—crime chief

The case involving the forgery of a will was properly investigated and all the evidence was in the prosecution’s file, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said, days after a magistrate accused the police of investigating the matter poorly.

Persaud told Stabroek News on Friday that after the Tuesday hearing of the case in which Sharon Seymore was charged with forging her dead brother’s will, the file was returned to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

“There is no law preventing the police who would have evidence of the forgery, instituting the charge for such an offence that was allegedly committed.

It is for the court hearing the evidence to decided thereon,” the DPP was quoted by Persaud as saying.

The Crime Chief stressed that the case had been thoroughly investigated and rejected the comments that were made by the magistrate.

“If there is anything that was sloppy in the sheer activities surrounding the matter it certainly is not the police investigations,” he noted.

On Tuesday Seymore appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive Hamilton accused of forging the will made by Semion Sam on October 5, 2007 with intent to defraud.

The woman was not required to plead to the charge but during the proceedings her lawyer produced documents to the court showing that she had been granted probate by the High Court which recognized her as having the power to administer the estate in question. The magistrate after listening to the lawyer’s argument examined the documents before her and informed the court that Seymore had indeed been granted probate to be administrator of the estate.

Octive Hamilton then noted that the poor investigation conducted by the police exposed their deficiency. In admonishing the police to conduct more thorough investigations, the magistrate told them to seek advice again.