Hard labour for PoS market scammer

A 55-year-old man appeared before a Port of Spain magistrate this morning charged with larceny after he stole items from the Port of Spain market and demanded his "change" from vendors.

Police said John Whitter spent three months scamming vendors out of cash by picking up items and demanding change for his cash, insisting they forgot to give it to him, even though he did not give them any money to pay for the items.

Vendors told police they were so intimidated they would just give the man the money without challenging him.

Whitter was arrested on Saturday morning by Port of Spain City Police and charged with larceny by WPC Lawrence.

Whitter pleaded guilty to the charge this morning and was remanded into custody for 14 days with hard labour.

Newsday understands Whitter was remanded due to outstanding warrants for cocaine possession in other divisions.