Police Constable Paul Christopher, who is assigned to Central Division Highway Patrol, was yesterday cleared of a charge of accepting a $40 bribe. The jury took just 20 minutes to acquit Christopher of the charge. He was before Justice Devan Rampersad in the Port-of-Spain Fifth Criminal Court, charged with corruptly receiving the money from Michael Mohan on August 21, 2002, at Lange Park, Chaguanas. State attorneys Brent Winter and Rehanna Ali prosecuted, while Richard Valere represented Christopher.
It was alleged that Mohan was with his girlfriend, Sadia Nabbie, in his car at Lange Park, when a marked police vehicle pulled alongside. Christopher alighted from the vehicle with another officer and approached Mohan. It was alleged that during that a conversation, Christopher accepted $40, but made arrangements for Mohan to call him on his cellphone so he could pay a further $1,000. Mohan claimed that he was threatened that if he did not pay, he would be charged. Mohan made a report to the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau (ACIB) and Christopher was later charged. In court, he denied the allegation.