Watchman jailed for stealing

Watchman Bachan Natram will be spending the next 12 months in jail after stealing over $100,000 in items from a vessel that he was charged with guarding.

Natram, 39, of Mocha, East Bank Demerara, was sentenced after he admitted that he stole a boat battery, a quantity of groceries and other items totaling $130,000 belonging to Tony Persaud between November 3rd and November 4th at the Houston wharf.

The unrepresented man pleaded guilty to the charge after it was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown yesterday.

Police Prosecutor Corporal Deniro Jones told the court that Persaud left the items intact on the vessel and left Natram to watch over them. When other persons in the vicinity saw him removing the items, they immediately contacted the police, who confronted the man at the scene of the crime. Natram, under caution, admitted to stealing the items to sell them in order to buy food because he was hungry.