Man on bond for stealing flask of rum

“Alcohol is not a balm to soothe your problems,” Magistrate Alica Chankar advised a heartbroken Williamsville resident who stole a flask of rum from a supermarket. Since Jerry Assing, 43, was a first-time offender,  the magistrate placed him on a $500 bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a year. He pleaded guilty as charged when he appeared before Chankar in the San Fernando Fourth Court.

Assing told the magistrate he began drinking on Wednesday morning because when he came home from work the day before he found his nine-year-old daughter alone in an empty house. He said his wife left him and had taken everything with her. Advising him to deal with his problems when sober and in his right senses, Chankar said, “You need to seek counselling and resolution. But you will not find that resolution bottled.”

The court heard that on Wednesday around 2.40 pm Assing put a half-bottle of White Oak valued $47.99 in his pocket and walked out of JTA Supermarket, Carlton Centre, San Fernando. He was apprehended by security personnel, who reported the incident. Assing told PC Nelson: “Boss, I was really feeling for a drink and I did not have any money.” The magistrate ordered that the rum be returned to the supermarket.