Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
‘Halfway’ hospital thief jailed for two years
Thirty-two year-old Claude Howard of Skeldon who was badly beaten when he was caught in the act of breaking into the Physiotherapy Department of the New Amsterdam Hospital was yesterday sentenced to two years in prison by Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo.
Howard made an appearance at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court for sentencing.
Claude Howard
The man, who is a known felon, had pleaded guilty on Friday and the Magistrate had ordered that he return to court yesterday for sentencing.
Howard had suffered broken ribs, left foot and right arm and ended up a patient at the same institution he tried to burglarise.
The accused who was heavily bandaged about his body was in severe pain when he appeared in court on Friday and again yesterday. He had told the Magistrate that he did not steal anything.
He also told the court that he was outside the hospital and “dem other boys been inside de building”. He said he tried to run and was caught, then badly beaten by hospital porters.
He had told the Magistrate, “dem break three ah me ribs, me hand and foot, den dem police lock me up.
The case for the prosecution as presented by Corporal Sherlock King was that on Monday July 26, around 20:00hrs, Howard was caught in the process of entering the New Amsterdam Hospital. He had removed three louvre panes and was halfway through the window when he was seen by a security guard.
An alarm was raised and he was caught as he tried to escape. He was subsequently given a sound beating.
In court, Prosecutor King asked that notwithstanding the condition of the accused, a custodial sentence should be imposed. He said that the accused is a ‘regular’, thus he should feel the full force of the law.
The accused had nothing to say and was sentenced to two years in jail.
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