ALVIN Kamlasaram of Lot 563 Ordinance Fort Lands, East Coast Berbice was found guilty of assaulting his wife, Mohanani, so as to cause her actual bodily harm.Prosecuting, Inspector Grace Bristol informed the court that on August 21 last, the defendant assaulted his wife twice, resulting in her seeking medical attention at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

And the virtual complainant brought to the court’s attention the fact that her husband had been charged for a similar offence in April 2013, and that the presiding magistrate had ordered a probation report before placing the defendant on a year’s bond.

The woman said that counselling sessions ordered never saw her partner’s attendance, thereby breaching the bond.

Inspector Bristol urged the magistrate to impose the maximum sentence on the defendant, in order to signal that the offence is a domestic violence matter, but Attorney-at-law Kumar Doraisami, in a mitigating plea, urged the court to impose a fine and a bond, which he opined was enough, instead of a custodial penalty.

The lawyer noted that a fine could be imposed on his client for all the charges he faced, as the man was presently looking for a job.
“He has to pay maintenance. He is remorseful, as he did not expect the matter to go this far. Your Worship, exercise leniency and he will turn out to be a model defendant; he will never be back in court again,” the lawyer admonished.

However, despite the plea in mitigation, Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus sentenced the defendant to six months’ imprisonment, while expressing hope that he would have learnt his lesson.

Following the sentencing, Attorney-at-law Mursulene Bacchus signalled his intention to appeal the conviction.
Written By Jeune Bailey-Vankeric