(Trinidad Express) Despite being granted bail by a Port of Spain magistrate on three criminal charges, Shane Aleong, the son of Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh, spent Tuesday night in prison after he was unable to secure the bail bond.
However, he was released from State Prison, Frederick Street, Port of Spain, around midday yesterday after one of his attorneys deposited a certified cheque in the sum of TT$10,000 at the court earlier in the day, according to judicial sources.
Aleong was granted bail by Senior Magistrate Annette McKenzie on Tuesday afternoon on three charges—assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of a weapon and using obscene language.
Bail in the sum of TT$25,000 to be approved by a Clerk of the Peace III or a cash alternative of TT$10,000 was granted to cover the charges, but neither of the bail bonds could have been secured due to time constraints the Express was told.
Aleong was brought to the court around 3 p.m. on Tuesday from the Port of Spain Criminal Investigation Department (CID), where he was held after he surrendered to officers on Monday.
After the matter was called and adjourned it was already approaching 4 p.m. —the time the court usually closes.
Aleong is accused of assaulting 56-year-old Gregory Wight along Carlos Street, Woodbrook, outside the Brooklyn Bar on September 19.
The alleged incident, which was captured on camera, shows a man walking up to Wight with a cutlass and hitting him twice to the leg with the flat side of the blade while he was purchasing doubles from a vendor along the pavement.
Following the posting of the video on several social networking sites, police launched an investigation resulting in Aleong’s arrest.
His court matter will resume on Tuesday.
