The first happened a week ago - but police are just reporting it. Jack Burnett, a US National of San Pedro Town reported that he was awakened by three men who entered his house, and tied him up. One of them struck him to the head with a handgun and told him to shut up and lay down on the floor or he will be killed. The men then proceeded to ransack the house and took assorted electronic appliances.

Police have not said what area this happened in.

And then in Dangriga on Saturday night, 69 year old OSCAR RAMIREZ, a businessman reported that at about 11:00 he had locked up his business - a bookstore - and was walking upstairs -the stairs are outside the house - when two men approached him, demanded money, searched him, found none and then left.

RAMIREZ didn't call the police, and went to sleep and about half hour later, while sleeping in his bedroom he was awakened by the same two persons. They again searched him, and demanded money, but this time they tied his feet with electrical wire. The culprit ransacked his house and stole $7,000.00 in Belize and US currency in different denominations inside a filing cabinet. No forced entry was observed upstairs - and he wasn't harmed. Police have no suspects.

In other news from Dangriga, you may recall that a few weeks ago, a terrible story coming out of that town was that a 10 year old had been tied up and sodomized.