24 months jail for snatching cell

A Port-of-Spain man who snatched a cellphone from a foreigner on Tuesday was sentenced yesterday to 24 months in prison with hard labour. Nizam Cadette pleaded guilty to the charge before Magistrate Gloria Jasmath in the Port-of-Spain 11th Court. After pleading guilty, Cadette told the court he saw the opportunity as a means to get some quick money but was caught by police. He stole the phone, valued at $600, from a Chinese national on Tuesday afternoon while he was walking along Queen Street, Port-of-Spain.

In asking the court for a stiff penalty for Cadette, police prosecutor, Sgt Azard Ali, explained he recently had been convicted of a similar offence. In sentencing Cadette, Jasmath said such offences were far to prevalent in the capital. “Citizens have the right to walk the streets without fear of being robbed,” Jasmath said.