AARON Abdul, called Bishnauth Rampersaud, and his older married lover had agreed to demonstrate their love for each other by committing a double-suicide.

He, however, failed to keep his side of the bargain, and the consequences that flowed therefrom saw the 24-year-old being sentenced to eight years imprisonment for the death of Arifa Muntaz Ally.

After listening to a summary of the facts narrated at the Berbice Assizes during Abdul’s trial, and taking into consideration the probation report and the plea in mitigation, Justice Brassington Reynolds told the prisoner yesterday that his case had all the ingredients of deceit, treachery, betrayal and cowardliness.

“What you did proved yourself to be less than a man. Your conduct was devoid of honour, valour and chivalry. You have failed to promote a moral pact between you and your lover,” Justice Reynolds told the convict.
Referring to an earlier statement by defence counsel, Perry Gossai, in which he compared the incident to that of a Romeo and Juliet saga, Justice Reynolds told Abdul, “You were not the kind of Romeo to deserve any Juliet. You have rewritten the Classics of Romeo and Juliet by your sick, sordid mind.
“I find no mitigating feature (in the circumstances of your case). If you had panicked, you did not let anyone know what had transpired; you disappeared, leaving your lover to the wiles of the unknown,” the judge emphasized.

“I have considered your age, background, favourable report by members of the community, and an almost glowing probation report. The offence warrants 16 to 20 years’ (imprisonment). I have discounted  years for an early guilty plea, and have discounted the four years you have spent in prison, in keeping with the plea by your lawyer. You are sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.”
The prisoner, with a smug look on his face, replied, “Thank you, sir.”
In the caution statement which he had given to Corporal Lawrence Thomas on June 24, 2009 , Abdul had  said that he  and the now deceased woman had commenced a relationship three to four years prior to her death.
“Every day we would talk on the cellular phone; and during the period, we would go to a hotel and sleep. If I have a friend that has a home, I would carry her there. Sometimes I would carry her at my home at night, so that she would go unnoticed, as persons would tell her relatives.
“Last year, [2008] I was in prison at New Amsterdam, where I met Benjie  [Ainsley Benjamin] of Belvedere Village. When I came out of prison on March 21, 2009, Arifa came with me, and we rented a place in [East] Canje. However, her family found out and told her to return home. Two months later, we recommenced talking on the cell phone.

“One day, whilst talking on the phone, me tell she if we can’t see each other we must kill ourselves, and she agreed.”
The statement records Abdul as saying, “She plan nuf, nuff, nuff. Me also plan to drink poison. Later in the month, she telephoned saying her mother wanted her to marry one Rishi, but she had loved me instead. She said, ‘let’s kill ourselves’, and I agreed. We planned to kill ourselves at Benjie’s house.

“On May 29, 2009, at about 17:00hrs, I went to Benjie’s house. He [Benjie] came out and paid the taxi. I met Arifa, we planned to kill ourselves. Later, we went to my home, as my mother was not at home. My mother returned on Monday, and after cooking for us, we eat (ate).
“On June 2, 2009, at about 12:00hrs, we tore out two pieces of cloth from the grey sheet and we went to the backdam. I tied her hands behind her back with one piece of cloth, and I tied the other piece on the jamoon tree, and I made a hole with it. I lifted her up and put her head through the hole and loose her. I noticed that she was kicking up and then (she) stopped moving. I checked her and she looked as though she was dead. I cut down the cloth from the tree and I placed her in a nearby drain. I left her there, and threw away her cell phone and slippers before going to hide in the bushes, as I was frightened. I did not go home, but subsequently went to Parika, where the police arrested me.

“Meanwhile, on May 30, 2009, Muntaz Ali made a missing person report at Springlands Police Station in favour of his wife Arifa. He told the cops that on May 30, 2009, his wife left their matrimonial home at Lot 42 Queenstown, Corriverton to attend a thanksgiving service at East Canje, but had never returned home. Consequently, on June 24, 2009, Abdul, who was in custody, took sleuths to the Chesney Village backlands, where the skeletal remains of Arifta Muntaz Ali was found lying in a drain.”
The body, which was clad with a blue denim skirt and blue tights, along with a blue jersey and a white T shirt which was worn underneath, was identified by a space between the two incisors on the upper jaw.
In a report on the prisoner’s background, Probation and Welfare Officer, Ms. Maisie Sheppard recorded that the prisoner, at the age of seventeen years, commenced an intimate relationship which spanned a four-year period. Having left school at age nine years, due to economic circumstances within his parents’ home, he had sought employment to maintain his mother and younger siblings. With no prior signs of aggression or visible signs of violence, anger, and temperamental disorder previously displayed to the outside world, it was evident that the accused harboured pent-up emotions which led to his being of a confused state of mind.
The officer concluded that, regardless of a person’s circumstances and demeanour, that person must be cognizant that there should be control and management of their temper.