All Wilson Phillips* wanted to be was a good citizen. So in 2008 when he witnessed three men killing a man in his community in St Catherine, he did the right thing - reported it to the police.

Doing the right thing, however, apparently turned out to be the wrong thing for Phillips because he claimed that two days after making the report the same men turned up at his house searching for him because they heard he informed on them.

"I had to consult with my pastor for counselling. Everything was happening so fast, never in my life I had to be looking over my shoulders because it was after I had reported the matter to the police that the thugs came back looking for me to kill me, saying that I am an informer," Phillips said.

The 35-year-old Phillips who is overseas, is still living in fear and is now seeking asylum.

foreign country

One of his close relatives told THE STAR. "(He) ... is a decent law abiding citizen. He loves his country and he had to abandon his job to be living in a foreign country, all because he was being a law abiding citizen. Sometimes him can't eat and sleep because he is concerned about his family."

In relating the horror he went through when he witnessed the crime, Phillips said that on the night of the incident he was warned by the thugs to keep his mouth shut. "I remember the gunmen saying that I must not tell the police anything because they would kill me or tek off mi head as how them put it, and that they would come back to kill my family if I go to the police," he recalled.

He said, however, that he felt duty-bound to report the crime. So, because he was concerned about his safety and wanted his information to be kept confidential, he decided to report the matter to a police station that wasn't close to his community.

A few days after the incident, he said that he reported the matter to the Central Village Police Station.

But that, he said, was when things took a turn for the worse. Two days after; "... di thugs came to my house to kill me. I had to hide myself in the outside toilet and my sister told me that they were inside the house threatening my family asking dem 'weh mi deh?'. They ended up robbing my family of cash amongst other valuables."

Phillips was left with no choice but to flee the country a few weeks later.

When asked why he did not report the matter to the Anti-Corruption Branch or to see if he could be placed in a witness protection programme, Phillips said that he lost all confidence in the security forces and that he felt his family's lives would be more at risk.

Yesterday, efforts by THE STAR to speak to a senior police officer from the St Catherine North Division proved futile.

However, Assistant Commissioner Justin Felice of the Anti-Corruption Branch said that while he is unaware of the specifics of Phillips' case, his advice would be for him to report it to the Anti-Corruption Branch.

*Name changed