2 sentenced for sacrilege in separate cases

TWO men have been sentenced for sacrilege in separate cases by a High Court judge who emphasised the serious nature of the crime and the need for deterrent sentencing to protect the sanctity of religious spaces.

“Places of worship are regarded as sanctum. They are holy ground for all who worship therein.

“In order to seek entry into some of these sanctuaries, feet must be bare or heads covered, while in others, ablution is mandated.

“Even for those who do not care to enter, the reverence ought to be respected.

“Where crimes are committed within places of worship, this is often met with repugnance by the community and society at large.

“These crimes are particularly shocking and ought to be severely deprecated by courts of law,” Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds said as she sentenced Shawn Kemraj Petiebabu and Anslem “Smeegle and Slim” Nicholas to a total of a little over four years in prison after the relevant deductions were applied to their sentences.

Petiebabu pleaded guilty to breaking into the Om Maha Kali Devi Shakti Hindu Temple in Debe between November 13 and 19, 2022.

He maliciously damaged a Mother Kali murti valued at $10,000 and a Lord Shiva murti valued at $2,000.

Ramsumair-Hinds imposed a final sentence of two years, five months, and six days at hard labour after adjustments for mitigating factors and time served.

Nicholas admitted to breaking into the St Paul No 3 Independent Baptist Church in Fyzabad between December 18 and 27, 2021. He stole a Peavey amplifier valued at $4,000.

He received a final sentence of one year, six months, and six days at hard labour after reductions for mitigating factors and time served.

In her sentencing ruling, Ramsumair-Hinds underscored the sanctity of places of worship, describing sacrilege as a crime that affects entire communities of worshippers. She highlighted the prevalence of such offences in Trinidad and Tobago, with 161 reports over the last five years, and stressed the importance of deterrence and rehabilitation. Of those reports, she revealed, 47 people were arrested and Petiebabu and Nicholas were among them.

She noted that sentencing for sacrilege once attached a death penalty and, while that is no longer applicable in contemporary society, courts, she said, must signal a clear message to society acknowledging the seriousness of these offences.

“Certainly, the circumstances of the offence and the offender must of course be considered…Sentencing is always an exercise of cool, dispassionate reason. Even as I acknowledge the importance of retribution in cases of sacrilege, sentencing necessarily involves discretion.

“In a society like ours, we sometimes compare apples with oranges.”

She acknowledged that it was difficult to consider if the offence was the “worst of the worst,” but said, “Stealing anything from a place of worship is surely a bad thing.

“Damaging a holy emblem seems much more offensive. I think it is obvious that the destruction of holy scriptures within a place of worship is particularly egregious.

“The prevalence of sacrilege must be resoundingly deprecated from the Bench and met with custodial terms in the absence of compellingly persuasive factors to mitigate otherwise,” Justice Ramsumair-Hinds said.

“Both sentences treat the offence of sacrilege with the seriousness that offence requires. We include tolerance in our nation’s watchwords and though we are the home of Carnival and fondly embrace our bacchanal culture, we are the same people who pay respect to the many faiths represented in our land,” she added.

She further noted that a non-custodial option for either man would have amounted to an “undeserved pat on the wrist for offences which affect whole communities of worshippers.”

She stressed, “There is a need for the continued detention of the prisoners. I do not think that a conditional release in either case is justified. The just dessert is for each prisoner to serve his entire sentence…It is my hope that the prisoners will be able to begin a process of rehabilitation.

“Society will have its pound of flesh from these prisoners for the crimes they have committed and the need for deterrence will hopefully be achieved.”