Philipsburg:--- A 28 year old Guyanese man who has been residing and working for Save A Lot on Bush Road was at the Philipsburg Police Station on Monday night and Tuesday morning filing a complaint against his employers whom he said beat him with a piece of wood and electric wires Monday night. The man identified as Omadat Kasinat said he has been working for four years for the company as a driver and on Monday evening he asked his bosses to use their truck to pick up a piece of furniture that someone gave his sister. The young man whose hand was in a strap and had several wounds said while he was on his way to pick up the piece of furniture his bosses he identified as Sammy and Mikey called him back to the store. He said when he reached the Bush Road store his bosses called him inside the store and began beating him. Kasinat said his bosses closed the shutters of the store before they started to beat him with a piece of wood and electrical wires. Kasinat further explained that he was beaten by Sammy and Mikey but another employee he identified only as Muhamed was locked out of the store while his bosses beat him. He said shortly after his bosses ordered his co- worker to go home. The co-worker who is a national of Venezuela overheard what was taking place inside the store. Kasinat said the two men wanted him to say that his co-worker "Muhamed" and him had plans to go to Cole Bay and steal from their warehouse. Kasinat said in the beginning he told his bosses that there was no such arrangement to steal from them and he did not have any plans with "Mohamed" whom they said have the keys to the warehouse. He said he maintained his position for quite some time but his bosses started to beat him from 6:30pm in the afternoon until after 9pm at night. Kasinat told SMN News that Sammy and Mikey even told him that if he admitted to making plans with "Muhamed" to steal from the warehouse they would increase his salary but he maintained that he had no such plans. Kasinat further explained that when the beating became unbearable and the two men "Sammy and Mikey" told him that they will kill him that was when he told them "yes" he did make plans with Muhamed to steal from them and they immediately stopped beating him. When he was asked by SMN News if his employers were recording him when they got the confession they wanted, Kasinat said he was not sure but thought so.
"I had to say yes to save my life, these people closed the shutters and they beat me until I said yes I made plans with Muhamed to steal from the warehouse." Kasinat said that he heard that his bosses took Mohamed to a beach and they also beat him and their intention is to send him back to his homeland. SMN News went to Muhamed's apartment in search of him on Tuesday morning but we were unable to locate him. Kasinat said that his bosses took away Muhamed's telephone so he was unreachable by phone. SMN News visited Save A Lot Store on Bush Road on Tuesday after conducting the interview with Kasinat and Muhamed was not at the store, even more disturbing Mohamed's telephone 1721- 526 4311 is switched off. Kasinat said that on Tuesday morning his bosses called his phone several times because he did not report to work. He said when he left the store Monday night even though he was severely injured his bosses instructed him to report to work on Tuesday. He said while he was at the Philipsburg Police Station his bosses was calling him but he did not answer the phone. "I am afraid I am not going back to work because those people could have killed me. They shut down the shutters and they beat me with a piece of wood and electrical wires. I don't know what they will do next and I also don't know when the police will arrest them. I cannot even find my co-worker whom my bosses accused of stealing." SMN News reporter overheard someone who called Kasinat and told him that the owners of Save A Lot took Muhamed to a beach and beat him severely Monday evening and they also took away his cellular phone.
Kasinat's sister identified as Rena who was at the Philipsburg Police Station on Tuesday morning told SMN News that when her brother did not go home Monday evening she began calling him on his phone and she could not reach him because his phone was switched off. The young woman said she got worried and she continued calling her brother and it wasn't until after 9pm he answered the phone and told her he was busy, she said someone else took the phone away from her brother and also told her that Kasinat was busy and then they hung up. Rena said her brother reached home after 10pm Monday night and she immediately took him to the Philipsburg Police Station to file a complaint when she saw how badly her brother was beaten. She said the police sent her and her brother to the St. Maarten Medical Center and instructed her and her brother to return to the Police Station on Tuesday to file an official complaint.
While Kasinat could not find his co-worker, SMN News managed to locate the young man Tuesday afternoon and he told SMN News in an interview that he has been working and residing on St. Maarten illegally for the past two years and that is one of the main reasons he did not approach the police Monday evening when his bosses were beating Kasinat inside the store. Muhamed Shuman said his bosses instructed him to go home shortly after they started to beat Kasinat and he went home but around 10pm Monday night nine persons all owners of Save A Lot Store showed up at his apartment on Pointe Blanche road and "Mickey" slapped him a few times behind his head and took away his cellular phone. Muhmad said that the men that went to his apartment also told him if he contacted the police they would kill him and they also told him that he is not to go back to the store. He said because of the fright he decided to hide out at a friend's place instead of staying where he is living. Despite the threats, Muhamed Shuman did visit the police on Tuesday afternoon where he filed an official complaint against the owners of Save A Lot Store.
