00:00Cpl. Ashraf Mohammed, 45, of Kanupia and PC Jason Michael, 34, of Charleville, both appeared
00:05before High Court Master Margaret Sukraj Goswami earlier today.
00:09They were charged with murder and the offence of misbehaving in public office by kidnapping
00:13Sachal Kunjbihari for ransom.
00:16They were represented by attorneys Shiva Budhu and Roshni Balkaran.
00:20Sgt.
00:21Lawrence Jofield is a complainant in this matter.
00:23He informed the court that there were about 40 witnesses in this case.
00:27The High Court Master then set deadlines for the filing of documents before setting a status
00:31hearing for October 29th next year.
00:35The sufficiency hearing was set for November 7th, 2025.
00:39Bail was not considered today.
00:41However, the two police officers were advised to apply to a judge in Chambers to consider
00:46such.
00:47Kunjbihari, 32, from Pierre Road in Felicity, was abducted on September 25th by persons
00:51in a marked police vehicle.
00:54It was said that he was in a car that was proceeding along Jermingham Railway Road in
00:57Endeavour when the incident took place.
01:00The men claimed that they had an arrest warrant for Kunjbihari when they took him away.
01:04His relatives received a ransom request and $500,000 was paid for his release.
01:09However, this did not happen as promised.
01:12His body was eventually found in a shallow grave in Longdonville on October 4th.
01:17He was identified by his fingerprints due to the advanced state of decomposition.
01:21An autopsy performed at the Forensic Science Centre in St. James showed that he died as
01:25a result of chop wounds to his neck and head, as well as a stab wound to his upper back.
01:30The two officers were detained that week.
01:33At the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain today, Deputy Commissioner of Police
01:37Suzette Martin condemned the incident and lamented the fact that officers were involved.
01:42This is a dark day for our country and for all of us who wears the badge.
01:50Let me be clear, this is not just a betrayal of the victims and their families.
01:58It is a betrayal of the trust that you, the public, have placed in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
02:08She said that the actions of these officers have shaken the foundation of trust which
02:12was essential for the TTPS and as such, she reiterated that all officers who abuse their
02:18authority will be held accountable.
02:20The badge should symbolise integrity, fairness and protection.
02:28When that symbol is tarnished by violence, it is our duty to act swiftly and fairly,
02:38which underscores the zero-tolerance approach.
02:42However, she noted that the actions of a few do not reflect the values of all and said
02:47that there were many hard-working men and women in the service.
02:51Words alone are not enough.
02:56Trust is not something that can be demanded.
03:00It must be earned and we have quite a lot of work to do in that regard.
03:07Following these arrests, Martin said that concrete steps will be taken to ensure better
03:11accountability in the TTPS.
03:14I will ensure that accountability measures are strengthened, not just in response to
03:21this tragedy, but as a long-term commitment.
03:25She also said that the TTPS will be reviewing training programmes and the internal systems
03:30which are meant to prevent such abuses of power.
03:32Assistant Commissioner of Police Kurt Simon and Senior Superintendent Clare Guy-Allen
03:36expressed similar sentiments and promised that the TTPS would weed out all rogue and
03:42vagabond elements.
03:43PC Jason Michael and the other Asraf Mohamed, both of the Karani Police Station.
03:50These officers were so reckless in their crime that they used a marked police vehicle to
03:58carry out this heinous crime of kidnapping and murder.
04:03I want to just assure the public in this instance that you should not lose trust in us.
04:10We have demonstrated time and time again that we are prepared to deal with our delinquent,
04:16rogue or vagabond police officers.
04:18Alexander Brizol, TV6 News.
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