BALRAM Phagoo, 30, on Monday, appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman, at the Providence Magistrate’s Court, for assaulting his reputed wife and threatening to kill her.

Phagoo, of Grove Sea Dam, East Bank Demerara, is charged with five counts of using threatening language and with a single count of assault to cause grievous bodily harm. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
It is alleged that Balram used threatening language to his reputed wife, Indranie Gafoor, at Grove Sea Dam Housing Scheme on March 10, 2019.

Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves told the magistrate that the defendant is no stranger to the court, since he was recently handed a six-month sentence for assaulting his reputed wife and dousing her with kerosene.

Gonsalves informed the court that Phagoo had been tried and handed a six-month sentence in absentia, since he had not been attending court. In reply to the prosecutor’s claim, Phagoo begged the magistrate not to send him to prison: “I don’t want to go to jail, because jail is hard… when yuh in jail you can’t make no money and yuh can’t work,” Phagoo, who was unrepresented by counsel, pleaded.

He added that the ‘lil money’ for which he works is used to maintain his three children who he has with Gafoor.

Magistrate Judy Latchman however placed Phagoo on $20,000, bail for each of the five counts of the threatening-language charge and remanded him to prison for the assault charge. The court also ordered that he serves the six-month sentence for his previous conviction. He will return to court on April 8, 2019.