Three held in Chinese businessman’s murder probe
Published:Friday | October 21, 2022 | 12:11 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Three suspects have been held in connection with the murder of 36-year-old Chinese businessman He Jin, otherwise called ‘Archie’, who was gunned down during a robbery at his supermarket in Orange Bay in the western parish on Wednesday afternoon.
Superintendent Sharon Beeput, who heads the Hanover Police Division, said the suspects were picked up on Thursday morning but declined to release their identities, citing the early stage of the investigation
Reports are that about 4:43 p.m. on Wednesday, He Jing, the owner and operator of Orange Bay Supermarket, was at the establishment along with employees and customers when two masked men entered the store and held them at gunpoint.
The men immediately opened fire, hitting the businessman multiple times, before proceeding to rob the establishment of an undetermined sum of cash and bottles of liquor.
The Gleaner learnt from other business operators in the area that He Jing had only started to operate the supermarket, which is located on the Orange Bay Plaza, last weekend.
They said that prior to that, a supermarket at the same location was being operated by a female Chinese businesswoman for two years, but she gave up the store because she was constantly being targeted by armed robbers.
“Up to now mi can’t believe that dem really kill Archie. A just four days since him launch out pon him own,” one business operator told The Gleaner. “What surprise me more is that the other Chinese [operators] before him had two security guards in a the place, but since him take over, him get rid a the two guard dem.”
Beeput is urging the business community not to panic in the wake of the robbery and murder.
“It’s the first incident of this kind of violence we have had in the parish of Hanover against a Chinese national. We just want to assure our citizens and the business community that we are doing all that we can to ensure that we don’t have another attack like this one within the parish,” she said.
“I don’t think we are at that stage; we have not reached that stage, so don’t panic,” she added. “ ... This is not a stage for you to panic. We are doing everything that we can to put effective measures and strategies in place to prevent a recurrence.”
The Gleaner has learnt that despite a number of surveillance cameras at the location, they were not installed at strategic points to give significant help to investigators.
Beeput is urging business operators and citizens not to shy away from sharing footage that can assist police investigations.
“We are asking you that when we come to you seeking your assistance to show us the videos, please don’t refuse. Assist us, because this will help us to clear up incidents, and persons are not willing to come forward to say anything because they claim that they are afraid,” the commanding officer said.
Since the start of the year, 36 persons have been murdered in Hanover, two more than for the corresponding period in 2021.