Ever since she was stabbed multiple times about the body by Joseph Benjamin on J’Ouvert morning, a 30-year-old woman said the pain in her chest and head has been persistent, and the money she was supposed to receive as compensation is tied up at the Treasury.
The victim, who asked not to be named for safety concerns, said she went to a private doctor for an examination this week due to the severity of the pain, particularly in her head.
She said after the consultation, she was told she should return to see the doctor next week Thursday.
“I had to find money to see the doctor and I am not working; I was laid off my job. The court ordered him to pay compensation of $5,000 and when I went to the court [yesterday] morning, I was told to go to the Treasury,” she said.
However, she said when she went to the Treasury Department she was told the portion of the money which the convict paid as compensation after pleading guilty to wounding her would be delivered to her at a later date because it has to go through a process.
“They didn’t say what process, but they did not even consider that I have expenses for these injuries, and I did not give them to myself. Plus, they told me he only paid $2,000-something and not the whole $5,000, and they said they don’t know when he will pay the rest of it. Why he didn’t pay all, I don’t know; but I know he is not up at the prison,” she added.
The young woman said she is disappointed with the development and was upset from the beginning when she learned the man had been charged with simple wounding and not a greater offence such as attempted murder.
“I was stabbed four times. I did nothing to him and I am still in pain. That is serious and he was able to just plead guilty and [has] to pay a small amount of money,” she lamented.
The victim was stabbed above her left eye, on the right side of her head, near the left breast, and on her left shoulder, in an unprovoked attack by Benjamin in the Heritage Quay area around 10am on August 5th.
According to the woman, her attacker followed her through the city that morning, in the process hurling insulting comments at her, but she ignored him since she did not know him and was unsure who his remarks were meant for at the time.
She said the man was walking with a child who she later learned was his nine-year-old son.
In an earlier interview she told OBSERVER media, “When I passed immigration and reached by the abandoned building by the parking lot he grabbed me from behind and put his hand around my neck, choking me and I started to feel numb around my left shoulder.”
The victim said she tried to fight off the man who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, and at the same time the child who was with him was screaming and pleading with him to stop. Another man stepped in and pulled the attacker off the woman, and he also called the police. She was taken to hospital in an ambulance.