KINGSTON, Jamaica — A St Andrew man was sentenced to pay $5,000 or serve 15 days in prison after he pleaded guilty to smoking in a public space in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday.

The defendant, Rasheen Rogers, a resident of Grants Pen Road in St Andrew, was fined by Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell.

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According to reports from the investigating officer, Rogers was seen smoking a ganja spliff on a wall beside a bar on February 3, 2025. Rogers, however, denied the claim, stating that he was within the confines of his residence.

“I was in my yard; the bar was over there… about three or four metres away from me,” Rogers explained.

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Judge Burrell informed Rogers that, under the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations, individuals must be more than five metres away from a bar when smoking.

Despite this, Rogers maintained his innocence stating that the bar was not close to him and explained that his “mathematics” was not the best. “I was further from the bar, it wasn’t so close to me,” he said.

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Frustrated, Judge Burrell ordered that Rogers be briefly arrested during the proceedings to reflect on his response.

Rogers later pleaded guilty to the charges against him and was sentenced.

— Vanassa McKenzie