A doubles vendor who killed a man by setting him on fire has apologised to the relatives of his victim.
Nizam Mohammed, 45, expressed his remorse in a letter which formed part of a mitigation plea presented by his attorney, Israel Khan SC.
Mohammed, his wife Putitia Mohammed and their former worker Daniel Sammy, were all charged in 2008 with the murder of Stephen Joshua, also called Jumbo.
On March 28, following a trial in the San Fernando Third Criminal Court, a jury found Mohammed not guilty of murder, but guilty on the lesser count of manslaughter.
Mohammed’s wife and Sammy were acquitted after they were found not guilty.
In the letter which Khan read to Justice Maria Wilson, Mohammed “deeply “ apologised to Jumbo’s family, the court and his family for the pain and suffering he had caused.
“I never plan on killing Jumbo,” Mohammed stated in his letter. Asking for leniency, Khan said Mohammed was a man of impeccable character, peaceful and a model prisoner. He submitted 10 testimonials attesting to Mohammed’s good character.
“It is an aberration,” said Khan who submitted that his client had lost his self control because he was provoked.
He said Mohammed’s action was triggered by Jumbo invading his home, making death threats and attacking him first. He asked the court to grant the accused a one-third discount on his sentence which is usually done for a guilty plea. Khan said since 2016, they had written the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions asking them to accept a guilty plea for manslaughter, but the DPP refused.
“They wasted blood out of stone.”
He said Mohammed had immediately confessed to killing Jumbo and accepted responsibility for his action.
Accepting that it was a cold and brutal act, Khan said Mohammed has been punished enough since his wife was also locked up and their children were deprived of their parents for almost 10 years.
State attorney Trevor Jones admitted there were significant mitigation factors, but he also listed aggravating factors, including that Jumbo was tied up with wire and was in a drain when gas was poured on him and set alight.
Should the sentence be too lenient, Jones said, it might give the impression that if a person loses self control that “you can get a slap on the wrist.”
However, Khan said Mohammed should be allowed to return to his family.
The incident took place on May 3, 2008, at Mohammed home on Cipero Road, Friendship Village, where he and his family lived in the downstairs apartment.
Mohammed wanted to buy the house and struck an agreement with the owner to pay a down payment and the rest of the money in a year’s time.
He paid $110,000. The defence claimed the owner had hired Jumbo to evict the couple from the apartment, but the owner denied this during his evidence. The judge adjourned the matter to May 3 for sentencing.
