Lalloo and Kadar v The State

• Jurisdiction: Trinidad & Tobago
• Court: Court of Appeal (Trinidad and Tobago)
• Judge: Hyatali, C.J,I
• Judgment Date: 18 February 1982
• Neutral Citation: TT 1982 CA 2
• Docket Number: Criminal Appeal Nos. 12 & 14 of 1980
• Date: 18 February 1982

Court of Appeal

Hyatali, C.J., Kelsick and Cross, JJ.A.

Criminal Appeal Nos. 12 & 14 of 1980

Lalloo and Kadar

and

The State

Appearances:

R. L. Maharaj for the appellant Lailoo.

Osbourne Charles for the appellant Kadar.

Victor Nunez, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions for The State.

Practice and procedure - Directions to jury — Whether two persons one of tried jointly had acted in concert in death of deceased — Whether statement of one of the convicted had been made voluntarily — Absence of direction on aiding and abetting — Conviction of first appellant unsafe.

1 Hyatali, C.J.: These are appeals by Sona Lalloo (Lalloo) and Razack Kadar (Kadar) against their convictions on 21 March 1980 for the murder of Ramsuchit Cari b (the deceased) during the period of the 14 and 15 July 1975. Both of them were tried jointly with Matthew Sorak, brother-in-law of Lalloo for the murder but Sorak was found not guilty and acquitted. Lalloo's application was based on 18 grounds of law whereas Kadar's was based on 15. Each of them complained in addition that verdict of the jury was unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence. Some of these grounds were either abandoned or expressly withdrawn, but before dealing with those which were argued, it will be convenient to set out the facts on which the State relied to prove the charges against Lalloo and Kadar.

2 The deceased lived at Carolina Village, Couva. He died during the night of 14 July in his home which was situated some 40 ft. away from the house of his nephew Ragoonanan Ramadhar. The deceased was about 68 years old at the time of his death and had been a widower since 14 June 1975. Ramadhar's daughter, Rosanna, was married to Lalloo and following the death of the wife of the deceased they both began to reside at the home of the deceased. Ramadhar's other daughter Chano, also resided at the home of the deceased but slept at nights at her father's home.

3 On 12 July 1975 Lailoo and Rosanna separated from each other. Rosanna then returned to live at her father's home and Lalloc went his way. On 14 July 1975 the deceased drove his old age pension of $35.00 and gave it to Chano for safe keeping. She secured it by placing it under the mattress of his bed. Later that day the deceased left his home to have drinks at the village rum shop at Milton Junction. On returning home from work Chano spoke to Ramadhar and in the event, he went to the shop and spoke to the deceased. He and the deceased then left the shop together around 5.30 p.m. riding their respective bicycles. On reaching his home the deceased parked his bicycle and went over to Ramadhar's harm.

4 Around 6.45p.m. Ramadhar and Chano took the deceased to his home. There he had some more rum, following which they put him to bed with his clothes on. He was then quite intoxicated. To use the words of Chana, he was drunk. After putting him to bed Ramadhar and Chano left the house with all the lights on. At 7.45 P.M. they returned to the house, and saw the deceased fast asleep. Ramadhar then secured the lock of the front door with its key, placed the key under the door inside and left the premises with Chano.

5 Around 9.00 p.m. Ramadhar and his family were disturbed by noises emanating from the house of the deceased but none of them ventured outside. At 5.30 A.M. on the following day however Ramadhar Chano and some neighbours went to the house of the deceased. The door to it was open and on the floor they saw the deceased with his face and neck bound with a white sheet, which was secured by a knot at the back of his neck. A spring filled mattress was over him and he appeared to be dead. The house was ransacked. Missing were two pairs of trousers, other items of clothing and the $35.00 in cash which Chano on the day before had placed under the mattress of his bed.

6 Ramadhar made a report at the Couva Police Station to Sgt. Eversley Henry in consequence of which he went to the house of the deceased. While there Dr. Marimuthu, the District Medical Officer, arrived on the scene. After viewing the dead body of the deceased, Dr. Marimuthu had it removed to the mortuary at Couva where he performed a post mortem examination on it and concluded from his findings that death was due to asphyxia and dislocation of the cervical spine resulting from strangulation.

7 Kamal Dookaran who lived about one mile away from the deceased saw Lalloo, Kadar and Sorak twice on the 14 July 1975. At 4.30 p.m. Lalloo, Sorak and Kadar visited Dookaran's home where they consumed rum bought by Lalloo and food offered toithem by Mrs. Dookaran. They left Dookaran's house together around $.00 p.m. but returned around midnight. They awakened Dookaran who admitted them to the gallery of his house. They all sat around a table together where they drank the remainder of the rum left in the bottle which Lalloo had bought earlier on. Dookaran observed on the table a white bag which did not belong to him. While sitting together Lalloo asked Sarak “Like the man dead or what?” Sorak replied “Who dead, dead.” Lalloo asked Dookaran to allow thorn to stay at his house for the night but he said he was unable to accommodate them. They then left Dookaran's house together after Lalloo had donned a shirt and hat which Kadar took out from the bag and handed to Lalioo.

8 On 16 July 1875 Sgt. Henry went to Sorak's home at Mayaro. Sgt. Henry saw Lalloo there and told him of the report he was investigating. After cautioning him, Sgt. Henry inquired where he was on the night of the 14 and 15 July 1975. Lalloo replied that he was at Sorak's home since 13 July and had not left there since that date. Sorak, who was present, supported Lalloo's story and gave Sgt. Henry a statement in writing to that effect. It was then 3.50 P.M. Sgt. Henry took Lalloo in custody nevertheless and lodged him at the Couva Police Station for further inquiries.

9 Around 6.00 a.m. on 17 July, Sgt. Henry interviewed Kadar at Orange Grove. He told Kadar of the report he was investigating, cautioned Kadar and asked him where he was on the nights of the 14 and 15 July 1975. In consequence of Kadar's reply Sgt. Henry took him in custody and carried him to the Couva Police Station for further inquiries.

10 Between 3.05 and 4.45 P.M. on that day Sgt. Henry recorded in writing a statement made by Kadar which was tantamount to a confession. It disclosed these facts. Pursuant to a plan proposed to Kadar by Lalloo to rob an old man of his insurance money and to kill him if he bawled because Lalioo's mother-in-law lived nearby, Kadar accompanied Lalloo to the old man's house. There Kadar attempted to open the locked door to the old man's bedroom with a cutlass handed to him by Lalloa. As Kadar was doing so he suffered a cut on his right hand. He then abandoned the cutlass and kicked open the door. Lalloo then retrieved the cutlass and proceeded to the bed on which the old man lay asleep and struck him on the head with the cutlass. Kadar asked Lalloo why he did that. Lalloo replied that it was to prevent the old man, who knew him, from seeing him. He added that if the old man made any noise he would kill him. Lalloo then seized the mattress of the bed and tumbled it with the old man on to the floors Without any protest or dissent from Kadar, Lalloo then wrapped a white sheet around the old man's neck and face, left him on the floor and repeated that he did not want the old man who knew him to see him and that he wanted the old man dead. Kadar and Lalloo ransacked the bedroom searching for the money Lalloo had spoken about earlier. Kadar found none but did not know whether Lalloo found any. Kadar helped himself to two new pairs of trousers in the house which he and Lalloo left hurriedly after hearing a woman's voice calling out loudly to the deceased. After taking this statement Sgt. Henry and Kadar went to the latter's home. There Kadar handed him a plastic bag containing two pairs of trousers, a shirt and a brown felt hat and said that they were the articles he took from the home of the deceased.

11 Between 7:35 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on 17 July 1975 some 28 hours after Lalloo had been in custody, Sgt. Henry recorded in writing a statement made by Lalloo, which disclosed these facts:

12 At about 6.00 p.m on 14 July 1975 Lalloo visited the home of his friend Dookaran in company with Sorak and Kadar. While there they had a few drinks and accepted food offered to them by Mrs. Dookaran. After they had eaten, Lalloo told Dookaran that he was going “by” his father-in-law's home for his clothes. Sorak and Kadar said they would go with Lalloo, and so they did. When they got there they saw Ramadhar and Chano taking the deceased up the steps to his house. About 15 minutes later Ramadhar and Chano left the house putting out its lights. Lalloo then went into the house, pushed open the door and put on a dim light in it to look for his clothes. While looking for them Kadar followed him inside and began searching the drawers of a bureau in the room. The deceased was then asleep on his bed. Kadar then took up two pairs of trousers some vests and two hats and placed them in a plastic bad. The deceased at that stage started to get up. Kadar then put out the light in the room and took up a cutlass which he had placed in a corner of the room. Lalloo then heard the sound of two blows. He then put on the light and saw the deceased on the floor. Kadar then tied the face and neck of the deceased with a sheet. Kadar kept on searching and Lalloo kept looking for his clothes. Later Lalloo heard his wife's voice calling out, whereupon he took off the light in the house and ran out. Sorak and Kadar joined him outside and they all returned to Dookaran's house where they had a few drinks and left.

13 At the close of the prosecution's evidence, counsel for Lalloo and Kadar made no case submissions which the trial judge overruled. On being called...