Family loses malicious prosecution case

A San Fernando family has lost their malicious prosecution claim and was ordered to pay the State’s legal costs.

Justice Ricky Rahim dismissed the case of Hecliff Haneiph, his wife Narda Guyadeen and their daughter on January 30.

The case stemmed from a police search on June 21, 2013, at the family’s home.

Officers led by PC Andre Joseph executed a search warrant and later charged the family with possession of a firearm, ammunition, and possession of marijuana for trafficking. A magistrate eventually dismissed the charges against them for want of prosecution.

The family contended the police acted maliciously, lacked reasonable and probable cause, and wrongly attributed ownership of the seized items to them.

The State argued the police acted lawfully and that credible intelligence led to the discovery of the illegal items on the family’s property.

Officers also contended that Haneiph, who died before the matter came up in the High Court, voluntarily pointed out a water tank stand where a firearm and marijuana were found.

In deciding the case, Rahim evaluated the conflicting testimonies and ruled that the family failed to prove that the police lacked reasonable and probable cause to arrest and charge them.

He also found no evidence of malice on the part of the police, noting they had no motive to fabricate charges. While the judge questioned some inconsistencies in the officers' testimony, he ultimately found the prosecution justifiable.

“The court is not of the view that Joseph set out to charge these claimants for these reasons as that is highly implausible. He did, in fact, offer an explanation for why he failed to engage the police in the Southern Division which is telling.

“His evidence was that he did not know who he could trust. The court accepts this as the reality of Trinidad and Tobago and of his reality.”

Rahim dismissed their compensation claim and ordered them to pay the State’s costs of $14,000.