CANE-CUTTER Bhajan Nauth, 55, who was in a drunken state in 2013, when he wounded fellow cane-cutter Jerry with intent to kill him, was on Wednesday sentenced to seven years imprisonment by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow.At his trial at the Demerara Assizes, Nauth did not waste the court’s time. He pleaded to the lesser count of felonious wounding.
Presiding Judge, Madam Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, who heard the guilty plea, imposed the 10- year prison term on Nauth, but deducted three years, because of the plea and the time he had spent in incarceration.
The accused was therefore sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
The facts of the case disclosed that cane-cutter Herbert Jerry was on Monday, December 30, 2013 at the Diamond Squatting Area, in the Georgetown Magisterial District, when he was wounded by the accused, who had earlier claimed that he wanted to kill someone.
One eyewitness said he saw the accused deal Jerry several chops that day. He said Jerry suffered lacerations to the left upper back and a punctured wound to the left lower part of the abdomen. This was confirmed by a medical report.
And in an oral statement to the police, the accused had said, “Big man leh me tell you the truth. Meh ben a drunk and meh get hungry so ah get meh Caharee on the fire to get something to eat, when this man started to kick down meh Caharee. Me get vex and den me did what I had to do.”
Police investigations led to the recovery of the cutlass which was used to inflict the wounds.
The prosecution disclosed that before the injuries were inflicted, the accused was heard to say that he wanted to kill someone. At the same time, the virtual complainant was passing when the accused ran up to him and said, “ah gon murder you.”
According to the prosecution, Nauth proceeded to chop the VC. The accused was escorted to prison to begin his sentence.