Nassau, BAHAMAS-A man who refused to shut down a non-essential business has been fined $4,000.
Sean Pindling, 44, who owns Bain Tech Stove and Oven Repair, broke the national curfew to operate his business, prosecutors said.
Pindling kept the Blue Hill Road store open after Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis ordered non-essential businesses to shut down on March 20.
Police arrested Pindling at his business at 3pm on May 1.
Pindling, of Sears Hill, pleaded guilty to violation of curfew and operating a non-essential business when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis on Monday, May 4.
He did not have a lawyer and was brought to court in shackles.
Pindling told the court that he needed the income from his business to pay his bills.
Pindling claimed he didn’t know that he needed special permission to operate.
The magistrate fined him $1,000 for breaking the curfew by failing to stay at home and $3,000 for operating a non-essential business to avoid spending one year in prison.
Pindling didn’t have all the money. However, Pindling didn’t begin serving his prison sentence.
That’s because the court agreed to let him pay the fine in monthly instalments.
He made his first payment of $200 yesterday.
Only businesses considered “essential” and those with special exemptions are allowed to open during the emergency order rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
A curfew restricting people to their homes, with limited exceptions, has also been
Pindling is currently on bail for unlawful sexual intercourse.
He was charged as Sean Bain-Pindling when he appeared before the deputy chief magistrate last year.
In that case, prosecutors alleged that Pindling had illicit sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl on September 20, 2019. Sex with a girl under 16 is illegal even if she gives consent.
