‘Haffa’ remanded over attempted murder at Kwakwani

A 30-year-old man accused of attempting to murder another was yesterday remanded to prison when he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Desford Bourne

It is alleged that on August 30 at Kwakwani, Desford Bourne called ‘Haffa’ of Kwakwani Water Front attempted to murder Ulwin Gobin.

The chainsaw operator who is also a carpenter was not required to plead to the indictable charge of attempted murder when it was read to him by the acting chief magistrate.

Attorney-at-law Adrian Thompson who represented the defendant explained to the court that the virtual complainant (VC) who is employed by his client as a carpenter was given $25,000 to purchase a quantity of wood, but failed to do so and this subsequently sparked an argument between the two.

According to Thompson, during the altercation, the VC sustained a minor cut to the neck but he disputed that his client had chopped Gobin to the neck with a cutlass as stated by the prosecutor.

Thompson in his address to the court said that the scuffle the two were in caused the VC to be injured but at no time was a weapon used by his client.

The lawyer said that his client is willing to compensate Gobin for whatever injuries he had sustained as a result of the incident.

The attorney made an application for bail on the grounds that his client has no antecedents, has a fixed address, poses no risk of flight and has been cooperating with the police in their investigation. He said also that the complainant has since been discharged from hospital and asked the magistrate to consider this in making her decision.

Prosecutor Stephen Telford however objected to the bail application made by the attorney on the grounds that the offence is a serious and prevalent one. He said too that the VC is still hospitalized.

Telford said that the matter should be treated seriously as the VC could have lost his life at the hands of the accused. The prosecutor said that on the day in question, Bourne used a cutlass in attacking  Gobin.

“This is a very serious matter my worship, the VC could have been a dead man because of the accused. The accused should have known that his actions could have been more severe,” Telford said.

The prosecutor’s request was granted and the defendant was remanded to prison. His matter was transferred to the Kwakwani Magistrate’s Court for September 13.