Man awarded $1.9million in damages from BHB after wife jailed for UK drug offenses dies – Reuters

Updated: January 24, 2022 4:56 PM

Kemar Maybury (Photograph provided)

Kemar Maybury and his wife, Latifa, on their wedding day (file photo)

A man who won $1.9 million in damages from the Bermuda Hospital Board after his wife died of cancer has been jailed in Britain for drug-related offences.

Kemar Maybury, who now lives in Brighton, was arrested in March 2020 – less than two months after a court ruled he deserved the money for medical negligence in relation to his wife Latifa’s cancer.

She died in November 2013.

A Press release on the Sussex Police website said Maybury was jailed for four years for possession of cannabis and “involvement in the supply” of cannabis.

But Maybury’s brother said reports – in the statement from police and other media – that the 40-year-old had recruited children to help supply drugs were “ridiculous and reckless”.

He added: “No one has been incarcerated for using children to distribute drugs.”

But the brother said: “I don’t condone him being in possession of illegal drugs when the laws of the country say it’s illegal.”

He added that the money granted by the BHB had been “wisely” invested.

The Sussex Police press release said Maybury was arrested after being pulled over on a motorway.

Officers went looking for her after the mother of a 13-year-old girl, who turned out to be a passenger in her car, raised concerns for her well-being.

The press release read: “A search of the vehicle found cannabis and a further search of Maybury’s home address found cannabis plants.

He added that Maybury was charged with taking a child without permission, being involved in the supply of a Class B drug, cannabis, being in possession of the drug and cultivating cannabis plants. .

The press release read: ‘He pleaded guilty to possession of a class B drug and cultivation of cannabis plants and denied the other two charges.

“At Lewes Crown Court on Friday October 29, Maybury was found guilty of being involved in the supply of a Class B drug – cannabis – but a judge told the jury there was no case. to answer concerning the taking of a child without authorisation.

“Maybury was sentenced to four years in prison for the three guilty verdicts.”

The man’s brother says the $1.9million BHB award, given in January 2020, highlights the ‘ridiculism and recklessness’ of reports claiming he was using children for drug distribution .

He added: “The point is, someone is reserved to have weed on them, there is no monster who uses children to distribute anything.

“Kemar is a multi-millionaire, there’s no benefit to selling dime bags in the UK, using schoolboys, it’s just stupid.”

Maybury’s brother said, “What incentive would there be to do that?”

“You google his name and you get one article saying he’s a multiple millionaire, you get another saying he sells dime bags in the UK – that’s stupid.”

He added that his brother had “invested the money wisely” after his successful legal action against the BHB.

Chief Justice Narinder Hargun ruled that Maybury deserved the award because his wife would have been ‘treatable to cure’ of colorectal cancer if an emergency room doctor at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital had not failed to detect a rectal tumor and if the hospital failed to ensure that the faxed medical notes were received by the patient’s GP.

The case was brought against the BHB after Ms Maybury, 30, died when the couple’s son was just six months old.

She had terminal colorectal cancer diagnosed days after the baby was born, having not known she had the disease until conception and throughout her pregnancy.

Maybury’s brother said the conviction for involvement in the supply of cannabis should be upheld by the court.

The Royal Gazette could not contact the court yesterday.

Maybury’s brother said: “Kemar has no history as a supplier…it has no basis in reality from what I understand from my brother, who I have known for 40 years, especially when there is has literally millions of dollars in your life, it’s managed responsibly.

“He doesn’t live there like a kingpin. He set up a trust for his child, he set up a coming of age fund for his child, he put money into low-risk investments.

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