A Mon Repos man was yesterday accused of hitting a policewoman in the face with a beer bottle when she attempted to arrest his partner.
The Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court heard that Govinda Pooran, 21, of 237 Block 8 Mon Repos on January 17, unlawfully and maliciously assaulted Roberta Smith, causing grievous bodily harm to her.
Pooran pleaded not guilty to the charge, which was read by Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul.
Police prosecutor David Goodridge objected to bail based on the gravity of the offence. According to him, on the day of the assault, the police were called in to defuse a misunderstanding between Pooran’s partner and another woman. However, he said when Smith was about to arrest Pooran’s partner, he got angry and picked up a beer bottle and hit the policewoman to her face. Pooran was later arrested for assaulting the officer.
Goodridge said the man might flee if granted bail.
However, Pooran’s attorney denied the account given by the prosecutor and added that after his client’s arrest for the alleged offence, he was treated badly in police custody.
The attorney said that his client was stripped down to his underwear by the police. As a result of the purported treatment meted out to the man, the lawyer pleaded for bail for his client.
After listening to the submissions, Magistrate Ally-Seepaul granted Pooran his release on $150,000 bail and ordered him to report weekly to the Sparendaam Police Station until the matter is called again on March 1st, 2016.
