Corporal Rahim still at large

Where is Police Corporal Rahim? Is he still in the Police Service? If so, is he still a corporal or has he been promoted to sergeant or superintendent? We are curious about PC Rahim because his name has figured prominently in a recent Privy Council ruling. Last Wednesday, the Law Lords ruled that judges in Trinidad and Tobago can award exemplary damages in cases where a prisoner’s constitutional rights have been violated. The decision redounds to the benefit of one Siewchand Ramanoop, who on November 10, 2000 was beaten and arrested by PC Rahim.

Earlier that evening, Mr Ramanoop, 35, had an altercation with another man in a bar. Later, when Mr Ramanoop had gone home, someone knocked on his door. He opened the door to find two men there, one in a police uniform. Before Ramanoop could say anything, PC Rahim slapped him, handcuffed him, and began to beat him. PC Rahim then arrested Ramanoop, and beat him again in the car on the way to the Gasparillo Police Station. At the station itself, Ramanoop’s head was rammed against a wall, opening a scalp wound. PC Rahim then poured rum over Ramanoop, not to disinfect the wound, but to cause more agony. Unsatisfied that he had inflicted enough distress, Rahim also spun Ramanoop around till the latter was dizzy.

When Ramanoop filed a constitutional motion on January 15, 2001, the Attorney General disputed none of these facts. Ramanoop received a total of $53,000 for being deprived of his liberty and for being assaulted. However, Ramanoop was also seeking exemplary damages, but Justice Nolan Bereaux claimed he had no jurisdiction to award such damages. The case went to the Court of Appeal, where Chief Justice Sat Sharma and Justice Wendell Kangaloo decided that Bereaux was wrong, while Madam Justice Margot Warner dissented.  Following on last week’s Privy Council ruling, the amount of exemplary damages is now to be decided.

Mr Ramanoop and his attorney must be commended for their dogged pursuit of justice. But the question remains: has justice been fully served? Since none of the facts put forward by Ramanoop were disputed by the AG, it is safe to conclude that the sadistic PC Rahim is unfit to be a police officer. And we wonder what action the State has taken against him? Given that Mr Ramanoop has won his case, this should logically mean that PC Rahim must be charged for assault and battery. Has this been done? Will the corporal — assuming he still is a corporal — face the courts for breaking the law? We hope, if this is not yet the case, that it soon will be. Because, although Mr. Ramanoop will receive his exemplary damages, it is unlikely that the Police Service will pay heed to the example. Such damages are intended as a rebuke to the Service, but the money is paid by taxpayers. It does not come out of the Police Service’s budget, nor the particular officer’s pocket.

We do not, of course, reject this principle. Police officers cannot be expected to carry out their duties efficiently if they have to worry about being slapped with a personal lawsuit. At the same time, officers who have taken advantage of their position, and who have brought the Service into disrepute, must be punished. At the very least, individuals like the sadistic PC Rahim should be dismissed from the Service forthwith. If they are not, their rottenness will surely spread to other officers and bring down the entire Service. Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com