Dear Editor,
A serious injustice was done to my 17 year old son who the Suddie Police are targeting.
At all times, it is incumbent upon the police to do their job in an impartial and professional manner, but it was contrary to natural justice the manner in which he was treated on a report relating to the larceny of a gold chain last Sunday night (2010-01-24).
From information reaching me, the victim in his report specifically stated that he did not identify the person who snatched his chain from the back and ran away.
My son does not have a criminal conviction but had some brushes with the law and probably this was responsible for the police linking him as the perpetrator of the crime.
During the investigation, a startling revelation was made of a constable taking the victim to my son while he was in the lock-ups and telling him to say “This is the man who snatched yo
u chain”.
Thereafter, a statement was taken from the victim which included those words.
Strange enough, no other suspect was held and obviously, justice would have been better served to have an identification parade but this was not done.
Although I kept visiting the station regularly to ascertain the latest development, all along I was assured that he would be released on bail later. According to my husband, the boy’s father, and who is a serving member of the Guyana Police Force (G.P.F.) he too was given that assurance by many top ranking members of the police force.
There was no justifiable reason to hide anything from me and just as I left the station, it was brought to my attention that my son was whisked away to court only to be refused bail and placed on remand.
It was not even possible for me to provide legal representation to him, which he is entitled to, moreso by being a juvenile and this in itself is a violation of his constitutional rights.
The police were so hasty to do their own thing that they did not consider it necessary to even send the file to the DPP’s Office when it would only have been proper to do so.
Yours faithfully,
Haimwantie Singh
