The women, through an interpreter, pleaded guilty to the respective charges against them when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry imposed a $30,000 fine with an alternative of six months’ imprisonment on each of them.
Catalane Osario, 21, of the Dominican Republic; Marcelle Arianna, 25, of Colombia; Patricia Ortega, 20, of the Dominican Republic; Canella Ramirez, 21, of Venezuela; Yacline Puertez, 32, of Panama; Britannia Cortez, 32, of the Dominican Republic, and Juana German, 20, of the Dominican Republic, admitted to failing to comply with conditions of their travel permits.
The women, who were all listed as residing at Lot 23 North Road, Bourda, and employed as exotic dancers at the Baroombar nightclub that is located at the same address, each stayed beyond the periods—ranging from one to three months—granted for their visitation here between June and September of this year.
Meanwhile, the charge of entering Guyana by sea and disembarking without permission of immigration authorities on October 14 was read separately against Evelyn Ramirez, 25, of the Dominican Republic, Josephina Pereira, 22, of Venezuela and Lydia Valero, 25, of Colombia.
Cortez, who spoke to the court through an interpreter, said she was unaware of the immigration laws. She said if she had been aware of the conditions, she would have asked for the extension of the time or returned to her home country.
She also said that someone at the nightclub, who she only identified as “JC,” collected US$150 to extend their stay here for the next three months and their passports had been taken away. “You see, I don’t know much about these things and like I said, we all gave JC the passports so that he could handle the extension, which we all requested… from the person who brought us but that never happened,” Cortez related.
Attorney Latchmie Rahamat appeared for the women on short notice and secured a brief adjournment to confer with her clients.
When the case was called again, Rahamat explained to the magistrate the women were all unaware of how to extend their stays in Guyana, and entrusted the person who brought them here to do so for them. She appealed for no custodial penalty to be imposed on the women, citing the fact that it was a first offence in each case and that they were all willing to return to their respective countries.
The magistrate, after giving the situation much thought, instituted the fines with the six-month custodial alternative.
