Police Probe Marketplace Scam and Assault Reports Across Belize

Police are investigating a reported Facebook Marketplace scam, an alleged assault in Stann Creek and a bottle attack in Toledo.  In Belize City, forty-year-old soldier Kenny Suazo reported losing two hundred dollars after agreeing to buy a portable air conditioner advertised on Facebook Marketplace. Suazo told police that on Wednesday morning, he contacted an account using the name Aliyah Jones and transferred the money to a bank account provided by the seller.  According to his report, the person behind the Facebook account then sent him a message saying he had been scammed. Suazo said he was subsequently blocked and had received neither the air conditioner nor a refund when he reported the matter. 

In San Roman Village, Stann Creek, banana farm worker Lorina Ack reported that her sister-in-law, Jennifer Ax, attacked her with a rubber boot on Thursday night. Ack told police she was walking home after getting off her workers’ bus around seven-thirty when Ax approached her and struck her repeatedly, including on the forehead.  Ack requested court action and was issued a medico-legal form. Police are seeking Ax in connection with the allegation.

Meanwhile, in San Felipe Village, Toledo, forty-one-year-old construction worker Senecio Cho was treated for injuries to his left ear and the right side of his head following an alleged attack early this morning.  Cho told responding officers that two brothers, Victor and Orlando Chen, demanded twenty dollars from him and injured him with a broken bottle when he could not produce the money.  He was taken to the Punta Gorda Community Hospital, where his injuries were certified as wounding. Police say Cho was discharged this morning but declined to provide a formal statement. The brothers remain wanted in connection with the report.