Acting President Milagros Ortiz Bosch personally unarmed an apparently perturbed agronomist who desperately wanted his pay check at the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday. News reports say that at around 8:20 am Rodolfo Delmonte Beras, a long time employee of the Ministry who is in charge of the Porcine Department, put a knife to the throat of co-worker Luis A. Sang, who is deputy director of the Cattle Ranching Department. Delmonte demanded the presence of Cadena de Noticias radio and television news network and TV producer Freddy Beras Goico. Speaking in a confused manner, he stated he wanted to tell his plight of being a father suffering under the child support law (14-94) which allows his employer to deduct child support from his salary. He protested on TV and radio the RD$1,500 monthly deductions to his wages made for child support. "What I want is to be paid on time and here they are not doing it, because they say that the judge’s sentence ordered them not to, which has led me to this," El Caribe newspaper quoted him as saying. After disarming the agronomist, acting President Ortiz said that Delmonte was a desperate and confused man. Minister of Agriculture Eligio Jaquez said that no action would be taken against Delmonte until a psychiatric report was prepared. After handing the knife to Acting President Ortiz, at around 11 am, he was taken to the Armed Forces and Police Hospital for a medical check up, according to El Siglo.
