‘Wife and son chained me to B&B radiator’

A 65-year-old man has said he was falsely imprisoned, assaulted, and handcuffed to a radiator by his estranged wife and his son in the bathroom of a B&B.

The defendants claim they are innocent and that the complainant set it up to make it look like he had been the victim of a crime.

Nireshan Naidoo, 29, and his mother, Vesalatachee Naidoo, 62, from London, and with no fixed address in Ireland, were put on trial yesterday on charges of falsely imprisoning Arumugan Naidoo, robbing him of cash, passport, and reading glasses, and assaulting him, causing harm to him.

They both denied the charges and a jury of eight men and four women was sworn in to hear the case before Judge SeánÓ Donnabháin at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Mr Naidoo Sr testified that his son telephoned him in London in Apr 2009 and told him that his wife had had a heart attack and that if he did not come to see her in Cork, he would never see either his wife or son again.

He said he was attacked by his wife and son shortly after his arrival.

Alice Fawsett, SC for Mrs Naidoo, alleged in cross-examination that Mr Naidoo Sr had set up the scene to make it look like he had been attacked by his wife and son. Ms Fawsett alleged that he handcuffed himself to the radiator, an allegation that Mr Naidoo Sr denied.

Ms Fawsett said Mr Naidoo Sr knew where the keys of the handcuffs were when the owners of the B&B came to his assistance.

In his direct evidence, Mr Naidoo Sr described entering the room at the Gabriel House B&B on Summerhill North in Cork City with his son and saw his wife lying on a bed in the room.

“I went to say hello to my wife,” said Mr Naidoo Sr. “I asked my wife how she is and I went to hug her.

“He hit me twice. My wallet and my false teeth came out on the floor. I fell on the ground. He kicked me and punched me. My wife got out of bed and kicked me as well.

“He put me facing down on the ground and he sat on me. I could not move. He pulled my pants off.

“He dragged me to the bathroom. He put me on the floor of the bathroom.

“He put a handcuff on one hand and she put a handcuff on the other hand.

“I lay on my back like that facing the wall all night.”

Mr Naidoo Sr denied suggestions put to him by Marjorie Farrelly, SC for Mr Naidoo Jr that it was Mr Naidoo Sr who arranged the meeting in Cork, at a time that suited him.

One of the owners of the B&B, Liam Maher, gave evidence of going to the room the next morning and hearing the television on loud. He said he found a man in the bathroom in a clearly distressed state.

“I could see Mr Naidoo prostrate on the floor with his hands handcuffed to the towel radiator,” said Mr Maher. “He was in a very distressed state, having urinated on himself. He was cold and shivering, having been there all night.

“We were quite shocked when we went in. This was not a normal thing to happen. I called the gardaí.”

The case continues today.