Parts of Bermuda may appear to be a law unto themselves, and on March 20, Island resident James Joseph DeSilva Jr. experienced this first hand.

The 22-year-old, Ord Road, Paget resident had sold his BMW Z3 car to another area resident more than a month ago and an agreement was made to make payment in full within 21 days.

However, 21 days passed and as the debt had not been paid, Mr. DeSilva took it upon himself to take the car back.

A day after taking the car back, on Tuesday March 20, at about 7.30 a.m. three thugs came to Mr. DeSilva's house armed with bats and golf clubs.

They started to break into the house by smashing through blinds and a window.

Mr. DeSilva heard the ruckus, realised that people were breaking into his house, and called 911.

The attackers broke through however, found Mr. DeSilva and started to viciously beat him with clubs and bats.

Mr. DeSilva said he fought with his attackers for as long as he physically could, but the Police failed to arrive before he was overpowered.

During the assault, at least two neighbours are believed to have made calls to 911, but they say it took more than half-an-hour for one Police car to arrive.

When they did arrive, officers allegedly became quite amused at the situation and even started joking about what a good "walloping'' Mr. DeSilva had received.

And instead of arresting his attackers, Police arrested Mr. DeSilva for suspicion of theft -- for allegedly stealing the car -- and for an outstanding warrant for a traffic matter.

Mr. DeSilva was taken to Hamilton Police Station and held overnight to appear in Plea Court the next day, and was only allowed to receive hospital treatment at approximately 11 p.m. the night of his arrest.

And after being taken away, the thugs allegedly started to ransack Mr.

DeSilva's house, stealing his cell phone and his son's dirt bike among other things.

Neighbours again called Police to report the "ransacking'' but when another officer arrived, he was heard by neighbours to say it was a false call.

Mr. DeSilva was released after a court appearance the next day.

Mr. DeSilva has consulted with a lawyer, and is considering taking legal action against his attackers for breaking and entering, assault, and as he was being dragged from his property, kidnapping.

Mr. DeSilva said the Police were firmly convinced the incident was drug-related, but he said he was sick of being stereotyped and said: "I think the Bermuda public needs to know what the Police do.'' And he said he was speaking to the Press as he saw no other way to put an end to "this type of behaviour.'' Mr. DeSilva also criticised the length of time it took for Police to arrive, and said he had a home security system, and during false alarms, officers had been on the scene in five minutes.

"But it took them 30 minutes on a land line,'' Mr. DeSilva said.

Mr. DeSilva said that when he was in jail, one of the officers told him he thought the matter was all about drugs, and that he should let him go, and he would call the men were beating him up and tell them he was being let out of jail.

Mr. DeSilva said the officer then said: "They'll kill you, or you'll kill them, I don't care.'' Police were unable to comment on the incident as a spokesman said that no charges had been filed, and so the incident was not under investigation.

However, Mr. DeSilva said: "I was given no chance to press charges because if they (Police) gave me the opportunity, I would have done it.'' Mr. DeSilva has seen his attackers since the incident and approached them about the cost of replacing the window -- about $1,600 -- and they said they would pay for it, but he has not heard anything yet.

Mr. DeSilva said he is still owed $5,000 on the car.

"I'm not going to play that game anymore,'' said Mr. DeSilva, and he said all he wanted was to be paid for the car.

Mr. DeSliva also criticised the Transport Control Department (TCD) as he said the car he sold was illegally licensed as there was no bill of sale.

He said he had confronted the tester -- who came to Ord Road to test the car -- and she was terrified of the ramifications of her actions.

Mr. DeSilva also spoke to TCD director, Kevin Monkman, who brushed the claim off.

He also said he intended to submit a letter to the Department alerting them to the discrepancy.

And in an incident which Mr. DeSilva believes is related, his tenants became involved in the feud when their fishing boat was torched, which they believe was a mistake, or was revenge for the Police being called. The tenants, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the events surrounding the assault, and said that their boat was set on fire less than a week later.

The incident occurred at about 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, when the family was awakened by passing sirens.

When they went outside, a neighbour approached them and said: "I don't know what's wrong with these guys but they just torched your boat.'' When the couple went outside to where their boat was stored, they saw it had been almost totally destroyed by fire, and the Fire Service and two Police officers were on the scene.

The firefighters said that an inspector would come and search the area for evidence, but fire personnel said they were sure it was arson.

And the inspector who arrived a short time later also thought it was arson, and after a brief investigation of the scene, said he would return the next day, but they have not heard from him since.

The tenant also said Police promised to call back, but did not, and she said that when she later phoned one of the Policemen involved, she "let him have it'' and related the assault incident and the fact that Police may have seen the culprits.

The Policeman allegedly replied: "Sweetheart, they probably thought it was his boat,'' and said that it could also be a revenge attack for the Police being called.

A Police spokesman confirmed that Police had attended the boat fire and said the incident was "under investigation''.

Battleground: The charred remains of a fishing boat in the Ord Road, Paget area that was allegedly torched following a violent neighbourhood dispute.