Four men have been arraigned on unlawful wounding charges after the attack at Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara, where three teens were beaten on Wednesday.
Nazeem Abdool, 32, of 28 Track ‘A’ Coldingen, East Coast Demerara, Jeremy Sarjoo, 27, Kulwant Sewnarine, 44, of Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara and Parmanand Ramnauth, 30, of Enterprise, East Coast Demerara were charged with unlawful wounding. Abdool was also charged with assault causing actual bodily harm.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges at the Vigilance Magistrates’ Court, where Magistrate Nayasha Hatmin remanded them to prison.
The men are accused of unlawfully wounding Mark Lustal, 16, and Abdool was also charged with assaulting Lancelot Griffith, 17, so as to cause him actual bodily harm on November 23.
The prosecution did not present the court with details of the attack, in which three teens, all of Buxton, also on the east Coast, were beaten with cutlasses, spades and sticks.
After the charges were read, a relative of another victim could be heard saying that he is unable to walk and that the Abdool should also be charged for assaulting him. The Magistrate asked to have her escorted out of the courtroom, since she was disturbing the proceedings.
In his application for bail, Abdool’s lawyer said that his client was a mere bystander and was not associated with any criminal act. The lawyer also told the court that Abdool has heart disease and asthma and it is not safe to have him in prison. He also noted that both offences were bailable and he asked that he be released on reasonable bail.
However, the prosecutor objected to bail, saying that there was no proof that the defendant was suffering from the said illnesses, since he had not produced a medical to support the assertion. Also, the prosecutor warned that if granted bail, Abdool would likely tamper with the victims, who will be the main witnesses for the prosecution.
The prosecutor told the court that the victims were earning their daily living when they were assaulted and that it is likely that they will have to return to the area to complete their job.
Magistrate Hatmin acknowledged the fact that the offences are bailable, but denied bail after considering the circumstances surrounding the return of the victims to complete their jobs.
Police had said the attack occurred as a result of a misunderstanding.
The victims, who were working with a construction company that is building homes in the area, were also cleared by police of the allegation that they attempted to invade a closed shop, which set off the attack in which they were beaten with cutlasses, spades and sticks. One of the victims suffered chops to his head, foot and hand.
As a result of the incident, police issued an appeal for all communities to exercise “good common sense” and be “more patient and long suffering.”
The case will be called again on December 30.
