Bonded father must attend counselling as well
MAGISTRATE Adela  Nagamootoo has put a 68-year-old man on a six months bond, after convicting him of unlawfully wounding his son.
The Court decision, yesterday, followed the narration of a probation report on the convict’s background.
Benjamin Cort pleaded guilty, at Reliance Court, East Canje, Berbice, to having wounded his son Martin, 17, last January 23.
Police Inspector Satrohan Dayaram, prosecuting, said Cort, a cattle farmer, had asked the virtual complainant why he did not accompany his other siblings to watch over the animals.
But, when the teenager responded that he had to cook, an argument arose between them and the father inflicted an injury on his son’s head with a piece of wood, rendering the latter unconscious.
The victim was taken to New Amsterdam Hospital where he remained a patient for three days, the Prosecutor said.
Probation and Welfare Officer Mitford Warde, said Cort, the father of 15 children, had spent 23 years as a seaman working on ocean going vessels.
Although he was married, at age 25, that union lasted for only six years and he never remarried but maintained a common law relationship with the injured teen’s mother, the narrative said.
It added that the family is one in crisis, still aggrieved by the circumstances which led to the wounding incident and Warde advised that the offender attend counselling sessions in order to equip him with various techniques in coping skills, particularity in managing anger.
The magistrate accepted the advice and ordered that Cort be counseled, as well.