Cigarettes thief gets ten weeks

GREAT BAY – A man who stole close to 300 cigarettes from the Carrefour market in Cupecoy and was found in the possession of brand name clothing after Hurricane Irma was sentenced to 10 weeks of imprisonment in the Court in First Instance yesterday morning.

The defendant, Terry Sam, claimed that Carrefour manager Anil Sabnani had told him to take what he needed after the hurricane, but Sabnani told the police that he never said anything like that. To make the situation even more awkward, Sabnani offered Sam shelter after the hurricane.

The public prosecutor considered theft of the cigarettes – 29 boxes, each containing tens packs of cigarettes – proven. “You abused the vulnerable situation after the natural disaster in a completely unacceptable manner. Because companies have gone bankrupt, or because they have withdrawn from the island, this will in the long term have a negative effect on employment. Your excuse that you had permission to do this is complete nonsense and on top you do not take any responsibility for what you have done.”

The judge agreed with the prosecutor and sentenced the 28-year old defendant accordingly to 10 weeks of imprisonment.