15-year sentence for Corriverton man who killed farmer

Jan 28, 2021 News

Murdered: Henry Lalman.

Sentenced: Asif Hamid.

Kaieteur News – A 27-year-old man, who has been on remand for the past five years for the August 2015 murder of a cattle farmer, was yesterday sentenced to 15 years in prison. Asif Hamid, formerly of Princetown, Corriverton, Upper Berbice, who recently pleaded guilty, made an appearance via Zoom yesterday and was handed the sentence by sitting Judge, Simone Morris-Ramlall, at the Berbice High Court. Hamid was charged with the murder of 78-year-old Henry Lalman, a rice and cattle farmer of No.55 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.
A probation report presented to the court by Probation Officer, Ms. Gordon, revealed that the accused attended the Corriverton Primary School and subsequently went on to attend an Islamic school and the Skeldon Line Path Secondary School. After writing his CSEC examinations, his father entrusted him with a butchery business. Hamid was living at Corriverton with his father, and at the time of the murder he was 22 years old. The report mentioned that his relatives were interviewed and there were mixed reviews, with some relatives stating that he was quiet and reserved and other’s stating that he had an interest in gambling. The report detailed remarks made by Hamid that he was traumatised and sorry about what transpired. The report also stated that residents of No.56 Village described the deceased as a Philanthropist and a quiet and simple businessman.
The prosecutor, attorney-at-law Tuana Hardy, who represented the State, reflected on the nature and extent of the crime and noted that the death of Lalman was a breach of trust. The same sentiment was echoed by the granddaughter of the deceased, Briana Lalman. Briana Lalman was given the opportunity to say a few words before the sentence was handed down. She told the court that “a life was taken…he was a good man and he didn’t cause any trouble with anybody. For him to have trusted the accused, he would have expected that when he went to collect the money this wouldn’t have happened to him. We just ask the court to give a fair sentence, five years is not enough…” The judge then asked the woman how she felt now that the accused has accepted responsibility for taking her grandfather’s life and she responded, “I feel mixed about it because there is nothing he can do to take back what he did. I got that he is admitting his fault and what he did was wrong but there is no taking it back.”
Justice Morris-Ramlall, before handing down her sentence, stated that she considered the nature and gravity of the crime and the fact that the deceased trusted the accused to an extent where he would regularly extend credit to him. Justice Ramlall said that trust was betrayed when the accused strangled the deceased. She noted too that the court should consider that no weapon was used “but one should appreciate that the hands in this case was just as effective as any weapon.”
She said she took into consideration too, that the “snuffing out of the life of an elderly friend was just over a few dollars” and also that the accused placed no value on the deceased’s life and dignity “based on the manner in which he disposed of the body”. She also took into consideration the statement that was given by the granddaughter. “I believe that a term of imprisonment of 30 years is appropriate,” Justice Ramlall said.
Because Hamid pleaded guilty, 10 years were deducted, and another five years were deducted from the time already spent in prison, resulting in the 15-year sentence.
Lalman’s decomposing corpse was found by police in Hamid’s yard days after he went missing. He was buried in a shallow grave under a tree in the backyard.
Pathologist, Dr. Vivekanand Bridgmohan, established that the victim had been strangled after observing that the hyoid bone was broken. Lalman disappeared after visiting some of his customers to collect money owed to him, including a sum of $220,000 for three cows he sold to Hamid. Relatives made a report at the Number 51 police station and police got a breakthrough when they received information that Lalman was seen visiting the butcher’s premises. He was not seen leaving.
The police, acting on this information, searched the suspect’s yard and eventually found the missing man’s body buried in the shallow grave. Hamid was also slapped with an accessory after the fact charge in the disappearance and death of his own father Saeed Hamid.

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