cameras and burglar proofing but we need praying people to go down on their knees and pray for this nation.”
Another businesswoman said she feels very unsafe and called for more police patrols, both mobile and on foot.
Over at St Lucien’s Road, manager, Onika Wilson said both business people and residents are feeling the pain, “but how do we go about eliminating these rogue elements one by one? Crime just spiked out of control and all this has stemmed from the social issues that exist.”
Two Bagatelle young men— Nicholas Britto, 38, and Wendell Williams of Bagatelle said they strongly believe that white collar crime must be dealt with first before any other crime. “Who it is buying the guns and drugs for the youths to go out there with? Not the rich people? Fish rottens from the head you know but nobody cares about anybody again. The rich cares for themselves,” Britto said.
However, Williams said he believes that there is hope, “everyone has the responsibility of their children in their own home. I have three boys and I have trained them well. I am also a tailor by trade and there should be programmes to involve the youths not take those programmes away? It don’t work so.” One of Wong’s neighbour’s said he remains very shocked and scared.
“Today when I look at the time it was almost the same time when the robbery went down and I got very scared, I locked up inside. I feel like packing up, selling out and moving out of this area. Here never used to be like that but it get terrible now and the police doing nothing,” the man said.
