Prisoner mix-up causes court delay

Prisoners on remand in the Tobago prison were not taken to court until yesterday afternoon because a prison officer allegedly refused to hand them over to the police. This resulted in all matters before the Scarborough First Court involving remand prisoners being stood down during the morning session. Senior Magistrate Annette McKenzie and attorney Vashist Maharaj openly expressed their outrage and disgust over the development, with the magistrate promising to have the matter investigated at the highest level.

The situation came to light after a defendant’s name was called and he was not in court. The court was told that when the police sergeant in charge of the prisoner escort detail went to the prison to collect the prisoners for court, one of the prisoners complained of not feeling well. That prisoner had a plaster on his forehead. The police sergeant told the prison officer in charge that it was the responsibility of the prisons authority to take that prisoner to the hospital and in the circumstances he was not “accepting” him, the court was told.

The police sergeant also told the prison officer that he would take the other prisoners, but not the one who complained of feeling unwell. The prison officer reportedly responded that if he was not taking that prisoner, he was not going to get any and refused to hand over the prisoners, the court was told. Vashist Maharaj, attorney for the absent defendant, noted that the inefficiency and slackness in the society had now become “institutionalised.” Maharaj declared, “A public servant sits and takes a decision to deny a man his constitutional right to be brought to court; he frustrates the court!”

The magistrate responded, “He frustrates the whole justice process. I intend to proceed with this matter further, at the highest level.” Maharaj stressed that the defendant had a right to be heard before the court and called on the magistrate not to remand his client in custody in absentia. However, the remand prisoners were taken to court during the afternoon session and it was claimed there had been a “mix-up” between the prisons and the police.