Attempted murder accused remanded to prison

Father-in-law’s alleged stabbing

…tells Judge he was on an “island”

By Shemuel Fanfair

High Court Judge Brassington Reynolds on Thursday remanded attempted murder accused Sudesh Rambhajue to prison for allegedly trying to kill his father-in-law at the man’s Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo home nearly three years ago.
Sudesh Rambhajue was a no-show in court on Wednesday when his trial was set to begin. The unrepresented Rambhajue last week denied he had attempted to kill Latchman Narine Persaud by stabbing him. He was granted three adjournments owing to the court granting him time to find legal counsel after he explained that he

could not afford an attorney.
However, when Rambhajue turned up in court on Thursday, he did not apologise to the judge for his absence from court on Wednesday, but instead claimed he was on an island without any electricity, cellphones or landline telephones.
The defendant was remanded to prison pending the outcome of his matter, as his bailer told the court she could not guarantee the defendant would continue appearing in court. It was disclosed that she was at court on Wednesday but Rambhajue never showed.
Even though the accused did not have an attorney to represent him, the court proceeded with his trial. The complainant Persaud, a rice farmer and labourer, told the jury that his son-in-law, Sudesh, never worked in the 10 years he was married to his daughter, and lived at the bottom flat of his home at Vergenoegen for all of that time.
He said Rambhajue was an alcoholic, and that he ordered him to leave his home on the morning of September 18, 2015 when he saw him going to a rum shop in the area.
“I asked, ‘Why you drink so much rum for?’ and he said if me ah buy rum for am, and I tell he take he couple piece cloth and come out me place, and then I ride away and go to de back dam,” Persaud recounted.
The elderly man told the jury that after returning from the backdam, he saw Rambhajue, around 17:30h, and he parked his bicycle and ordered his son-in-law out of his home again.
Persaud said that as he was about to lock him out, the accused used an expletive and attacked him. Persaud told the court: “He rush into me like one bad bull.”
Persaud said he was rushed to Leonora Cottage Hospital before being taken to the Vreed-en-Hoop Hospital, and then on to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC). He was treated for several days, and he showed the jury the marks on his stomach where he was allegedly stabbed. There were three separate marks: one where Persaud says he was stabbed; another incision which doctors carved to treat the wound, and another which the doctor inflicted to remove excess blood from his body.
Rambhajue, representing himself, was successful in objecting to Police witness Constable Sherwin Green tendering a photocopy of Persaud’s medical report, as the original could not be found at the Leonora Police Station. The doctor will have to testify to having treated the victim.
Constable Green also said that when he visited the scene on the day in question, he had not seen the accused, but saw spots of what appeared to be blood at the Vergenoegen residence.
He said that on September 21, 2015, Harilall Persaud brought Rambhajue to the Leonora Police Station, and he (Green) put the murder allegation to him. The Police witness claimed that, under caution, the accused man said that he and Persaud had a scuffle.
“I had a knife in meh hand and he try fo tek it away from me and jook heself,” Rambhajue reportedly informed Police.
However, when the defendant cross-examined the Constable on Thursday, he accused him of being dishonest and said that Green never put any allegation to him.
Green, however, denied Rambhajue’s suggestion, adding that the accused refused to give Police a statement. The Policeman told the jury that a weapon was never found.
The state’s case is being led by Prosecutors Seeta Bishundial and Tiffini Lyken, and proceeding will continue before Justice Reynolds.