Man steals gifts for Mother’s Day

Yesterday, Daniel Motilal stood before a San Fernando magistrate and pleaded guilty to the charge of larceny. He spent Mother’s Day in a cell at the police station.

Motilal, 39, had been an employee of PriceSmart for seven years until Sunday morning when personnel called the police to have him arrested.

Magistrate Indira Misir-Gosine read the charge to him that he stole ladies pants from the store. Court prosecutor Sgt Krishna Bedassie said that at about 12.15 pm on Sunday, employees searched Motilal who was at the time working at the store in La Romaine and found hidden in his pants, two pairs of the ladies pants.

He was escorted to his vehicle parked nearby and on searching it, PriceSmart guards found another two pairs of ladies trousers. Motilal explained to Magistrate Misir-Gosine that after he purchased a pillow for his 70-year-old mother as a Mother’s Day gift, he wanted to buy gifts for the mothers of his friends who lived near to him. But he ran out of money.

Motilal said that although his friends’ mothers had never asked him for anything, he wanted to get them a gift for Mother’s Day.

“By the time I buy things for my own mother, I ran out of money. I was trying to do a good thing.” Sgt Bedassie said that Motilal has had an unblemished record, having never committed a criminal offence before.

Magistrate Misir- Gosine fined him $2,500 which he paid yesterday and was allowed to leave the court.

Outside the courthouse, Motilal was very apologetic, saying that he was indeed sorry for stealing the pants. He said that the result of his action was that he has lost his job with PriceSmart, after seven years. He also did not get the opportunity to spend Mother’s Day with his mother.

“There was a gathering by a friend’s house.

My friend did not ask for anything. I am really sorry for doing this.

I let everybody down.

I was locked up and I didn’t spend Mother’s Day with my mother. I lost my job and my wife is vex with me now. You ever make a stupid mistake in your life? Well this was my stupid mistake,” Motilal said as he walked off.