The state has to pay a total of $471,056.25 to seven people, including a family of five, who had to endure seven years of attending court on charges maliciously brought against them. The sum was awarded yesterday by Master Patricia Sobion in the San Fernando High Court after claimants were successful in their malicious prosecution lawsuit. Named as defendants were PC Celestine Lewis, Sgt Ashook Toll and the Attorney General. The claimants claimed they were only prosecuted because four of them had brought private charges against Lewis for assault.
Subsequent to that Toll, acting on instructions of Lewis, charged them for assault and battery, resisting arrest and larceny of keys. The claimants were Omar Ramlal, his wife, Vashti Ramlal, his brother Clarence Khan, mother-in-law Dora Ragononanan, brother-in-law Hollis Ragoonanan and neighbours Suresh Chotilal and Earl Ramasray. Seeking their interests were attorneys Robin Ramoutar, Edwin Roopnarine, instructed by Roopnarine and Company. Chotilal and Dora received $41,600 each while the others received $77,571.25 each. In his witness statement, Omar Ramlal alleged that on October 22, 1994 he and Hollis Ragoonanan were at his garage in Debe when he saw two men, one of whom was Lewis, block Ramesh Deo who was driving Ragoonanan's car. He said he tried to find out what was happening but Lewis told him it was none of his business. Ragoonanan, who arrived soon after, also tried to find out what was going on. When Lewis refused to show Ragoonanan his police identification card, Ramlal said Ragoonanan snatched the car insurance from his hand.
He said Lewis grabbed Ragoonanan threw him onto a car and began beating him about the body. He said when he intervened he too was beaten. His wife, he said, intervened and was flung away. Ramlal said he ran but fell and the policeman caught him and continued beating him. He said villagers had to forcibly remove Lewis from on top of him. While making a report at the San Fernando Police Station, he said Lewis took his brother, Clarence Khan, into a corner and beat him. Ramlal, his wife, Khan, Ragoonanan and Deo subsequently filed assault charges against Lewis. Sometime later Toll laid the criminal charges against them, which was dismissed on December 1998. However, he said, the police appealed the matter but the Court of Appeal confirmed the dismissal of the charges in 2001. (SW)