Attorneys for two police officers charged with the assault and wounding of a Claxton Bay couple tried yesterday to stop the media from reporting on the matter.
Cpl Nicholas Aguillera, 54, Police Constable Miguel Polo, 40, his brother Vijay Polo, 37, appeared before Magistrate Cheryl Ann Antoine in the Couva Magistrates’ Court yesterday to face the charges.
Aguillera and Miguel were represented by attorney Shiva Boodoo while attorney Chris Ramlal represented Vijay.
The three were jointly charged that on October 31, at Mount Pleasant Road, Springvale, Claxton Bay, they assaulted Vanessa Vialva and wounded her husband, Bradley Ramnarine.
A fourth person also charged, a female relative of the Polo brothers, was in hospital yesterday and was not brought to court.
The men were in police custody since the incident and after the charges were laid on Monday, they were each granted $120,000 bail by a Justice of the Peace.
In court yesterday, Boodoo told the court that incident had been reported by two media houses and he was of the opinion that the media should be told to cease and desist from reporting on the matter.
However, Antoine told him that the media had a responsibility to report the news and once the reports did not prejudice the case, she did not see an issue.
Boodoo also raised concerns about the conditions his clients were kept in at the Couva Police Station for the nine days before they were charged.
He said the cells in which they were kept were flooded and there was faeces, cockroaches and rodents running inside the cell.
He said the cells were not fit for humans to occupy.
Asked by Antoine for a response, Court prosecutor Sgt Lincoln Bonnet said he would have to investigate the matter before giving a response.
Boodoo said he also represented the fourth accused and told the court she had been injured after falling down while in the cell at the station. He said as a result of her injury, she had to be hospitalised.
Ramlal said his client, Vijay, had asked for medical attention for injuries to his shoulder, back, ankle and toe and had been denied any treatment by the officers.
He said Vijay was only allowed to bathe twice in the nine days he was in custody.
Bonnet said the two victims had complained of being threatened by agents of the accused and said the victims requested the court to warn the accused not to threaten them.
Antoine told the accused to let the judicial process take its course and adjourned the matter to March 2, next year.