‘I forgive you’

He said he was less perturbed by the Diego Martin West MP’s alleged assault on him than the spate of murders and kidnappings in the country.

However, Sharma insisted that Monday’s dismissal of the private assault charges he filed against Rowley (Minister of Housing) was unceremonial. Sharma told Newsday that he and his attorneys believed that the case had been listed for next week Monday.

When neither Sharma nor his attorneys turned up in court on Monday, senior Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim dismissed the charges — unlawfully assaulting Sharma, making use of obscene language and throwing missiles at him. The charges stemmed from an incident on September 15, 2004, which became known as the teacup brawl. Sharma had accused Rowley of assaulting him in the Parliament’s tearoom.