A father of thirteen was today remanded to prison when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry, charged with possession of a knife without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
Forty – seven – year old Collin Akra of North Ruimveldt Georgetown pleaded guilty with an explanation. It was alleged that on August 31 at Brickdam, Georgetown he had a knife on his pants waist and at the time he could not gave a valid reason for having the weapon.
When asked for his explanation, Akra told the Court that he was a passenger in a overloaded minibus and refused to pay the conductor. According to the accused, the conductor was about to put him out of the bus when he pulled out his knife and told the other passengers to move aside since he thought they were going to put him out of the bus.
The man further related that he did not disembark the bus, but requested that he be taken to the Brickdam police station. According to Akra, a Police Officer at the Brickdam Police Station was under the influence of alcohol and conducted a search during which the knife was found. The Magistrate refused bail and the accused will return to court tomorrow for sentencing.[Royan Abrams]
