By Denyse Renne Monday, July 16 2012

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EXTENDING CONDOLENCES: National Security Minister Jack Warner assures Yang Wu and Gu Yan Yo, son and daughter of murdered couple Yang Jiang Hua and hi...

National Security Minister Jack Warner has vowed to do all in his power to rid TT of the crime scourge plaguing the country.

Warner was speaking to the relatives of murdered Cunupia couple Yang Jiang Hua and his wife Wu Xiu Hua.

On Thursday night , Hua and his wife, both 60 years old, were at their business place located on the ground floor of their home off the Southern Main Road, when they were shot during a botched robbery.

Xiu Hua was shot once in the chest and died on the spot, while her husband succumbed to his injuries on Friday night at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.

Warner visited the couple’s restaurant yesterday afternoon and spoke with their children.

The minister pleaded with them to remain in TT and not close their business place.

“I will give you protection, I will give you security, but do not close up and leave,” Warner pleaded.

Warner said his visit will be one of many to the families of murder victims to empathise with them.

Adding that he had spoken with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran yesterday, Warner said he was informed that the Chinese Embassy expressed concern that Chinese nationals were being targeted by criminal elements.

Warner said he also spoke with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and was advised to re-assure the Chinese community they were not being targeted and that the Government will do all it can to ensure their safety.

On April 14, last year Xue Hua Shan, 31, was reportedly abducted outside her Seventh Street, Barataria, home. A $4 million ransom had been demanded for her safe release. Shan was the owner of Happy Gardens Restaurant on St Helena Main Road. She was subsequently found dead. While on April 24, last year, businessman Anthony Chin was shot outside his China Palace Restaurant in Maraval

Warner said criminals do not care about race or nationality and he did not feel the Chinese community was being specifically targeted by the criminal elements.

“I have come here based on the Chinese community concerns and will have discussions with the Chinese Embassy and let them know, the fact is that Chinese people are not being targeted,” Warner said.

Declaring it was “a new era for national security”, Warner said he plans on doing things differently and was touched when he went into the Hua’s kitchen and saw their tools of trade.

“They were making an honest living and now more than ever, I am committed to bringing the law breakers to justice,” Warner said.

Referring to criminals as heartless and cowards, Warner said even in the wild, wild west and in the movies, persons with guns never shoot someone unarmed.

He said rarely do criminals attack the police or the army because should the lives of these officers be threatened during their line of duty or while they are preserving the laws of the land, officers will retaliate accordingly.

Warner said at the end of the day, the criminals must not be allowed to emerge victorious, adding that no mercy will be showed to them when they are caught.

“Wherever they are, they will be caught and brought to face the laws of the land,” he assured.

Warner also said he intends to speak with Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs about the conduct of two police officers attached to the Cunupia Police Station.

Warner said the officers’ conduct on the night of the shooting left a lot to be desired.

Not wanting to say much on the incident, Warner said even the police need to be held accountable for their actions.

The couple’s 39-year-old son Yang Hu, said he was deeply touched by Warner’s visit and he hoped everything will be done to find his parent’s killers.

He said his mother was a fan of Warner, adding that he recently recalled her pulling out a key chain with Warner’s photo from her pocket.

According to police reports, at about 9.45 pm on Thursday, two gunmen broke into the Tiger’s Chinese Restaurant and shot the elderly couple before escaping with a quantity of cash and a laptop.

No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.

ASP May Harris is continuing investigations.