Chutney singer Nermal “Massive” Gosine is suing the State for malicious prosecution after being charged with planassing two of his neighbours during an incident in 2012.
The brief trial of Gosine’s case, in which he is alleging that he was charged by police although he was the victim of the incident, was completed before Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh in the Port-of-Spain on Wednesday.
While giving evidence, Gosine claimed that on December 10, 2012, he was involved in an argument at Mootoo Lands, Marabella, with Wayne Dharanpaul and Andrew Richardson. He claimed that the men were armed with a cutlass and a piece of metal.
Gosine claimed he was able to disarm the man with the cutlass and used it to planass them before returning home with the weapon.
He said when police arrived on the scene, they spoke to Dharanpaul and Richardson and then arrested him without properly investigating his claims.
Gosine filed the lawsuit seeking compensation after a magistrate upheld a no case submission in his assault and obscene language case in December 2014.
The only witness brought by the State to refute Gosine’s claims was Cpl Abner Ragoo, the arresting officer.
The incident was not the first time Gosine was charged with a crime. In 2006, he was charged with having a forged driver’s permit but the charges were dismissed as they were based on a clerical error at the Licensing Authority.
In 2014, Gosine successfully sued the State and won $765,000 in compensation. He was forced to file a subsequent lawsuit after the authority took over four years to re-issue him a licence. Last year, he was awarded $200,000 in compensation in that case.
Gosine song during last year’s Carnival season, Rowlee Mudda Count, earned him third place in the Chutney Soca Monarch finals and condemnation from the PNM and its supporters.
Boodoosingh is expected to decide on a date for the judgement in the case after the parties file submissions, later this month.
