Man jailed for sou sou lie

Robin Jagmohan, 39, of Ramjit Street, El Dorado, appeared before Jasmath yesterday charged with wasting police time. PC Peterson, an officer at the Tunapuna CID who took the false report from Jagmohan, read out the details in court.

He said Jagmohan came to the station at 7 pm on Tuesday and said he had been kidnapped and robbed of $8,000 at 10.30 am that morning.

Jagmohan told the police that three men snatched him near the Caura Junction on the Priority Bus Route, and bundled him into a white Nissan Sentra. He said he was beaten and robbed and dropped off at Cleaver Woods Park in Arima at about 7 pm, from where he made his way to the Tunapuna station.

However, PC Peterson said he investigated the matter, visited the Arima and Mount Hope hospitals to check for a medical report on Jagmohan, and went to the scene of the alleged kidnapping.

However, he said he discovered a number of inconsistencies in the report and re-interviewed Jagmohan.

Jagmohan, who lives with his wife and daughter, then confessed that he was running a sou sou and that he was supposed to pay a man $5,000. He said he made up the story that he had been kidnapped and robbed in order to get more time to pay the man. In the statement read out in court, Jagmohan, who had no previous conviction, told Peterson, "Officer, I don’t know how, but something told me to make up the story. I feeling shame. I sorry I lie to you." Jagmohan was formally charged with the offence and pleaded guilty in court.

Jasmath, who said she is fed up of "this kind of nonsense in the society," sentenced Jagmohan to six months hard labour.