‘It’s the worst anyone can do’ – Human Services Minister slams businessman for trying to justify mistreating daughter
Kaieteur News – The Kitty businessman, Davenand Singh, charged on April 1 for assaulting his daughter, tried to justify his actions by sharing what he called “his side of the story”, during a live Facebook interview conducted on Saturday by social media personality, Mikhail Rodrigues popularly known as “Guyanese Critic”.
The Kitty businessman, Davenand Singh
Not long after the live interview ended, Minister of Human Services and Social Protection, Vindhya Persaud posted on her personal Facebook page, “The worst thing anyone can do is to justify abuse, violence and just plain cruelty –no one deserves that no matter what”.
Persaud also revealed in her post that Singh’s daughter had made a report via the ministry’s hotline number, 914 and is getting the full support through its Survivor’s Advocate Programme.
The ministry had launched this programme in 2021 with the initiative to assist women who may be forced to evacuate their homes because of an abusive relationship. Singh was caught on camera cuffing, slapping and stomping his daughter to the ground in the presence of his employees at his clothing store, Brands2go located in Kitty Georgetown.
The assault on the young lady reportedly took place on March 25. In a recent Facebook interview that Journalist, Leroy Smith did with the woman, she revealed that after assault, she was imprisoned in her father’s home and was only able to free herself by unplugging the security cameras and escaping when her parents were not around.
She reported the matter at the Kitty Police Station on March 27 and her father was arrested for assaulting and also threatening to shoot her. He was placed before the courts on April 1 and was released on $300,000 and $100,000 bail respectively for the two charges.
In the interview with Leroy Smith, she expressed her dissatisfaction with how ranks at the police station had handled the matter. Those ranks are currently under investigation by the force’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) for allegedly mishandling the case and the businessman’s guns have been seized. He has since come forward to publicly justify his actions.
Singh claimed that he is a “loving dad” and his daughter was “own way child” and on the day he had assaulted her, she had been rude to him and he reacted emotionally. His family even supported him while he was making his claims.
Minister Persaud, however, in her Facebook Post stated, “When someone reports abuse, we have to listen, and yes take action, which includes investigation, protection, shelter and offering legal recourse or whatever is required to support that person”.