Outraged: Shirley Seepaul shows the ID card of her brother Selwyn Seepaul at her Waterloo home yesterday. Selwyn Seepaul was beaten by security guards at a mall in Chaguanas in May 2011. He was killed by a hit-and-run driver last December. —Photo: DAVE PERSAD

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Beaten man never told family

By Susan Mohammed susan.mohammed@trinidadexpress.com

THE man whose merciless beating by security guards was videotaped at a mall in Chaguanas last year was identified yesterday as 50-year-old mentally challenged father of one, Selwyn Seepaul.

Seepaul, of Waterloo Road, Carapichaima, died in Chaguanas last December when he was knocked down and killed by a hit-and-run driver.

The case was never solved and there is no active investigation.

Seepaul, an outpatient of St Ann's Hospital, never told his family about the brutality in May, 2011 which began at the automated teller machine (ATM) of Republic Bank at Centre City Mall, Chaguanas and continued into the parking lot.

It was only earlier this week that the family saw the video uploaded to social networking sites that showed the savagery of the attack, with Seepaul being cuffed, slapped, kicked and stomped on, although he begged and never fought back.

The video has sparked national outrage with people insisting that the attackers be arrested and prosecuted.

Many have expressed deep shame at the inhumanity of fellow citizens.

Yesterday, Seepaul's sister called on the public to help identify the men who hurt her challenged brother.

"He was not a dog...he was a human being," said Shirley Seepaul.

Speaking at the family home in Carapichaima the woman said her brother, only 125 pounds and five feet, two inches tall, could not have defended himself against the men who brutalised him.

"People would hit him all the time and he would not fight back. People would take advantage of him and he would just walk away," she said.

Seepaul was not employed.

Seepaul said that on the night of the attack, her brother, who received a State disability allowance, may have gone to the bank to check his account balance.

"He would not have said anything about the beating. He would have tried to handle it himself. He would not have gone to the police."

Seepaul said she saw the footage on the TV6 News and was deeply troubled.

"When I saw the video, it hurt my belly. My brother not even sleeping. The police must take action against them. The law has to put a stop to them otherwise they could do it to somebody else."

She said of the video: "He was bawling when they were hitting him and that was not enough. He is not a dog. He is human. He come from somebody."

Seepaul's brother, Joseph Seepaul, went to the Chaguanas Police Station yesterday to identify his brother as the victim in the video.

He was told to speak with Senior Superintendent Deolal Dulalchan, who was not in office.

Superintendent Johnny Abraham was provided information last night about Seepaul's identity and promised to investigate both the attack at the ATM and Seepaul's hit and run death.

He said despite Seepaul's death, his attackers could still face prosecution based on the video footage.

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