Serial thief sentenced to 5 years

A SIPARIA magistrate has expressed the hope that this country can go one day without a report of larceny being made.

Senior Magistrate Nizam Khan made the wish after sentencing a man to five years with hard labour for two larceny charges after he pleaded guilty at a virtual hearing.

St Clair was charged with stealing a weed wacker, a television, and other household items.

In sentencing him, Khan not only considered his guilty-plea but also the 15 convictions he had for similar offences and ten pending cases.

In asking St Clair to recite the ten commandments, with emphasis on "Thou shall not steal," Khan said said there was a noted increase in the offence of larceny which affected citizens financially and psychologically and destroyed the fabric of society.

Khan said it was “heart wrenching” that people could no longer live in peace and were subjected to having what they worked hard for “plundered and stolen” from them.

Only recently, in his contribution to the national budget, Independent Senator Varma Deyalsingh bemoaned reports of more and more home invasions.

He said the country was plagued by mental health issues caused by excessive crime.