Guyana-born Surinamese national Maxwell Anthony Gill, 35, was yesterday fined $60,000 or an alternative of 24 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to illegally entering Guyana and trying to illegally obtain a passport.
Gill, 35, admitted that on January 7, at Corentyne, he entered Guyana by sea without the consent of an Immigration Officer.
He also admitted that on June 27, at Georgetown, he knowingly made a false statement on a Guyana Passport application form for the purpose of procuring a passport.
Magistrate Judy Latchman before whom Gill appeared ordered him to pay a fine of $30,000 or serve an alternative of 12 months imprisonment on each charge.
When given a chance to speak, Gill, a fisherman, said that he was born in Guyana but went to Suriname when he was young. He said that he does not know his parents.
According to Gill, he travelled to Guyana via the backtrack route without any form of identification but did not want to continue entering through this route and so he asked two persons to assist him in acquiring the relevant documentation to facilitate his stay in Guyana. He added that he was “terribly sorry” for what he had done.
Prosecutor Renetta Bentham told the court that on January 7, Gill entered Guyana by backtrack without presenting himself to an Immigration Officer.
Bentham further explained that on June 7, Gill caused “Michael and Roxanne Da Silva” to swear to an affidavit to obtain a birth certificate for him in the name of Michael Anthony Da Silva.
The court also heard from the prosecutor that Gill used the said birth certificate to apply for a Guyana passport. The prosecutor said that it was observed that the defendant spoke with an accent. She said that investigations were subsequently carried out, which led to Gill being arrested and charged.
The prosecution had also made an application for Gill to be immediately deported to Suriname but the magistrate denied the request after he reported that he was born in Guyana.
