Mother of two, Angela Khan was yesterday afternoon sentenced to 10 years from which a number of deductions are to be made having pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of Better Hope fisherman Bharrat Sugrim.
Khan, 39, was initially indicted for murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter which stated that on August 24th, 2014 at Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, she unlawfully killed Sugrim called ‘Lusty.’
Presenting the facts of the case, Prosecutor Teriq Mohammed said that Khan, her husband and Sugrim were all imbibing when an argument ensued between the couple which Sugrim attempted to quell.
Mohammed told the court that during the argument Khan cut her husband to his upper body using a knife with which she was cutting seasoning with at the time.
The court heard that it was then that Sugrim intervened in a bid to take the knife from the woman who in turn stabbed him to the left side of his chest.
Mohammed said that thereafter Sugrim went down into the yard without telling anyone about the wound he sustained.
The Prosecutor said that the injured man later asked for some sugar water to drink which he was given and remained on some wooden pallets on the bottom flat of the house where he succumbed to the injury inflicted by Khan.
Mohammed said that Sugrim died of perforation of the heart due to the stab wound.
In a mitigating plea, defence attorney Latchmie Rahamat said that her client was “truly remorseful” for the unfortunate loss of life which she opined would not have occurred had Khan not been under the influence.
The lawyer said that the deceased was a friend of both Khan and her husband, while stating that there was no aggravating element which led to the death, but rather an argument—pointing out further that, “no one even knew that he had that single injury.”
Describing the mother of two as a model prisoner, Rahamat said that Khan has been using her time behind bars wisely, working in the garden and kitchen and participating in a number of programmes including anger management, rehabilitation from alcohol abuse, literacy and numeracy all of which she said the woman has been successful in.
Referencing a prison report submitted to the court, Rahamat noted that her client was described as having an excellent disciplinary record and had marked improvements in her personal development.
She said that her client has plans of establishing a chicken farm once given the opportunity of returning to society.
In an impassioned plea for lenience on behalf of her client Rahamat begged Justice Jo-Ann Barlow to consider that Khan threw herself at the mercy of the court at the first given opportunity, thus saving considerable time in otherwise having to conduct a trial.
The lawyer said, too, that Khan has no antecedents.
Prosecutor Mohammed confirmed that Khan had, indeed, indicated for some time now her desire to accept responsibility for her actions.
A tearful Khan in her address to the court said that she was sorry for what she had done and asked Sugrim’s family to forgive her, even as she begged the judge for mercy.
The woman said that she has to live for the rest of her life with what she has done, but said she wished she could turn back the hands of time.
In imposing sentence, Justice Barlow said she had taken into account all the submissions laid before her and decided that an appropriate starting point would be 10 years.
Therefrom she said that there is to be a one-third deduction for Khan’s guilty plea, full remission for the time spent on remand awaiting trial and a further six months reduction for her remorse.
To a visibly relieved Khan who virtually joined the hearing at the High Court in Georgetown from the New Amsterdam Prison, the judge said that the prison will inform her of the remaining time she has behind bars, if any at all.
When asked, the Prose-cutor told the judge that Sugrim’s family had been informed of yesterday’s proceedings but his brother had indicated that he would be absent because of work commitments.
Sugrim is survived by a 14-year-old son.
