ST ANDREW, Jamaica — Wayne Wright, the driver of the taxi in which 17-year-old Khajeel Mais was killed, today testified that he was being asked to lie in his statement by an inspector of  police in the matter but he refused.

Wright said the police inspector tried to coerce him into implicating a man identified as ‘Nigga’ for the murder of Mais.

Wright was repeatedly questioned by Prosecutor Jeremy Taylor about whether or not he had told Detective Inspector Thompson in his statement that he had seen  a man called ‘Nigga’ coming out of his X6  with a gun on the night of July 1 and had fired about four shots into his car.

“I didn’t tell him nothing. A him show me a driver’s  license and say dis a de man him name Nigga, him tall, him about 6 foot, mi waa yu help me wid him, a long time mi want get him,” Wright said.

The prosecutor then asked: “Didn’t you say to Inspector Thompson (that) ‘the only reason I have to say that is Nigga fire the gun is because is only Nigga mi see firing?'”

But Wright strongly denied this. “No no they were begging me to do that I told them no I am telling the truth,” he insisted.

Businessman Patrick Powell is being tried for the shooting death of Mais, who was reportedly travelling in a taxi which collided with a BMW X6 motor vehicle.

It is alleged that the driver of the BMW got out and fired at the taxi, hitting the boy.

Powell is also charged with shooting at taxi driver Wayne Wright with intent to cause harm.

Tanesha Mundle