Former PNM cabinet minister fined $18,500 for assault

Rennie Dumas

A Tobago magistrate on Monday ordered former PNM Government Minister Rennie "Stretch" Dumas to pay $15,000 compensation to security guard Roger Simon for "unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm" on Simon.

In addition Dumas has to pay $3,500 to the court.

He has 30 days to pay the fine and 14 days to decide if he would appeal the decision.

Dumas had earlier been found guilty of hitting Simon with a gun. Simon told the court Dumas accused him of stealing material from the Dumas family's property near Arnos Vale in Plymouth and then struck him in the face with a gun, knocking out several of his teeth.

Dumas told local media the judgment sets the wrong precedent.

"If this judgement is an indicator that people can walk on to your property, assault you and walk away and you are without response, you also have to know what that means. 

"I finally would also like to say that I would just like to feel that any reasonable property owner, any reasonable citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, would have defended themselves as I did that morning."