SECURITY guard Michael Maelea lost four of his fingers when bank robbers hacked him with a machete outside Westpac Bank in Honiara, Monday.
He’s now scarred for life and may not be able to find employment again.
Two days after the shocking incident that landed him in hospital, Mr Maelea said he has decided to forgive his attackers.
“I just want to say to those who did this to me that I have forgiven them,” he told the Solomon Star yesterday from his bed at the National Referral Hospital where he’s recovering.
“Yes, I’ve lost four fingers, I’ve now lost a job, and I may not be able to find work again in the future.
“After pondering upon what these men did to me, I decided that the way forward for me is to forgive them.
“My pray is that God will help them to realise that this is not how they should lead their lives.
“If they want money, they should work to earn an honest living,” Mr Maelea said.
Five men were involved in the bank robbery. Four were already arrested while the fifth is still at large.
They took off with two suitcases containing $4 million after attacking Mr Maelea and his colleague guard outside the bank as they carried the cash to a waiting vehicle.
But less than an hour later, their get-away car crashed in the Kakabona area, west of Honiara, and police recovered $3.7 million of the stolen cash.
Mr Maelea, who is from To’abaita in north Malaita, appealed to the suspect still at large to surrender to police.
“I call on the suspect still on the run to give it up. There’s no point running away from the law because you cannot hide away for ever.
“Give yourself up and face justice.”
Monday’s attack brought fears and tensions into the city and prompted Mr Maelea’s brothers and relatives to call for revenge.
But from his hospital bed, Mr Maelea advised his brothers and relatives who were surrounding him at that time, to avoid seeking revenge.
“Parents and relatives of those who attacked me are innocent people. They are not part of what their children planned and did to me,” he said.
“I advised my brothers to leave the matter to the police and let the law takes its course. I’m glad they listened,” he added.
Mr Maelea was an employee of Alert Protective Service, which Westpac engaged to provide security at its main Point Cruz office. He was posted to Westpac Bank in January last year.
He was a familiar face at the bank, who besides providing security, also assisted many customers lining up in the queues with their queries.
“I’ll be missing many of Westpac’s regular customers who became my best friends during the year I’ve worked there.
“I’ve also had an excellent working relationship with the management and staff of Westpac.
“Although I am not employed by the bank, the staff have always treated me with respect and I wish to thank them for their hospitality and for being my friends.
“They are the ones who rushed me over to hospital in the midst of the chaos that occurred during the attack, and they kept assuring me on the way to hospital that I will be okay,” Mr Maelea said.
Now in his 40s, Mr Maelea has been a security guard for many years.
“Previously, I’ve worked as a prison wander. After I left the prison service, I became a security guard, working for various private security firms in town,” he said.
Mr Maelea said Monday’s incident should be a wake-up call to all security firm owners.
“Criminals nowadays are different from those of say 10 years ago.
“The manner they carry out their criminal missions are deadly and lethal. When they are out there to do something, they do it with brute and force.
“They don’t care about other people’s lives.
“The best example is what happened to me. Those who carried out the attack were distant relatives.
“They know who I am. But because their plan was to steal the money, they were not hesitant to kill me.
“It was just by sheer luck that I survived,” he said.
Mr Maelea said security operators need to lift their standard and equip and protect their workers against lethal attacks from criminal groups.
By CHARLES KADAMANA
