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A HIGH COURT judge has cautioned against using contempt proceedings to enforce unpaid debts, warning that imprisonment should not be used as a tool to punish financial hardship.

In a ruling on May 19, Justice Frank Seepersad dismissed a contempt application which sought to imprison a man who failed to pay court-ordered legal costs of $16,000.

Seepersad said such applications should only be pursued in cases where the judgment debtor has the means to pay but was wilfully refusing or neglecting to do so.