Fraud accused Bibi Azeez was yesterday admitted to bail in the sum of $300,000, after denying that she obtained $1.3M from a woman under the pretext that she could obtain a seaman’s visa for her.
Azeez, 45, of 67 Duncan Street, Campbellville, denied a charge of obtaining money by false pretence when it was read to her by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
It was alleged that Azeez, between April 1 and November 30, 2010, with intent to defraud, obtained from Vidya Sankar $1.3M by pretending to be in a position to obtain a seaman’s visa for her.
Police Sergeant Lionel Harvey told the court that the accused is a known character to the police for such offences. He stated too that the woman has present pending matters of a similar nature before the courts and he made an application for the accused to be denied her pre-trial liberty on these grounds.
Attorney Patrice Henry, who represented the accused, told the court, however, that his client had an unblemished record. As he pleaded for bail, he said that Azeez had a fixed address, posed no risk of flight and had been cooperating with investigators. After being presented by the prosecutor with records showing that Azeez had previous matters, Henry changed his story.
Magistrate Sewnarine-Beharry, however, refused the request by the prosecution to deny bail, telling Harvey that if there was a likelihood of the woman recommitting such offences, as he had contended, she could have done so between the last date of the alleged incident and that of her being placed before the court.
The magistrate then inquired from Harvey if the woman had been cooperating with police investigations and whether she had been attending court for the pending matters on which she had received bail. After he responded in the affirmative, the Magistrate said that these were then further reasons why she would be overruling the prosecution’s objection to bail.
It was also at this juncture that Henry said his client “has always been attending court in her other matters when required to do so.”
Sergeant Harvey then informed the court that the prosecution no longer had objections to bail but he requested that it be set in a substantial sum to ensure that the accused returns to court to stand trial.
After bail was set, the matter was transferred to Court Two for February 28, for reports and fixture for trial.
