Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A High Court judge has awarded more than $225,000 in compensation to a Chaguanas mechanic and farmer who was re-prosecuted for larceny nearly a decade after the charge against him had already been dismissed.
Justice Jacqueline Wilson ordered the compensation for Suruj Samaroo, of Carlsen Field Connector Road, Chaguanas, after she upheld his constitutional claim alleging breaches of his rights.
According to evidence presented in the case, Samaroo was charged in 2002 with stealing $15,895 worth of items from a man.
He missed a court hearing in July 2004, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. However, the warrant was never executed, and he continued to make several court appearances before the charge was dismissed by a magistrate in October 2005.
Nearly ten years later, in late May 2015, police officers arrived at Samaroo’s home to execute the outstanding 2004 warrant.
Although he informed officers that the matter had already been resolved, he was detained and held at two police stations for several hours before being taken to court.
He again advised a magistrate of the outcome of the case but was remanded to the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca for eight days before being able to secure bail.
Samaroo subsequently made about a dozen court appearances before the charge was ultimately dismissed due to the investigating officer’s failure to attend court.
At each appearance, he maintained that the matter had already been dismissed, but was told there was no endorsement in the court records confirming the dismissal.
Through attorneys Abdel Mohammed and Kent Samlal, Samaroo filed a constitutional motion claiming breaches of his rights. He said he suffered distress, humiliation and embarrassment, and also incurred financial losses due to his inability to work during his detention.
In her ruling, Justice Wilson found that Samaroo was the victim of a systemic failure that resulted in the violation of his constitutional rights.
She rejected submissions from the Office of the Attorney General that the matter amounted to an isolated administrative oversight that was corrected through the judicial process, stating that adequate procedural safeguards should have prevented the error.
“Had one or more of these procedural safeguards been implemented, the claimant’s arrest, detention, and renewed prosecution would have been avoided or, at a minimum, the error would have been discovered at an earlier stage before a renewed prosecution on a dismissed charge was fully deployed,” Justice Wilson said.
She awarded $200,000 in general damages and $25,000 in vindicatory damages to deter similar failures in the future.
The judge also ordered the State to pay interest on the award as well as Samaroo’s legal costs.
The Office of the Attorney General was represented by Dayna Samaroo (no relation), Yeama Indarsingh, and Anala Mohan.
