Dewayne Hunte, 27, of Patentia, West Bank Demerara, was yesterday granted bail in the sum of $60,000 when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for allegedly obtaining money from a man by pretending that he was in the position to get him a Guyana passport.

Hunte, who said he is a student at the University of Guyana, pleaded not guilty to the charge of obtaining money by false pretence when acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson read it to him.

The charge alleges that on December 21 last year he obtained $57,000 from Quacey Richards by pretending that he was in the position to obtain a Guyana passport for his fiancée Samantha Thomas.

Hunte told the court that the incident did not occur on December 21 but on January 19 this year.

He said that he only collected $40,000 from Richards to take to another person who would have gotten the passport for him. He explained that Thomas was deported from St. Martin and that Hunte had wanted to get her new travel documents so that she could return to that country.

However, Prosecutor Stephen Telford objected to the bail application, noting that Hunte is a former policeman and a former Immigration Officer. He said Richards had told Hunte that Thomas’ passport had been damaged and Hunte in turn informed him that he could get it fixed at a cost of $80,000.

The prosecutor went on to say that Richards then paid Hunte $57,000 in advance but asked for the money back after some weeks had elapsed and still he did not have the passport. Hunte then told him that he did not have the money, the prosecutor noted, so Richards made a report to the police station. Hunte made a request for bail, noting that he is currently a UG student and he has examinations soon.

The matter was later transferred to Court Three for February 12.