Cops believe restaurant owner was strangled
Dead: Lian Jiang
The bound body of a Chinese national that was discovered in the bathroom area of the Paradise Chinese Restaurant at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, on Thursday night, has been identified as 44-year-old Lian Jiang, a father of two.
Jiang’s body was found in the lower flat of the building where he operated a restaurant. He resided in the upper flat.
Investigators suspect that Jiang, who had been running the restaurant by himself, was killed sometime Wednesday night or in the wee hours of Thursday. His remains were only found around 22:00 hrs on Thursday. His mouth was gagged, his hands were tied behind his back with a phone charger and his feet were also tied.
No blood was found at the scene, but there were marks of violence on the victim’s body. His right cheek was swollen. The entire house was ransacked.
Kaieteur News was informed that the bandits gained entry into the restaurant by removing louvre panes from a bathroom window and then breaking the grill.
It is suspected that the men left through the same window, since a chair was found nearby, indicating that they used it to climb out. While the main door to the restaurant was found ajar, the cops believe that the victim might have been selling late.
“If they had escaped through that door then someone might have seen them, so we believe that they went just as they came (entered) because neighbours cannot see that section,” a police rank said yesterday, while adding that they have not determined what the men escaped with as yet.
This newspaper was informed that the restaurant does not have cameras, but an adjacent premises has a surveillance system. “We are hoping that we get something because the way the camera is positioned, it might be a little challenging,” the rank said.
The victim’s wife, who runs another restaurant at Soesdyke, told the police that she last spoke with her husband around 22:00 hrs on Wednesday. When she did not hear from him on Thursday, she called his phone but it went to voicemail.
The woman then asked a male friend in the area to check on him. When the individual went, he called several times but did not get a response. Upon entering the building, the young man noticed the restaurant door was partly open and immediately went to the Tuschen Outpost, from where he was accompanied by ranks.
When they entered the building, the cops noticed the place was ransacked and shortly after, they found the body. No one has been arrested as yet.