A great-grandfather who admitted to smoking marijuana and selling alcohol without a licence was on Wednesday given two weeks to pay $2,000 in fines or serve three months in jail.
Rajnath Ramlal, 66, pleaded guilty on Monday to marijuana possession and offering alcohol for sale without a licence. However, due to the number of charge cases in the San Fernando First Magistrates Court on that day the matter was adjourned to Tuesday and transferred to another court.
There are only two magistrates presiding in San Fernando and the courts have been operating in the San Fernando Supreme Court for about two years.
Senior Magistrate Jo-Anne Connor is assigned to the First Court which sits on a morning, while Magistrate Anslem Leander is presiding over matters in the Second, Fourth and Fifth Courts from 2 pm. Ramlal who was granted $5,000 own bail returned to court on Tuesday, but the matter did not go on. He was told to return on Wednesday.
The court heard that on Sunday charging officer PC Akiel Smith was on patrol at Friendship Village when he saw a man pass money to Ramlal in exchange for an alcoholic beverage.
Smith inquired from Ramlal whether he had a licence to sell alcohol and he admitted to not having one. The alcohol comprised of six cases with a total of 144 bottles of Carib, Stag, Mackeson and Guinness; as well as two bottles of White Oak rum and a bottle of Forres Park Puncheon rum. Upon searching Ramlal, the officer also found 11.5 grammes of marijuana in his pocket.
Asking Leander for leniency, his attorney Dane Halls said Ramlal would usually hang out with his friends two or three times a week and he would sponsor their alcoholic beverages. This, Ramlal claimed, became burdensome and he decided to sell alcohol to his friends.
Halls said Ramlal was sorry for his actions which have brought tremendous shame and embarrassment to his family. He indicated that Ramlal has the support of his family who promised to keep him on the right track.
Married for 45 years, the father of two, grandfather of seven and great grandfather of one, had one previous conviction for drunk driving from 2016. As for the marijuana, Halls said his client, a pensioner, indulged in the occasional smoke.
For the marijuana, he was fined $1,000 on each charge and the court ordered that the alcohol and marijuana be destroyed.