A suspended policeman was fined $6,000 yesterday after he was found guilty on a charge of possession of marijuana.
John Parsons, 46, last attached to Court and Process Branch at the Princes Town Police Station, was convicted by Princes Town Magistrate Ava Vandenburg-Bailey.
He was arrested on March 18, 2008, around 10 am by then Sgt Zamsheed Mohammed at the cellblock area of police station after 134 grammes of marijuana was found in his back pocket.
Parsons pleaded not guilty and the trial began in July. Mohammed and PC Dan Singh testified for the prosecution.
Parsons in his evidence admitted having the drugs in his possession. Explaining how the drugs came into his possession, Parsons said he exited a maxi taxi at Tram Line Road and saw a suspicious transaction between two men.
When he approached them, he said, one of the men ran off and he grabbed the other.
However, he said, the suspect hit him and ran off, dropping the drugs on the ground. Parsons said he picked it up and was on the way to report the incident at the police station when he was arrested.
His attorney, Subhas Panday, asked for leniency, saying his client had 15 years service and an unblemished record before the 2008 incident.
The magistrate gave him two weeks to pay the fine or serve one year in jail.