Student fined for stabbing schoolmate in head with scissors

Dec 04, 2015 News

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-victim’s mom unhappy after compensation request rejected
The parents of a 14-year-old student of Patentia Secondary School is definitely moving to the High Court to sue for costs associated with a severe injury he received when a fellow student stuck a scissors in his skull two years ago.

This was after Magistrate Clive Nurse imposed a fine of $100,000 on the teenager who inflicted the grievous wound on February 6, 2013.
Olatungi Wilson, who dealt his schoolmate Neil Miggins a stab to the head with a pair of scissors, over two years ago, was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm by Magistrate Nurse at the Wales Magistrate’s Court.
Wilson, a student of the Leonora Technical Institute, was convicted for the offence two Mondays ago, but Magistrate Nurse deferred sentencing to yesterday pending a Probation Report, and to allow the parents of the two parties to come to a financial settlement.
However, the two sides could not agree and the Magistrate, guided by a favourable Probation Report, handed down his sentence, much to the disappointment of Miggins’ mother.
The convicted teenager was not given a custodial sentence. Instead, he was ordered to pay the fine with an alternative of six months imprisonment. He was also placed on a bond to keep the peace for one year. Failure to comply with the conditions of the bond will see him spending three months in jail.
The two young men both reside in the same village and were attending the Patentia Secondary School at the time of the incident.
Miggins was 12 years old and had just entered the First Form of the school.
On the evening of February 6, Neil Miggins underwent surgery on his skull at the Georgetown Public Hospital to remove a pair of a scissors that Wilson had thrown at him. It was reported that Miggins was running down a flight of stairs at school, when he jammed his attacker, who in turn tossed the weapon at him.
At yesterday’s court hearing, Magistrate Nurse revealed some findings of the Probation Report, which described Wilson as a humble young man. The report stated that on the day of the incident, he lost his temper and overreacted.
Magistrate Nurse disclosed that the report detailed that Wilson had successfully completed the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and is currently pursuing a course in Electrical Engineering at the Leonora Technical Institute.
According to the Probation Report, Wilson has begun making positive changes in his life. And he has also dissociated himself from delinquent company.
It was revealed that Wilson was before the court a few years ago on a charge of simple larceny. He was found guilty and placed under statutory supervision for two years.
Shifting his attention to the mitigating factors considered, the Magistrate stated that at the time of the incident, Wilson was young and attending the same school with Miggins. He pointed out that the victim and Wilson are relatives.
The Magistrate noted the fact that Wilson showed remorse and apologized to the court and the victim’s mother, Barbara Miggins. It was also noted that Wilson’s parents showed a willingness to compensate the victim, but according to the Magistrate, the compensation was rejected.
The magistrate’s ruling did not go down well with Barbara Miggins who is convinced that her son was made a victim twice.
Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday after the ruling, Miggins said that after finding the accused guilty, the magistrate had asked her to think about a compensation figure.
She said she indicated that she would settle for $1.8M. Miggins stated however, that she was told by the Probation Officer that Wilson’s family could not afford the sum. On this note, the mother said that she had agreed to reduce the figure to $1.5M.
When the accused lad’s mother was asked what amount of compensation she can afford, she indicated $200,000.
Miggins described that offer as disrespectful.
“He (accused) is studying and is getting on with his life, but my son missed two years of his school life because of his actions. Will $200,000 compensate his for that.”
“My son has a fractured skull and he has to undergo another surgery to put in a plate in his skull, so how could this be fair?” Miggins asked.
She has signaled her intentions of appealing the decision in the High Court with assistance from her attorney, Bernard DeSantos.
Thus far, the young man has undergone several successful CT scans and X-rays. He only resumed school two weeks ago.
Miggins related that since the incident her son has not been himself. She said that on many occasions, she is forced to restrain the young man from harming himself. “One time he bore himself with a piece of wire”.
A distraught Miggins continued, “He don’t talk properly, he don’t see properly from the right eye.”
Currently, Miggins is attending psychiatric clinics held by Senior Government Psychiatrist, Dr. Bhairo Harry.

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