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A minister of religion was among two persons granted bail in the Linstead Resident Magistrate's Court, <span style="font-weight: bold">for torturing a man they claimed stole a piece of jewellery from a house</span>.
Reverend Stephen Ricketts of the Mount Zion Church in Linstead and Christopher McKoy both of Buena Vista, Commodore District, near Linstead, were sternly reprimanded before being granted bail.
In applying for bail, defence attorney Sean Kinghorn, told the court that his clients were not guilty of the degree of assault committed against the complainant.
"Your honour, this offence is incredulous to say the least. It is like a script from a movie. My client was attacked in his house and that is where the complainant got burnt, as this attack took place in the kitchen," said Kinghorn.
The allegations outlined in court are that on February 11, about 9:00 p.m. <span style="font-style: italic">the complainant who lived at the pastor's house, was accused of stealing a chain. He is said to have denied doing so but machetes were used to beat him all over his body. </span>
<span style="font-style: italic">He was then tied up, placed in the back of a motor car and taken to another address where enquires were made about the missing chain. When it was not recovered he was taken back to Buena Vista where he was again beaten and was tied up until the following day. </span>
Eventually, he was taken to the Spanish Town Hospital where the accused men are said to have reported that he was being beaten by other persons and they rescued him. Investigations by the police led to the men being arrested. The accused men will return to court on November 11, when the matter will be mentioned.
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