Brother escapes jail term for wounding

Mervyn Singh, 33, sought forgiveness from his brother, John Samuel, 44, and was subsequently freed on a charge of wounding with intent.

Singh was charged with striking Samuel in the head with a piece of wood on Christmas Eve 2000.

The incident occurred on Harris Promenade, San Fernando.

Singh, of Cedar Hill Village, Ste Madeleine, was due to stand trial yesterday on the indictable charge which carries a sentence of 15 years in jail.

A jury was selected and Singh was arraigned before Justice Carmona.

However, when the victim went into the witness box, he told the court he would not give evidence because his younger brother, Singh, had apologised to him.

"He told me that he was genuinely sorry," said Samuel who assured State attorney Narrissa Samsundar that he was not under any threat or promise to accept his brother’s apology.

"He came to me and said that I being his elder brother, he’s sorry," Samuel told the judge. He said he would not offer any evidence against Singh. Carmona, apparently touched by this display of brotherly love, told Singh and Samuel that their reconciliation reminded him of Nobel Laureate Chinua Achebe’s quotation of the proverb, "When two brothers fight, a stranger reaps the harvest."

Carmona added that a younger brother should always love and respect his elder brother. He chided Singh for not showing such respect at the time of the attack on Samuel.

However, he said, the court was satisfied with the accused man’s remorse.

Samuel apologised for wasting the court’s time, but Carmona told him that when families are bonded together, society benefits.

"More than ever," the judge said, "there is need for unity and love within the family."