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A 29-year old former student of Saba University School of Medicine (SUSOM) is facing nine months for attempted arson, reports The Daily Herald.
The Court of First Instance sentenced Peyman Homayouni- Nejad to four months. According to the Prosecutor’s Office he had mistreated and threatened his former girlfriend during an argument on January 19, 2015.
He had also sprinkled her with barbecue lighter fluid and threatened to set the both of them on fire. “I’m going to kill us both,” he allegedly told his girlfriend, who feared for her life.
On behalf of his client, who was not present for the appeal hearing, attorney-at-law Geert Hatzmann said Homayouni did not agree with the evidence filed against him and also disagreed with the punishment.
According to his lawyer, his client had become entangled in a “love triangle” with two “beautiful ladies.” However, what seemed to be like “every man’s dream” soon turned out to be a nightmare after his girlfriend of eight years fell in love with the other woman.
The women not only locked Homayouni out of their relationship but also started to humiliate him by having sex in his bed, Hatzmann said in calling for some sympathy for his client.
The lawyer said that after the incident his client was no longer welcome at SUSOM. He said he had also been the victim of an assault in Canada when two Molotov-cocktails were thrown into his family’s restaurant. His ex-girlfriend’s brother is considered the perpetrator of the attack, Hatzmann said.
The lawyer said the use of lighter fluid could not be proven, as there was no technical evidence found in his client’s house to sustain this claim.
Hatzmann said his client would very much like to finish his medical studies in Saba, or elsewhere in the Caribbean, and added the man was willing to do community service on Saba.
Acting Solicitor General Anton van der Schans did not lend much credibility to the attorney’s “moral sketch,” and considered all charges proven, including attempted arson. “Fortunately, he could not find any matches,” he said.
Considering the severity of this case, and the fact that the mistreatment with a kitchen knife and a broken beer bottle had caused bleeding wounds to the victim’s leg and wrists, the Acting Solicitor General called on the Court to sentence the defendant according to the Prosecutor’s initial demand. The Appeals Court will give its decision April 26