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Supreme court acquits man of elder abuse |
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Monday, 18 December 2006 |
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On Thursday the Supreme Court of Canada in a 7-0 judgement acquitted a retirement home manager of elder abuse. Ramnarine Khelawon was charged with aggravated assault and uttering death threats.
Khelawon was originally accused by five residents of the retirement home, however four of the accusers died before the case reached trial in 2001. A fifth resident was judged mentally incompetent.
Each of the residents had given statements to the police, but by the time it reached the courts the plaintiff's case depended on the videotaped testimony of a single accuser. The supreme court has now acquitted Khelawon on the basis that the videotape was hearsay and insufficient, since it does not permit cross-examination by the accused's lawyer.
Click here to view the story in at www.TheGlobeAndMail.com. |
