Dispute between ‘ex-friends’ turns physical
- beatdown left $90,000 in damages
KINGSTON, Jamaica – A nasty dispute between two former friends in February led to one woman being severely beaten and the other facing more than $90,000 in damages after the pair made an appearance before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court last Tuesday.
Recalling the beating she received from someone she at one point considered a friend, the complainant said she went to the home of her attacker to visit someone else when the defendant asked her to leave.
The victim said she refused as she was not there to see her former friend. She said the defendant became angry when she would not vacate the premises and proceeded to throw several blows at her.
She said she was dragged by her hair and thrown down a flight of stairs. She said her attacker also threw a padlock at her, hit her with a pipe and damaged her phone.
The defendant, who pleaded guilty to malicious destruction of property and assault occasioning bodily harm, told the court that she did not want the complainant at her home as they were no longer friends. She said during their falling out, her ex-friend spoke about her behind her back and called her names. She said the latter was part of the reason she was no longer welcomed in her space.
The claimant denied any wrongdoing.
Senior Parish Judge, Lori-Ann Cole-Montague, opting not to go “back-and-forth” with the former friends, ordered the defendant to repay the victim for damages sustained in the fight.
The total sum being sought by the defendant was $150,000 including the cost of the phone that was damaged. Having revealed that she had already compensated the claimant $60,000 for the phone, the defendant was ordered to pay a balance of $90,000 by May 16.