A father accused of beating his two-year-old daughter complained yesterday that he felt unsafe going back to jail. He complained after he was denied bail by a Chaguanas magistrate. Isaac Samaroo, 31, a maxi taxi driver of Caroni, who wanted to plead guilty to assaulting his child, Isabella, while she was in his custody, causing her injury, was remanded until today for a fingerprint trace to determine if he had previous convictions or pending matters. Samaroo appeared before Senior Magistrate Gillian Davis-Scotland. The child lives with her mother, Rhonda Samaroo, but was visiting her father at his home on Caroni Road. The incident took place last Friday. He was charged under Section Three, Sub Section One of the Children Act.
When the magistrate read the charge to Samaroo he said: "I want to plead guilty." He had no lawyer. However, court prosecutor Sgt Deochan Gosine said he had no recommendation on how to proceed. Samaroo was not called on to enter a plea. Gosine objected to bail on the ground he wanted an opportunity to have Samaroo traced. Constable Ronny-Lee Gopaul, the complainant, said the child was severely traumatised and was in and out of hospital. He said Isabella underwent a series of medical examinations. Samaroo, who was shaking, complained to the magistrate he had not been fed for two days while in police custody. The magistrate assured him he would get something to eat yesterday.