By Susan Mohammed Story
Created: Sep 23, 2014 at 9:39 PM ECT
A
FYZABAD mother was doused with acid on Monday hours after police
intervened in a quarrel between her and a close male relative.
Linda
Thomas, a mother of six, of New City Avenue, John Jules Trace, suffered
burns to the eyes and mouth and is being treated at hospital.
Thomas’s
son, Larry Thomas, 38, said he was told his mother has not been able to
open her eyes since the incident and she was expected to be visited by
an eye specialist.
Larry Thomas said last month his mother and the male relative ended their relationship of some 40 years.
“They
divided up the house and she went to live in the back and he in the
front. He was always a high-tempered and quarrelsome person, but lately
he started to get violent and fly off the handle.
“He started to mash things up and pelt things in the house, like the microwave and the blender,” said the son.
Thomas
said on Monday he heard the man quarrelling with his mother and,
minutes later, saw police officers in front of their home.
“I
don’t know what the argument was about because I was across the road,
but when I saw the police I came across to the house. The police warned
him to behave himself, but he was still acting ‘hyper’. Eventually the
police calmed him down and they left,” he said.
“After
a while, I went to talk to him. I told him this stupidness has to stop
because you lived with this woman for 40-something years and you cannot
be acting like this. He said ‘yea’, but apparently he had something else
in mind, like he was scheming already”, said Larry Thomas.
He said around 6.30 p.m. his mother was sitting on a chair in the living room when she was attacked.
“She
was cleaning bhajee to cook, and her two grandchildren were close by.
He came up the step and threw a container with the liquid at her face.
The children started to bawl for help and he run down the step and gone.
“My
sister and brother ran out and saw her (Linda) holding her face. They
took her to the sink and tried to wash it off, but she said her skin was
burning. They took her to the hospital,” he said. “Hours later I sat
down on the chair where she was sitting and my neck started to burn like
if it was on fire. So I could just imagine how she felt,” said the son.
Larry Thomas said he found a bottle labelled “muriatic acid” in the yard and he handed it over to the police.
A senior investigator said the bottle and contents will be taken to Forensic Science Centre, St James, for testing.
Police said up until yesterday evening, they were searching for the suspect.
WPC Vincent is investigating.
