Latest update April 7th, 2025 6:08 AM
Man to serve 15 years in jail for fatal wedding house beating
Rajen Dindial, who was found guilty of manslaughter over fatally beating a man with a paddle at a wedding house celebration, was yesterday sentenced to serve 15 years in jail for the crime. The custodial sentence was imposed by trial Judge Jo-Ann Barlow at the High Court in Demerara.
Dindial, of Section ‘C’ Block Y, Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara, killed Henry, called “Boy”, at Grove Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara. It was reported that Dindial and Henry were at a wedding celebration at a house when an argument ensued between them after Henry push
Rajen Dindial
ed down a portable toilet and refused to pick it up. The court was told that Dindial became annoyed and armed himself with a paddle and dealt the victim several lashes about his body. The court heard that Henry fell unconscious and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed some time after.
At yesterday’s sentence hearing, Dindial’s lawyer Nigel Hughes pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy. In his submissions, Hughes asked the court to consider that his client was a good upstanding member of his community. He pointed out that his client had an unblemished criminal record. In relation to the beating, the lawyer said that it was a spontaneous act which showed that his client exhibited poor judgment. Hughes said that the loss of a life is always something tragic.
According to Hughes, his client as well as his family deeply regretted what had happened.
However, Justice Barlow pointed out that the aggravating circumstances in the case were overwhelming. In recapping bits of the evidence, the Judge noted that after beating Henry, Dindial rendered no assistance. Instead, she said, he walked into his relatives’ yard. His actions, the judge said, showed a callous disregard for life. The Judge reminded the court that violence continues to be an issue in society, and the court has a duty to impose a sentence that will serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
With that said, Justice Barlow started the sentence at a base of 15 years. From that she ordered that two years, two months and 13 days – which reflects the time Dindial spent in pre-trial custody – be deducted. She further ordered that one year also be deducted from the sentence, given that Dindial had an unblemished criminal record prior to his conviction for manslaughter.
During the State’s case, which was presented by State Counsel Shawnette Austin, and State Counsel Sarah Martin, an eyewitness to the beating, Kemis Harris, said that around 11:30hrs, he was walking through a street where the wedding was being held when he saw Henry push down a portable toilet. He said that the portable toilet was a few feet away from the wedding house at the intersection of the street.
According to the witness, several persons rushed up to Henry and one of them, a man, whom he described as a stranger to the community and a friend of Dindial, lashed him to his face with a bottle that broke as a result. In retaliation, he said Henry picked up a case of empty beer bottles and threw it at the man’s face, but missed. It was then, he said, that Dindial armed himself with a paddle which he used to lash Henry to his neck.
The witness added, “When Boy [Henry] get that chop lash… Dindial kept on lashing Boy until he can’t move…on his face and on his chest.” Harris added that Dindial’s brother, who is only known by the call name, “Doggy”, kicked Henry to his face as the injured man lay on the ground. He added that he only reported what he saw to the police after he heard that Henry had died. The witness related that when he visited the police station, he identified Dindial as the ‘beat man’.
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