SCARBROUGH, Tobago, CMC – Former government minister Rennie Dumas was spared a jail term on Monday after he was found guilty in April of common assault and grievous body harm arising from an incident in 2011. Magistrate Nanette Forde-John said the Offences against the Person Act allows for a fine of TT$3, 500 (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) or nine months in jail, while a conviction under the grievous body harm results in a fine of TT$15,000 or two years in prison. The magistrate had in April ruled that she believed Dumas, who served as a government minister until 2010, not only assaulted the victim, Roger Simon, but also used a firearm in committing the crime.
