Instagram posts lead to physical squabble

Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque chastised two women who found themselves before her on Thursday, reportedly for starting a fight over Instagram stories.

"What a war! The weapon of choice is Instagram stories. Youth is really wasted on the young. This generation is not genuine at all," the judge expressed.

It was shared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court that on July 25 about 9:20 p.m., the complainant was at home posting pictures of herself on Instagram along with songs by a dancehall artiste. According to the complainant, the defendant, Damesha Pinnock, reposted her stories, which turned into a verbal altercation online.

"So every time me post something, she tag me and post something else. She a watch my story dem Your Honour," the complainant shared with the court.

It was reported further that sometime after the online spat, the complainant was standing outside her home, when she was approached by Pinnock, who said, "Weh yah seh now?" before she slapped the complainant in her face and ran away. Pinnock, 22, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

"When she see me in person, it's basically the same thing. She say she is a one gal army," Pinnock explained. However, his explanation was not suffice to give the senior jurist an understanding of the feud.

"But she don't call your name. She posts her songs and you take offence to it. What a sensitive generation you are. If you and girl not friend, why would I be watching what she's doing? What would I have her on my social media? I don't want to know what you doing, I don't want her watching my things," Judge Cole-Montaque said.

"This is just carelessness and don't think you both realise that you can leave here with criminal records," she noted further.

The prosecutor indicated that the complainant sustained injuries to her face, specifically her eyes and was advised that she may have to wear glasses. As a result, she is seeking to be compensated in the sum of $50,000. Pinnock made the payments in court, with the assistance of her parents and was discharged from the court. The matter was treated as court mediated. - T.T.