20-year-old freed of unlawful wounding after complainant admits to lying

A 20-year-old man was freed of unlawful wounding in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court after the female complainant admitted during cross-examination that she had lied about the incident.

Oniel Facey was discharged on Thursday after the court upheld a no-case submission made on his behalf.

During her testimony under cross-examination, the complainant told the court that she had been intoxicated at the time of the incident and was not telling the truth in her original account.

Attorney-at-Law Danae Reid, representing Facey, submitted that the complainant had no medical report to support her allegations and had admitted to lying. She argued that there was therefore no reliable evidence on which to proceed.

The trial judge, after reviewing the evidence, ruled that it was unreliable in both fact and law.

Facey was subsequently freed of the charge. 

Allegations were that on July 2, 2024, the accused and the boyfriend of the complainant were involved in a fight, during which Facey allegedly used a piece of board to strike the complainant.

The matter was reported to the police, leading to Facey’s arrest and charge.

- Rasbert Turner 

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