a hot July afternoon last year.

Grant Russell Forbes, 24, of 86 Railway Trail, Sandys, is charged with unlawfully wounding Derrick Eugene Seymour with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm. Forbes is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

Forbes, the son of Deputy Police Commissioner Mr. Alexander Forbes, has pleaded not guilty to both charges, and is represented by lawyer Mr. Kim White.

Crown Counsel Mr. Khamisi Tokumbo told Pusine Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Ground and the 11-woman, one-man jury July 4 last year Seymour ran into Forbes and Forbes' girlfriend Carol Hollis at White's supermarket in Warwick.

Hollis is Seymour's ex-girlfriend.

The court heard that Seymour followed the pair to Forbes' home where he confronted Forbes and Hollis about their relationship.

Mr. Tokumbo said after the two men exchanged words, Forbes hit Seymour on the shoulder with the machete, and inflicted a six-inch long wound, about an inch deep, which required 18 stitches to close.

Forbes then left Seymour unattended in the road as he went to dispose of the machete.

Forbes is alleged to have told his father and the ambulance crew that Seymour had been in an accident, and told Police he knew nothing about Seymour's injuries.

Mr. Tokumbo told the court Forbes later made statements he had acted in self defence, and was provoked by Seymour into attacking him.

Seymour told the court he was going to a friend's house in Southampton when he saw Hollis and Forbes standing at the bus stop near White's.

He said he had known of Forbes through Hollis, and he thought Hollis was lying to him about her relationship with Forbes.

He wanted to stop and confront them there, but they were on the opposite side of the road, and he could not cross the traffic flow. He rode to the bus stop near the Hitching Post store to wait for them because he knew Forbes lived in that area.

When the couple did not get off the bus, Seymour said he rode down the railway trail to see if he could find them. He said he saw them in the distance, and he sped up to confront them.

Seymour said he parked his bike and laid his helmet on the handlebars and walked over to Hollis, asking her why she was lying to him about Forbes.

He told the court Forbes appeared agitated by Seymour's presence.

Seymour said Hollis never had the chance to answer him because Forbes ran toward him with a machete. Although Hollis tried to stop Forbes, Seymour said that Forbes reached around her and caught him in the left shoulder.

Seymour said Forbes tried to hit him again, and told him that he would kill him.

He told the court he had broken up with Hollis at the end of May after an incident they'd had. The day he saw her and Forbes on the railway trail he was hurt and jealous, and just wanted to confront them. Seymour told the court from the beginning he wanted to prosecute Forbes, but Hollis' father had persuaded him to change his mind several times. He said he went to Police and withdrew his statement at least once, but later resumed his prosecution.

He claimed he and Hollis were still close friends and on her birthday this year, they "sort of'' had dinner.

Forbes' lawyer Mr. Kim White cross examined Seymour, and suggested he was a man who changed his mind quite often. He said: "On July 4 you wanted to prosecute Forbes, on the 7th you didn't, then on the 26th, you did. What is the truth? Are your statements lies? Is this like when you `sort of' had dinner with Hollis?'' Mr. White also suggested Seymour and Hollis had a turbulent relationship, and several times he had threatened her with violence.

He recounted a statement by Hollis that last year Seymour had threatened Hollis with a knife, held it to her throat, cut her, and left a scar. Seymour admitted the incident, saying it was what had broken them up.

Deputy Police Commissioner Alexander Forbes took the stand and told the court he found Seymour on the railway trail, tended his wounds, and called for ambulance and Police help.

The case continues today.