A minibus conductor who pushed a passenger who refused to pay when the bus driver decided to turn around before reaching the terminal has been ordered to compensate her.
The conductor, Areje Lewis, 21, was almost inaudible as he mitigated on his own behalf before Senior Magistrate Tammika Mc Kenzie at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The magistrate told him that usually she would remand in custody people who were awaiting sentencing but she was allowing his to continue until the following morning.
Lewis had pleaded guilty to a charge that on Dec. 23, 2024, in Kingstown, he assaulted Vandica Clarke, of Spring Village, causing actual bodily harm.
The facts of the case are that about 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2024, Clarke, a 20-year-old janitor, and her mother, Helen Clarke, left Stubbs in a minibus HX-299 heading towards Kingstown.
About 4:10 p.m., the van arrived at the Peace Memorial Hall Bus Stop and Lewis, the conductor, shouted out to the passengers that the van was turning back at that bus stop.
The virtual complainant and her mother came out of the van and decided that they were not paying because they had not reached their destination.
Lewis then pulled away Helen Clarke’s handbag and threw it in the van, saying that she was not getting it back unless they paid their fares.
Vandica Clarke went to the left side of the van to get the bag, which she handed over to her mother.
Lewis took away the bag from the VC’s mother again and kicked it away.
Vandica Clarke started to argue with Lewis, who then held on to her neck and started choking her with his right hand.
He then pushed her to the ground, causing her to hit her neck and her left elbow.
The matter was reported to the police and on Feb. 8, 2025, Lewis gave police a statement admitting to the allegations made against him.
The court heard from the virtual complainant on Monday about the effect that the incident had had on her.
At sentencing on Tuesday, Lewis told the court that he was no longer working as a bus conductor and was now engaged in auto mechanics and gardening.
He said he makes EC$60 a day and could pay Clarke compensation of EC$500 in two weeks.
However, the senior magistrate asked him what he would live off if he were to pay that much compensation in such a short period, considering that he had told the court that he helps to support his mother and sister.
After weighing the facts of the case against the sentencing guidelines, the magistrate established a starting sentence of 27 months in prison.
After the aggravating and mitigating features of the offence as well as the one-third discount for the guilty plea were applied, the court arrived at a sentence of 15 months and one week in prison.
The magistrate, however, suspended this for 18 months.
“For your overzealousness to get $8 from two passengers so that you don’t end up with $52 pay instead of the usual 60, you are facing a jail term of 15 months and a week,” Mc Kenzie told Lewis.
She, however, said that she was giving him an opportunity to keep himself out of trouble for the next 18 months.
“If you get into trouble, then automatically, you are going to jail for 15 months and a week.”
She further ordered him to pay EC$500 in compensation to Clarke by March 7 or spend one year in prison.
Seriously ??? either the boy is a fool or he just an Ediotttt simples
I know one day you all was going to get this, Too unfair
I’m glad the court sent a strong message to those clowns.
I too had travelled from the countryside after visiting my dad. The van stopped in the vicinity of Girls High area. They told me that was the last stop. I told them I am destined to the lower end of Tokyo so I could get a taxi to Bagga. I told them it’s dark, and I an not too familiar with vincy as yet after being away for a long period of time. They asked to take a short cut into Kingstown. I had no clue what they were talking about. I got enraged and decided not to pay. The conductor got irritated with me. A rastafarian intervened and told the conductor I have a right not to pay because they did not completed my ride. Those country vans are a waste of time.
Great decision by Senior Magistrate Mc Kenzie.