Mahaicony Rice Mills accountant Ishwas Singh was charged yesterday by the police for refusing access to the accounts of the company.
The police in a statement today said that an application before a magistrate for an arrest warrant to be issued for him was denied. The police said that diligent efforts to locate Singh had failed and when the charge was laid yesterday they applied for an arrest warrant.
“This was denied by the Magistrate who indicated that the defendant ought to have been warned to attend court first before the warrant could be issued. This is despite the fact that the police were unable to arrest Ishwas Singh”, the release said. The police did not identify the court or the magistrate.
The police noted that as a result of complaints by rice farmers of non-payment for paddy supplied to the Mahaicony Rice Mills, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) had intervened and as provided by law, its officials went to inspect the records of the Mahaicony Rice Mills several weeks ago. They were however denied access.
“This matter was reported to the police who after conducting investigations and following advice given by the Director of Public Prosecution subsequently
charged Ishwas Singh, the accountant of the company, for refusing a person
identified by the GRDB permission to inspect the books of the company.”
The owing of farmers by MRL has been a long-running dispute.
