Two parents are now facing multiple charges of wilfully neglecting their four children, who they are accused of abandoning on the Kitty seawall on Mashramani Day.
The four children, whose ages were reported as 9, 7, 4, and 3, were found at about midnight by public-spirited citizens, Prosecutor Michael Grant said at the arraignment of the couple in the city yesterday.
The parents, who do not live together, pleaded not guilty to the four counts of wilfully neglecting their children to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to their health. They were subsequently placed on bail by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry yesterday, who read the charges to them.
Grant told the court that there was no adult present supervising the children when they were found by public-spirited citizens. When the concerned citizens enquired about the whereabouts of their parents, they were informed that the children had been left on the seawall by their parents, he said. The concerned citizens took the children to the Kitty Police Station, where the matter was reported and the four children were subsequently released into the custody of the Child Care and Protection Agency.
Addressing the court, the father of the children admitted that he had been previously charged with a narcotics charge but had not been convicted.
Prosecutor Grant objected to bail, stating that the charge was a very serious one. His objections were nevertheless overruled by the Chief Magistrate and the parents were granted $50,000 bail each.
The case was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Magistrates’ courts 8 and 9 for further reports and fixtures.
