9:20am Saturday 20th March 2010
By Jack Royston
A 20-YEAR-OLD who threatened to firebomb a man's house has been handed a “light” sentence.
Jatheesan Gunarajah, of Clifford Road, Wembley, threatened Kingsbury resident Brananath Kanesnathan, known as Prem, with physical violence if he did not hand over £1,200.
The defendant claimed Prem owed the money to another man after the victim was caught driving a car without insurance by police, causing it to be seized.
But Peter Marshall, defending, told Harrow Crown Court how his client needed to work to support his mother, who does not work, and his father who works part time.
He said: “Any immediate custodial sentence would be brutal and would have considerable, long lasting and negative effects which would not be justified in the circumstances of the case.”
Judge Graham Arran handed Gunarajah a 12 month sentence in a young offenders institute.
He said: “How terrifying it was for the victim, Prem, is hard to judge because the jury rejected the bulk of his evidence.
“What is clear is that after this incident he had sustained injuries.”
He said it was inevitable Gunarajah would be detained but added “I can reduce the sentence to a level which would perhaps be seen as quite light although you might no think so.”
Prem had claimed he was kidnapped by a group of six men, including Gunarajah, beaten and driven to a car park in Wandsworth where the threats were made.
He was driven back to his Boycroft Avenue home.
The court heard during the trial how he was left covered in urine and badly bruised after the ordeal but out of six defendants only Gunarajah was found guilty of blackmail.
All were acquitted of kidnapping.
Mr Marshall said his client appealed the guilty verdict on the basis the jury's decision was inconsistent with the evidence.
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