One of the bruises Frederick sustained during the scuffle with the minibus driver.
A Guyanese woman, who accused a Gros Islet minibus driver of attacking her on August 22, said a complaint was filed against her by the driver, for breaking his chain.
Audrey Fredericks told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) today that she received a call from a female police officer last evening, informing her that a complaint has been lodged with the Gros Islet Police Station against her by the said driver. The driver also plans to take her to court.
Fredericks said she is upset with the situation, because the police never took a statement from her and almost four months later, they are now calling to inform her of a complaint made against her.
According to her, the driver claims his chain is worth US$6,000. While she admitted to breaking the chain, in an attempt to get back her Samsung Galaxy phone, she said she doesn’t plan to pay any money for the broken chain.
Fredericks told SNO that when the incident happened, she was advised by the police to get a medical certificate, which she did. “They didn’t take a statement from me. They told me they will call me when they are ready for me to make a statement,” she explained.
She said she found it strange, but allowed the police to do their work. Two days after the incident, she decided to call again and was told the officer in charge of the case was not in. Since then, none of the police officers ever called her back to get a statement, until last night.
The Bois D’Orange resident said she called the station again this morning to air her concerns. Frederick said she was advised by a senior police officer, to make a formal complaint with the Police Complaints Department and the National Transport Board.
Fredericks said he feels victimised and will do all in her power to ensure that the authorities are aware of the situation. She is hopeful that some intervention can be made to have it resolved. Most importantly, however, she said she would like to see that minibus drivers treat passengers with respect.
Frederick was short of 25 cents, which caused a quarrel between her and the minibus driver. This later led to a scuffle between the two. She claims the driver bit her hand when she attempted to take her phone, which he took during the scuffle.
A formal complaint was also lodged with the National Council of Public Transportation and the Gros-Islet Mini Bus Owners Association.