Justice Navindra Singh yesterday sentenced the two men who were convicted for the 2018 piracy murders to death.
Sitting at the High Court in Berbice, the judge said that the act was a cruel, gruesome, heinous and cold-blooded one.
Premnauth Persaud, 44, also known as ‘Sanbad,’ and Nakool Manohar, also known as ‘Fyah,’ 40, of Lot 1 Number 43 Village, Corentyne, were jointly charged with the murder of Tilaknauth Mohabir, also known as ‘Kai’ or ‘Kai-man,’ and Mahesh Sarjoo.
The charge stated that between April 27th, 2018 and May 3rd, 2018, the two men murdered Mohabir and Sarjoo during the course of piracy in Corentyne waters.
In November, 2022, Justice Singh summed up the matter, and the jury, after deliberating for over two hours returned with a unanimous guilty verdict for both accused on both counts of murder.
In handing down his sentence yesterday, Justice Singh said that the victims were fishing out at sea “trying to earn a living” when they were attacked and killed. He said, “The evidence of the eyewitnesses involved indicate to murder these persons was an object of the attack… It didn’t happen because of resistance or some defence…”
A de facto moratorium on the death penalty has been in place here since 1997.
Persaud yesterday, before sentencing, continued to deny any involvement in the attack as he pleaded to be released, while Manohar refused to say anything.
Justice Singh stated that there has been no remorse expressed or mitigating circumstances found in the evidence.
“We look at a man who is sitting in court right now who was a victim of the attack, he is still shaking, seems like he can hardly walk, hardly focus properly, this was a cruel, a gruesome, a heinous, cold-blooded attack”, the judge stated.
Justice Singh said he even went back through the evidence yesterday morning trying to figure out “how can a human being decide to do these things?”
He then added, that Section 7 of the Hijacking and Piracy Act provides for punishment by death upon conviction, as such he said, “I have examined the evidence, I have listened to all of the kinds of mitigation, and I find no reason to not impose that sentence.”
Before sentencing both men to death, Justice Singh said, “These men cannot be rehabilitated. It would be reckless and irresponsible of the court to allow them to be released upon civil society at any time.”
The state was represented by special prosecutor Latchmie Rahamat and state prosecutor Nafeeza Baig. Rahamat before the sentencing also pointed out that the accused have not expressed any remorse.
She said that there was evidence placed before the jury that showed the instructions to `ransom’ the fishing boats and kill the fishermen came from Manohar, “and those instructions which were heard and repeated in this court were followed in a vicious and gruesome manner, in which the sea did run red, the sea did run red with the blood of seven fishermen who are listed on the indictment in two counts.”
She noted that one of the aggravating factors to be considered is the fact that one of the persons testified to being told not to wear a mask, “because the intention was to kill the fishermen, there was supposed to be no survivors.”
During the trial, the court heard that Manohar had threatened revenge after his brother was killed in Suriname. According to testimonies given in court, Manohar had ordered Persaud and others to “ransom” the boat which led to the killings.
Furthermore, the court heard that Persaud during the attack was seen laughing while other attackers had said that “them come to kill.”
Darandeo Persaud also known as “Archie bai”, one of the survivors of the attack, which left at least four fishermen dead and several missing and presumed dead, had testified that they were working on the boat called Joshua 1418, when around 2 am the pirates invaded the boat and said “them come to kill.”
He had identified the accused, Persaud in court, to be a part of the attacking crew which chopped him, then tied him to an anchor and tossed him overboard.
He had explained, “When them come in this boat them start fa lick this boat up with cutlass and them say everybody come out, everybody need fa die now…”
He said at that point they were ordered out of the cabin and “them start fa chop… I get several a de chop a me skin.”
He testified, “The first chop wah them chop them put me inside the fish pen to sit down and after that them tek me out and tie me pon the anchor and throw me over board.”
Another survivor of the attack, Captain Deonarine Goberdhan testified that they were out at sea when the attacker’s boat approached theirs. He said he thought it was a fishing boat asking how they had set their seines so that they could set theirs as is normally done by fishers while out at sea.
According to him, Tilaknauth Mohabir, also known as ‘Kai’ or ‘Kaiman,’ was the crew member, who first spotted the incoming boat. The men on the attacking craft asked whose boat it was and after his crew identified him, one of the attackers with a gun cursed at them and ordered them into the fish pen.
He testified that Persaud sat on the ice box laughing. He said that he had known the accused for about three to four years before the attack. He then positively identified the accused in court.
While kneeling in the witness box to show the position in which the attackers held him, Goberdhan said the men broadsided and chopped them with cutlasses as he then pointed out chop injuries he sustained on his arms. “Sanbad sit down pon the ice box and a laugh and I say ‘bai wah really going on budday?’ and he say ‘shut you (expletive) mouth’… Sanbad say he come to collect the boat.”
He said he pleaded with the men to take what they wanted and leave them alone. However, after lashes were dealt, his workmen, who he said did not know to swim, jumped overboard as was ordered.
He testified that he was ordered to start the engine but after he saw a man with a cutlass running towards him he “take overboard.”
He said the men chopped the seine, “swing the boat upwards and come to the bow and I don’t know if they shoot or what but I duck.”
He said he ducked very low in the water and did not raise up to avoid the men from seeing him hiding as he was unsure if the guns were loaded.
Demonstrating how he raised his head in the water, he said he realized “everybody dead because them chop them up and me start call pon God.”
He recalled that it wasn’t until 4 pm the following day that he was rescued by a boat, stating that it was only him and his God in the water.
Goberdhan said before he jumped overboard one of his workmen “been done gone down because he can’t swim.”
The man recalled returning to sea to search for his three workmen but not being able to find them.
