CrimeWatch host Ian Alleyne this week aired footage of a 13-year-old student of the Tableland Secondary School being badly beaten by three other female students in her classroom on Monday morning.
The incident was recorded on a cellphone camera and subsequently posted on the social media network Facebook.
Alleyne took up the matter and aired the video to highlight the seriousness of school violence in the nation’s classrooms.
Speaking with Alleyne on Thursday during the live show via telephone, the student’s mother, Simi Wills, said her daughter has now decided to stay away from school because the attack had made her afraid.
Wills claimed that the principal of the school was unaware of the fight, which occurred shortly after 10 am.
Wills said she was told by her daughter that the fight stemmed from some writing that was placed on the wall of a bus shed near the school. She has since called for an intervention by the Ministry of Education to have her daughter transferred from the school.
Alleyne also helped the owners of Marshall’s Bar in San Fernando to solve a major problem.
The owners had reported to Alleyne that one of their employees was stealing from them and provided him with CCTV footage of the individual they believed to have perpetrated the act.
Alleyne visited the bar and confronted the 26-year-old employee of Feeder Road, Charlieville, Chaguanas. He first asked the employee, who was only recently hired, if she had stolen from her employers. When she denied it Alleyne showed her footage he had received from her employers on his laptop.
After seeing the footage the employee confessed to the act.
Her employers told Alleyne they had lost approximately $7,000 within only seven days of the employee’s being hired. Alleyne also interviewed another employee who said she was upset because she had initially been blamed for the theft though it was her co-worker who had actually stolen from the register while she was on duty.
After intervening, the CrimeWatch host was able to convince the owners to give the employee, whom they dismissed, a chance to repay the money rather than press charges against her. The owners gave her one week to do so.
Last week on the show, father of four Martin Johnson, of East Dry River, Port-of-Spain, claimed his wife Psyche Johnson left home on April 17 and never returned.
Alleyne subsequently investigated the matter and was able to locate Mrs Johnson, who visited the set this week.
Alleyne arranged for an interpreter provided by Caribbean Sign Language Centre to be on the show as well, as he tried to settle the matter between the two parties. Mrs Johnson gave her side of the story and said she wanted nothing to do with him.
The host got the two parties to come to an arrangement regarding their four children.
Alleyne was also able to clean up footage which he aired showing a robbery that took place on April 1 at Cost Savers Supermarket, Mc Bean, Couva.
The footage showed a man breaking into the supermarket around 2.30 am. Alleyne is asking anyone with information to call CrimeWatch.
Unsolved Mystery
A distressed Carol Bola, of Barrackpore, also visited the set this week claiming that a Princes Town man owes her money for equipment rentals. She claimed she has been unable to service her loans because of the man’s failure to pay her and pleaded with Alleyne to assist her in getting justice.
Alleyne called on the man to contact him at 294-4081.
A group of people also visited the show seeking justice as they alleged the owner of a business in Arouca had conned them out of $100,000.
Alleyne called on the owner of the business to contact him.
The CrimeWatch host is also asking Arun Ramnanan, of Boodoo Trace, Penal, to contact him.