By Latrishka Thomas
The court will rule on a no case submission filed in the battery case of Member of Parliament for St Peter, Asot Michael on December 10.
Yesterday, Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel was expected to announce whether the case would be dismissed or proceed to the final decision stage, but the hearing was adjourned at the defence’s request due to medical reasons.
The case arose from an alleged incident involving a female police officer which occurred during a summer event called RISE in the early hours of August 5, 2023.
The trial, which concluded in July, heard testimony from a few witnesses, including the complainant.
The female constable, who was the first to testify, described an encounter with Michael at the event. According to her account, Michael appeared shirtless and seemingly intoxicated. She stated that he grabbed her face by the cheek, and when she removed his hand, he then grabbed her uniform shirt.
The officer testified that after she ordered him to release her, he reportedly stumbled backward, tearing the upper portion of her shirt and exposing her cleavage. She further stated that she pushed him away, to which he retaliated by pushing her back.
During cross-examination, Michael’s lawyer, Hugh Marshall, highlighted that the defendant had apologised. The defence also questioned whether Michael had actually damaged the officer’s shirt.
Weeks later, the defence filed a no case submission, seeking to have the case dismissed.
The court’s decision on this submission has now been postponed to December 10.