A HIGH Court master has awarded a La Romaine man a total of $408,769.13 for false imprisonment, malicious damage, and assault.
Master Martha Alexander made the order for the man who was arrested on suspicion of robbery in November 2015.
He was held in custody for a total of 116 days before he was released from prison in February 2016, without being charged for a crime.
His claim for damages for unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and assault and battery was filed by his attorney Abdel Mohammed in October 2019. And although the State entered an appearance in the matter, it failed to file a defence and judgment in default was entered in his favour.
The claim for damages was sent to the master for assessment.
In her ruling, Alexander said the man’s evidence went unchallenged by the State.
He was first arrested on November 5, 2015, at his daughter’s school. He was detained in the police station for four days before he was charged in relation to two alleged robbery incidents in Point Fortin.
The man was remanded to prison for three months and 21 days until the charges against him were dropped.
His lawsuit said he was never put on an identification parade nor were the alleged stolen items found in his possession.
When the case was dropped, the police’s witnesses said they never saw him and evidence showed that not only did he not match the description of the person who committed the robberies but one of the victims said the man was not the person who broke into his home and robbed him.
In his civil lawsuit, he accused the police of framing him. He said he was beaten while in custody and suffered the indignity, mental suffering and humiliation when he was arrested despite repeatedly insisting he was innocent
“There is is no contest on the facts that the criminal law was set in motion against the claimant, there was no reasonable basis for the charges and the prosecution ended in his acquittal.
“At the end of the baseless prosecution, the claimant’s reputation was damaged and he was left to live with that stigma and humiliation for the rest of his life,” Alexander said.
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