Trini gets 5 years for staging own kidnapping; mom faints

Oct 05, 2019 News

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BY Trishan Craig

The fairytale story came to an end for the Trinidadian ‘Rich Kid’ who was accused of faking his own kidnapping as he was yesterday placed behind bars for the offence.
A frightened Sawak Maraj, 33, and a Chemical Engineer, stood before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The Magistrate in her ruling said that after going through the entirety of the evidence led by Police Prosecutor Dominic Bess, she was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Maraj is guilty of the allegations.
The first charge against Maraj alleged that on October 27, last, at Georgetown, he knowingly gave false information to the police, stating that he was kidnapped and that his abductors demanded US$700,000 for his release.
It was further alleged that on the same day at Madewini Resort, Soesdyke/Linden Highway, Maraj conspired with other persons to negotiate to obtain a ransom of US$700,000.
Maraj had pleaded not guilty to both charges and was released on $1M bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on his second court appearance, after spending three weeks on remand.
Late last year, the defendant was granted permission to leave the jurisdiction to return to his homeland. He has been showing up in court every time his matter is called.
Maraj, who had opted to give an unsworn statement, had told the court, “I am not guilty of these charges. Your worship, at no point did I agree with anyone to fake my kidnapping. All this time, I still believed that Abraham was a bona fide employee of Exxon, who was at the airport to facilitate as a recipient on Exxon’s behalf,” Maraj noted.
He added that he was driven to several locations and that’s when he realised that something was wrong. He told the court that he was taken to a hotel and a cutlass was placed to his throat, and he was threatened.
“I became very afraid; I knew no one and I was very confused. I was visibly relieved when the police came shortly after my captors had fled.”
In her ruling, the magistrate called Maraj’s story a ‘tall tale’ as she stated it was filled with lies.
Firstly, she addressed the issue of the accused meeting with an individual whom he claimed was supposed to pick him up from the airport. Even after contacting the person by phone, Maraj claimed that he was of the opinion that the individual was not the person he should meet. However, he still went along with the person.
She stated that when the defendant was taken to several locations, he was given multiple options to seek help or make an attempt to escape but he did not.
The magistrate added that based on the testimony of police officers who went on the intended rescue mission for the accused, Maraj was given more opportunities to escape from his alleged holding location.
The police had mentioned that the alleged abductors had left the room leaving the accused not bounded or gagged and also the room keys were left on a dresser in the very room.
Magistrate Azore indicated that Maraj had stated that in sending the ransom photo and details he had to assist the men to send the message since they did not know how to use Whatsapp.
Based on these factors, the magistrate found the accused guilty of the offences. She then instructed his attorney, Brandon DeSantos, to prepare to make a plea of mitigation.
At this point, the accused was shaking nervously and turning back and forth from his mother who was seated just behind him.
According to the attorney, Maraj is a well-educated individual and the actual victims of the offences are his family. He asked that the magistrate should take into consideration the fact that his client was never charged or convicted before and in future, he can be of good assistance to society.
The attorney went on to ask that the magistrate also consider the amount of monies spent from travelling back and forth from Trinidad for the court hearing and also the monies spent in Guyana.
However, in handing down her sentence, the magistrate stated that the incident called for a lot of planning and it was clear that Maraj used his intelligence to carry it out.
She took the time to laud the police force for a job well done and for their actions in the matter. “They were mobilised and carried out their duties effectively. Therefore, they must be praised.”
Given the actions of the accused, the magistrate stated that she was of the opinion he should receive the full penalties for the offences and even though he can be fined for one of his charges, she stated that she did not believe it will be equitable.
Maraj was sentenced to four years behind bars for conspiracy to kidnap along with 18 months for giving false information. The sentences will run consecutively which means he will serve them one after the other.
After receiving his sentence, the accused rushed over to his mother who started to cry as she said, “I am so sorry.”
As the magistrate stepped down from her bench, the police went over to the accused to whisk him away in handcuffs. His mother attempted to follow; however, she fainted and had to be assisted to a sitting position.
According to information, Maraj arrived in Guyana on October 28, last, via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
He reportedly left the airport in a taxi and was heading to a hotel on East Bank Demerara when he disappeared. It was a Guyanese who went to the hotel and made reservations for Maraj.
Shortly after the engineer left the airport, a photograph of him with someone holding a cutlass to his neck, was sent to his parents and other relatives in Trinidad and Tobago.
It was alleged that the ‘kidnappers’ threatened to kill their victim if the demanded ransom was not paid. The engineer’s family immediately made contact with the Guyana Police Force and forwarded the photograph.
This newspaper was informed that local ranks were able to track the number that the ‘kidnappers’ used to make contact with Maraj’s relatives. They were also able to trace the location where the call was made.
Ranks were immediately mobilised from around Georgetown and sent to the location in a bid to rescue the ‘victim.’ On arrival at the hotel, they took up strategic positions.
They were puzzled when they entered the room where the ‘victim’ was being held and found him relaxing on a sofa, drinking a can of fruit-juice. It was also noted that this is not the first occasion that he staged his own kidnapping.

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