Appeal Court increases compensation for Morvant man beaten by soldiers

A 40-year-old Morvant man, who was left with a broken jaw after he was allegedly ambushed by two soldiers in east Port of Spain, will receive an increase in compensation for the assault as the Court of Appeal has ruled a previous award by a High Court master was “disproportionally low.”

On January 17, Justices of Appeal Mira Dean-Armorer, Vasheist Kokaram and Malcolm Holdip increased the award of compensation for Leon King.

They held then-High Court master Marissa Robertson’s award of $87,000 in general damages with an uplift for the aggravating circumstances of the assault on King, and $37,000 in exemplary damages was disproportionately low. He was also awarded $775 in special damages.

Instead, they increased it to $170,000 and $100,000.

King, of Paradise Gardens, was represented by Gerald Ramdeen and Dayadai Harripaul while Rachael Jacob represented the State.

In delivering an oral ruling, Dean-Armorer said the increased substitution was to highlight the court’s outrage. She described the assault on July 15, 2014, on Nelson Street, Port of Spain, as “egregious and brutal.”

“We find it extremely egregious that someone who holds this important role in society would engage in this barbaric activity,” the judges said of the assault by the two soldiers.

The judges also noted that the award would come from the public purse, not from those who perpetrated the actual crime.

Although they increased the award of compensation, they declined to follow a ruling of the Privy Council in a case out of Belize on the disaggregation of damages, saying that should be left for a case out of Trinidad and Tobago.

After King filed his claim for assault and battery in 2016, judgment in default was entered against the State, which did not defend the matter, and it was sent to Robertson for assessment as a master.

In her assessment, the master considered the judicial trends at the time in the award of damages.

According to his lawsuit, at about 5 am, he was on George Street, walking towards Nelson Street, when he was confronted by two soldiers dressed in camouflage and armed with machine guns.

He said he was asked where he was going and he told them he was on his way to pick up his daughter. King was accused of lying and ordered to lie on the ground. He begged the soldiers to take him to the apartment where his child was but was met with aggression by one of the soldiers who told him, “You telling me how to do my job.”

He was then hit across the left side of his face with the butt of his gun while both soldiers continued to hit him on the head, back and body with their machine guns.

He was then dragged by the soldiers, beaten again and then thrown face-first into a drain.

The beating stopped when passersby questioned what was happening and the soldiers left. King was able to get to his car and drive to his girlfriend’s home nearby and then taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital, where he stayed for seven days, undergoing surgery for a fractured jaw.

Medical reports were tendered into evidence at the assessment. Jacob also admitted the State could not identify the two soldiers as no names were provided after the judges questioned whether military disciplinary action had been taken against anyone as there was no evidence of such before the court.

In his submissions, Ramdeen called for appellate intervention, saying the master’s award was disproportionately low.

He also spoke of the deterrent effect vindicatory damages would have in violent attacks by agents of the State.

“This was an erroneous award…There is no deterrent for officers who perpetrate these types of actions.

“It is the Court of Appeal’s duty to determine if a deterrent is a requirement when there is a prevalence of this type of behaviour and the aim of punishment.”

He also said the prevailing award at the time, considered by the master, was too low, especially if the aim was to punish would-be perpetrators.

“Proportionality requires you to raise an award because of the act of the state agents, not lower it.”