A woman was yesterday remanded to police custody when she appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for obtaining a quantity of cash pretending that she was in the position to obtain a seaman’s visa for another person.
Vidi Noorjahan Azeez, 40, of Campbellville, pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining money by false pretence when acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson read them to her. She admitted that on April 10, with intent to defraud, she obtained $173,000 from Maharanie Bissessar, by falsely pretending that she was in the position to obtain a traffic ticket for the woman’s son, Balram Bissessar, knowing this was false. She also admitted that on March 12, with intent to defraud, she obtained from the same woman $219,000 by falsely pretending that she was in the position to obtain a seaman’s visa for the woman’s son, knowing this was false.
Azeez stated that she never intended to rob anyone of their money.
She explained that she had met some men who had told her that they could get her a job on their cruise ship as a nurse. She said that she told some of her friends, including Balram Bissessar, and that the men also told her that they could get jobs for them.
She noted that she had paid $423,000 to the men and was given several recruitment documents for herself. She noted that she had also collected Balram Bissessar’s money that she gave to the men for his recruitment documents but that after a while the men disappeared.
Azeez then stated that she is willing to repay Bissessar for the money that was given to the men for him.
The magistrate then ordered that she be remanded to police custody and that she return to court on May 18 with the money to start repaying Bissessar.
