A POLICE officer found himself on the wrong side of the law yesterday when he appeared before City Magistrate, Ann McLennan, accused of stealing beverages from King’s Plaza Hotel on Main Street, Georgetown. Kevin Bearam, attached to the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), was fined $15,000 for the offence. The court heard that on March 28 he stole 21 bottles of Banks beer valued $4,500, 10 Malta worth $1,920 and 2 one-liter bottles of Pepsi, a total of $6,348, property of Christopher Dharamraj.
Bearam, 20, of Lot 77 Norton Street, Lodge pleaded guilty to the charge. The officer explained that he and another colleague were assisting Dharamraj to transport the beverages when they decided to take some of the stock to keep a “lil swing’’ for their graduation from college.
However, according to Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones, on the day in question at about 06:30hrs, the defendant was assisting to remove the beverages from the hotel, which Dharamraj was in charge of, when it was alleged the defendant took the articles and stashed them in a nearby drain.
Jones explained to the court that the hotel employees alerted Dharamraj after they saw the defendant placing the stolen beverages in the drain. The matter was reported and the charge was instituted.
The magistrate, in her ruling, told the officer that “next time you want something you have to ask.” He was also warned that failure to pay the fine will result in three weeks imprisonment.