AMID calls from prosecutors for an eight-year sentence, Jah Cure was ordered by a Netherlands court to serve six years in prison on a charge of attempted manslaughter on Tuesday.

His attorney, Jan-Hein Kuijpers, told the Jamaica Observer that a decision would be taken regarding an appeal following a discussion with the Jamaican singer.

“We don’t know yet if there will be an appeal. We have to discuss that first,” Kuijpers told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday.

Both the Grammy-nominated singer and prosecutors can appeal to the Court of Appeal within two weeks, if they disagree with the court’s ruling.

According to Kuijpers, in the absence of an appeal, Jah Cure would have to serve four years before being released. “But the time he was already in prison will be deducted, of course,” he said.

Jah Cure, 43, was also charged with attempted murder. However, that charge was dismissed. At the court hearing, prosecutors had requested Jah Cure’s criminal records from Jamaica.

The embattled singer has been in custody since October 1, 2021 for allegedly stabbing and injuring show promoter Nicardo Blake in his abdomen at Dam Square in Amsterdam. Blake, the principal of Roots Vibes, which stages reggae shows in the Netherlands, was reportedly hospitalised. Since the incident Jah Cure had been incarcerated at an undisclosed detention centre outside of Amsterdam.

In a March 8 court hearing, prosecutors said the Jamaican entertainer took a knife to a meeting, not to protect himself because he was wearing an expensive Rolex watch, but to harm the victim — and that was indicative of “premeditation”.

“These are grave crimes that not only have consequences for the personal integrity of the victim, but [have] also severely shaken the legal order. Because the victim was stabbed in broad daylight, and in the busy city centre of Amsterdam, it evokes feelings of unsafety among the general public,” said the prosecutors.

They also said Jah Cure deliberately sought confrontation, which was evident in the voice messages sent to the victim by the singer, as well as conversations with other people.

“The last time you will live to diss man thing,” was one of the messages reportedly left on the victim’s cellphone. In view of the fact that the incident was not caught on CCTV, eyewitnesses were brought to testify at the trial.

“This is the nigger I have to kill,” a witness recalled Jah Cure saying before making a stabbing motion.

According to prosecutors, the suspect told the police that the victim pulled a knife out of his right pocket. However, the victim is left-handed and the suspect didn’t know this.

Attorneys representing Jah Cure entered a plea of self-defence. This was, however, dismissed.

Throughout the years, Jah Cure has had several brushes with the law. He was convicted of rape and illegal possession of a firearm in April 1999 and served eight of a 15-year sentence in prison. He was released in July 2007.

In an August 2019 interview with the Jamaica Observer, Jah Cure implored young Jamaican artistes to stay on the straight and narrow path. He issued a warning to them: “Prison neva mek fi dog.”

He has also had several incidents with promoters in The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago; however, those were resolved without court action.

Jah Cure, given name Siccature Alcock, has had consistent chart success. His hit songs include Prison Walls, Only You, Love Is, Unconditional Love, and All of Me. He has collaborated with such artistes as Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, Torey Lanez, and Mya.

His 2015 album, The Cure, was nominated for a Best Reggae Album Grammy Award the following year.