West Coast Demerara resident Kasim Ali was on Monday arraigned before Leonora Magistrate Rochelle Liverpool, charged with wounding Mohammed Nazir so as to cause him actual bodily harm, and assaulting Police Constable Kalliram as the constable was in the process of executing his duties. 
Both offences are alleged to have been committed on Sunday, August 6, 2017.
The court heard that the defendant (Ali) and the virtual complainant (Nazir) have known each other for the past ten years; and on the day of the wounding, Nazir, under the influence of alcohol, was allegedly verbally abusing Ali and his family. Ali called on Constable Kalliram to caution Nazir, and he did so; but as the constable was about to leave, Ali armed himself with a cutlass and dealt Nazir several blows to his body, inflicting injuries on his person.
The constable reportedly tried to restrain Ali, but was pushed away; hence Ali was arrested and charged with the present offences.
Unrepresented by legal counsel, the 50-year-old Kasim Ali pleaded guilty to both offences, and told the court he was defending himself, as Nazir had approached him with the cutlass. However, Constable Kalliram refuted Ali’s claims, and told the court that Nazir had continued to verbally abuse Ali even after he was told to desist; thus, angered, Ali had taken up the cutlass and committed the act.
Magistrate Liverpool told Ali that even though he had been provoked, he should not have taken the law into his own hands, as there are other places for him to lodge his complaints if he were not satisfied with the constable’s intervention.
Kasim Ali was fined $20,000 for his offences, default of paying which would earn him one month’s imprisonment. He was also bonded to keep the peace for a year.
