Derek Achong
A 75-year-old caretaker, who killed his former employer and tried to take his own life because he was being evicted from the estate he was hired to manage, has been sentenced to a little over 12 years in prison.
Goolab Ramkissoon was initially charged with murdering Rabindranath Harnarine in May 2010 but the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) recently agreed that he could plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter by provocation, based on the evidence in the case.
Ramkissoon was sentenced by High Court Judge Norton Jack late last week.
Although Ramkissoon’s lawyers and prosecutors agreed with the plea to the lesser offence, there was slight divergence in terms of the appropriate starting sentence to be considered by Justice Jack.
Prosecutor Norma Peters recommended a 25-year starting point, while Ramkissoon’s lawyer Michelle Ali, from the Public Defender’s Department, suggested between 17 and 21 years.
Jack eventually struck a balance, as he decided on a 22-year starting point. He agreed to make a downward adjustment of three and a half years based on a mitigation plea from Ali.
In her submissions, Ali called on Justice Jack to consider Ramkissoon’s age and the fact that he suffers from a long list of medical conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, peptic ulcers and chronic renal failure. She also pointed out that Ramkissoon had a clean criminal record before being charged for the offence.
Jack then applied a one-third discount based on Ramkissoon’s guilty plea, leaving him with a sentence of 12 years and four months in prison.
Ramkissoon is expected to be released in a little under two months after the time he spent on remand before being allowed to plead guilty to the offence was deducted from his sentence.
The judge suggested that he use his remaining time in prison to seek counselling, as he attempted suicide after killing Harnarine.
According to the agreed facts in the case, Harnarine, of Palmiste, San Fernando, was shot dead at his estate in Tableland on May 25, 2010.
Before he died, Harnarine managed to call a neighbour and tell him that Ramkissoon had shot him.
When police officers arrived on the scene, they found Ramkissoon, who had a gunshot wound to his chin, lying in a hammock under his wooden house on Harnarine’s property.
Ramkissoon reportedly pointed to a bushy area on the property, where the officers found Harnarine’s body, and admitted that he shot him (Harnarine) twice before attempting to take his own life.
He was taken for medical treatment and then provided a statement in which he detailed the circumstances which led him to shoot Harnarine.
He claimed that when Harnarine purchased the estate in 2007, he was hired as the caretaker, as he was familiar with the area.
He built the wooden home on the estate, which he shared with his wife.
Two years later, Harnarine requested that Ramkissoon and his wife vacate the property, as he accused him (Ramkissoon) of not performing work on it due to health problems, while still continuing to care for his own crops on the land.
Ramkissoon claimed that one month before the shooting, he requested a $10,000 payment to leave. Harnarine only offered $2,000, which he accepted.
He claimed that although he accepted the money, Harnarine threatened to hire someone to “finish him off.”
Ramkissoon claimed that he decided to shoot Harnarine and then himself because “he had nowhere to go or nothing in life.”
Ramkissoon admitted that he went around the village and told residents of his intention.
He was approached by a man who sold him the gun and three rounds of ammunition for $1,500, which he bought using some of the money Harnarine gave him.
Ramkissoon claimed that before the shooting, Harnarine came to the property and taunted him for not vacating quickly enough.
He claimed that he drew the gun and threatened Harnarine to apologise. Harnarine allegedly refused.
He claimed that Harnarine charged toward him and he shot him twice.
Ramkissoon said that he attempted to shoot himself in the throat but the gun shifted and he was shot on his chin.
Ramkissoon was also represented by Collin Elbourne. —Derek Achong