Police are yet to charge the 36-year-old labourer captured brutally assaulting his 26-year-old girlfriend at a bar in Arima last week. The suspect, an employee of the Customs and Excise Board, remained detained at the Arouca Police Station up to late yesterday as investigators attempted to wrap up their investigation against him.
Police sources said investigators were having difficulty in charging the suspect as the victim, who has a nine-year-old son with him, has repeatedly refused to give a statement on the incident or be medically examined.
However, investigators were said to be consulting with the T&T Police Service’s legal department and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to determine if the man could be charged without the victim’s evidence.
The T&T Guardian understands that the victim, who lives at the suspect’s home with their child and his mother, visited the station on Saturday to deliver food and clothing for her alleged attacker. Contacted yesterday, the suspect’s attorney, Fareed Ali, confirmed that his client had not been charged and called on investigators to act quickly as his client had been in custody for over 48 hours.
“It has already been 48-plus hours my client has been in custody and the discomfort of a cell and its environs is frustrating for a humble man of simple means,” Ali said.
Ali described the public’s reaction to a video of the incident being circulated on social networking site Facebook as exaggerated and a “storm inside a teacup.”
“Public perception seems to be ruling the investigation, so they (police) may be pressured to do something. This woman has not given a statement, how can a charge for bodily harm be proffered against my client?” Ali said.
The attack allegedly took place last Thursday afternoon while the woman was liming with friends at Nella’s Sports Bar along the Arima Old Road, Arima.
In the 49-second clip captured by the bar’s CCTV camera and later shared on social media, the suspect is seen attacking the seated victim with a metal object. After the victim collapsed on the floor, the man is seen kicking her repeatedly. The suspect surrendered to police in the company of the victim the following day.
Investigations are continuing.