'Madman' beaten after breaking bank glass

The Linstead police are investigating an incident in which a man said to be of unsound mind broke the glass doors of a bank and entered the establishment on Saturday.

Video footage of the ordeal has been circulating online, showing angry citizens hauling the barefooted, dreadlocked man from inside the establishment and beating him on the street.

The minute-long footage shows some citizens standing near the shattered glass outside the bank, armed with an assortment of objects.

"Come outta the [expletive] place!" one man is heard shouting as he hauls the man from inside the building and flings him on the road.

Condemned the abuse

Multiple persons then take turns delivering hefty kicks all over his body.

An officer at the Linstead police station told THE STAR that the man was taken to hospital. He added that the man is believed to be of unsound mind based on his actions and information gathered from citizens.

Upon learning of the incident, Joy Crooks, an advocate of the mentally ill, called it an unfortunate one and condemned the abuse.

"Every time I see these things, it just grieves me. I wonder how much more are we as a society going to inflict on unfortunate individuals in our society who may not have all their faculties together," she said.

Crooks said there was no need for the abuse meted out to him even though he was where he wasn't supposed to be.

"He is inflicted enough with this illness that's causing him to behave the way he is behaving. With mental illness, as long as he gets the treatment that is needed, he can be the next citizen that is doing upright things in the society given the chance," Crooks said.