PC Haresh Mathura, of the Western Division, yesterday pleaded not guilty to failing to submit to a breathalyser test. Mathura, 34, of Couva, had his bail increased to $10,000 and is scheduled to reappear on August 22. His case could not proceed further yesterday as the arresting officer, Cpl Alexander, was attending to a domestic situation. The police constable, who has 17 years service, was among scores of people who were heavily fined for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol over the weekend. Also appearing before San Fernando Traffic Court Magistrate Rehanna Hosein yesterday was Dr Mark Jones, son of former Petrotrin president Malcolm Jones, who pleaded guilty to driving after “consuming so much alcohol that it exceeded the prescribed limit.”
He was placed on a $1,000 bond to keep the peace and be on good behaviour for a year. According to court prosecutor Sgt Krishna Bedassie, Jones was stopped by WPC James around 2 pm on Saturday on the Gulf View Link Road, San Fernando. Bedassie said when James spoke to Jones, she detected a strong scent of alcohol and when asked about it, he replied that he “went to Road House and had a few drinks.” Submitting a specimen of breath for a breathalyser test, he was found to be five microgrammes above the legal limit of 35 microgrammes/100 millilitres.
Pleading his case, Jones admitted that he broke the law and that it was the first time he had ever committed such an offence, but threw himself at the court’s mercy. Yesterday was a lengthy session for Hosein who dished out hefty fines to most offenders, even suspending some drivers’ permits, charging that their actions had put citizens’ lives in danger.
Although most offenders came in for a severe scolding, Hosein allowed garbage-truck driver Wazid Mohammed to keep his permit despite being involved in an accident after drinking puncheon rum. In his defence, Mohammed said he was not a regular drinker, but used rum as a means to relieve his domestic frustrations. Hosein warned him not to resort to alcohol to quell his frustration and told him the only reason she was allowing him to keep his permit was that driving was his source of income. This was not the case for Sterling Gosine, who was involved in an accident on Saturday with four other vehicles at the Bamboo Village intersection, La Romaine. Admitting that he had had a few drinks at the Rig Restaurant and Bar on the South Trunk Road, La Romaine, Gosine angered Hosein when he said the accident happened because he fell asleep behind the wheel. Hosein yielded to Bedassie’s request for Gosine to surrender his driving permit and he was fined $6,000 or in default will serve three years in prison with hard labour. She told him the only reason he was not imprisoned was that it was his first offence.