Man held for abusing Venezuelan woman still in custody

A DAY after a video was posted online to social media showing a man threatening, cursing and abusing a Venezuelan woman, police arrested him on Thursday at a house in Gasparillo.

The victim, 19, who appeared to be battered and bruised in the video, was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where she was receiving treatment up to yesterday.

Police sources said that during an anti-crime exercise supervised by Snr Supt Zamsheed Mohammed, officers from the Special Operations Response Team and San Fernando CID arrested the 31-year-old man at a house in Reform Village at 2.30 pm.

The man who gave his home address as Ramai Trace in Debe told police the woman is his girlfriend and that it is a private matter. On Wednesday, the video was posted online and quickly went viral. In it, the man orders the woman to kneel.

He then repeatedly curses her while demanding that she give him more respect. The woman who appears dazed in the video replies to the man but what she says is inaudible. The video sparked anger and criticism on social media with many calling on the police to intervene.

According to a release issued on Thursday afternoon by the Police Service’s corporate communications unit, Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith contacted the relevant agencies on Wednesday evening and ordered an investigation into the video.

The police service thanked the public for utilising social media to bring the criminal behaviour to officers' attention. During the exercise, police arrested eight Venezuelans including four males and four females, who were in the house where the suspect was held.

Checks revealed that the eight are in the country illegally and they have since been handed over to the Immigration Department for processing. Up to press time, the beating suspect was still in custody and had not as yet been charged.