INFORMATION Liaison to the President, Kwame Mc Coy, was Tuesday found guilty of using threatening language and assault committed on Clifton Stewart, and as a result ordered to pay the sum of $70,000 or face a total of four weeks imprisonment. On October 25, 2011, the two were engaged in an altercation on D‘Urban Street, Lodge, over Mc Coy allegedly removing election campaign posters belonging to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). The verbal exchange worsened and Stewart claimed that he was assaulted.
Senior counsel, Bernard Dos Santos, who represented Mc Coy, eventually failed to show up after making the court wait approximately half hour.
Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry proceeded with the matter in his absence.
Among the things taken into consideration by the court in its ruling, the magistrate mentioned the weight attached to defendant’s unsworn statement, the burden of proof on the shoulders of the prosecution, whether the defendant was properly identified, whether the virtual complainant Stewart’s evidence was credible, and whether the court was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mc Coy indeed committed the offence.
These facts and statements were examined and the magistrate declared that the prosecution has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and found the defendant guilty of both offences.
For the use of threatening language, Mc Coy was ordered to pay the fine of $20,000 or face two weeks imprisonment, and for the assault, causing actual bodily harm, he was ordered to pay $50,000 or spend two weeks in prison.