Justice Sandil Kissoon sitting at the Essequibo assizes, this morning imposed a 13 year custodial sentence on 36-year-old Parsram Ramnauth for the October 16, 2018 killing of a man over cigarettes.
Appearing in court via Zoom, Ramnauth, who was initially charged for murder, opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. He thereby admitted that at Barakat Backdam, Mazaruni River, he unlawfully killed Daniel George, 20.
Based on previous reports, Ramnauth and George were imbibing at around 8pm when an argument erupted over cigarettes. During the ordeal, George was fatally stabbed in his abdomen and right eye with a knife by Ramnauth of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo.
Police records reveal that in 2007, Ramnath was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment on a charge of causing grievous bodily harm and to three years’ imprisonment in 2006 for possession of narcotics. During today’s court hearing, Ramnauth was represented by Lawyer Ravindra Mohabir, while the case for the prosecution was presented by State Counsel Lisa Cave.
A probation report which was presented to the court revealed that Ramnath expressed remorse for his actions and is willing to apologize to the family of the deceased.
