“Mo pe dimann enn ti kas lor mo nom pou teign lafin mo zenfant”. This is the statement made to the police of the Divisional Supporting Unit (DSU) in Curepipe by a resident of Vallée Pitot. The 42-year-old was caught red-handed asking for money from members of the public at Jan Palach Station, Curepipe on the afternoon of Monday 10 April. A sum of Rs 2,056 was seized from her possession. This is not her first arrest for this offence.
It was based on some information about a case of begging at the Jan Palach railway station that a team of the DSU of the Central Division went to that place around noon. The woman in her forties was caught with a plastic cup in her hand containing a quantity of coins. She was holding documents in her right hand which she showed to members of the public to ask for money.
When questioned by these DSU officers about her presence at the station, the Vallée Pitot resident had to reply “Mo pe dimann enn ti kas lor mo nom pou teign lafin mo zenfant”. She then had to give her identity and address. To another question from the police, he said, “mo pena oken permi depi comiser de polis pou ramas kas avek piblik”.
The woman was later to tell the police, “missie les mo ale mo dakor mo fer enn erer, mo dimann eskiz la polis”. She was taken to the police station and a sum of Rs 2056 in different denominations and coins were seized from her possession. After investigation she was allowed to return home. However, on Tuesday 11 April she had to go to the Curepipe police station to be taken to court on a provisional charge of illegal public collection.
