An auto mechanic was yesterday placed on $100,000 bail when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court charged with stealing mining equipment worth $8.9 million from his employer.
Mandela Phillips, 20, of Kuru Kuru, Linden-Soesdyke Highway was accused of stealing a Reed pump, 4 pairs of truck caps, 6 Caterpillar headlamps, 14 truck fuel pump injectors, 9 fuel pump elements, 2 truck computer boxes, 8 welding rods, 3 truck suspension kits and other articles valued $8.9 million from his employer Saif and Samaria El Dorado Mining Company (SSEDMC).
It was alleged that Phillips broke into the company’s storage facility at Kwakwani, Berbice River on August 28 and stole the items.
His lawyer Konya Thompson argued that the charge brought against her client was peculiar, given the fact that Phillips had been working for over four years at the SSEDMC as an auto mechanic and this has never occurred before. The attorney said she was flabbergasted that Thompson’s employer would even accuse him of theft since he has had constant access to the missing items.
Thompson asked the Chief Magistrate to take all of this into consideration when granting bail, adding that her client had never been charged before. She said that Thompson came from a stable home and lived at Kuru Kuru with his mother, five brothers and one sister.
Thompson also told the court that Phillips had been in police custody for more than 72 hours, which is a violation of his rights. When the Chief Magistrate heard this she immediately asked Prosecutor Michael Grant to look into the matter.
Continuing her plea for bail, Thompson asked the Chief Magistrate to consider the fact that it is his mother who will be paying his bail. Prosecutor Grant did not object to bail.
Magistrate Sewnarine-Beharry then set bail at $100,000 on the condition that Phillips report to the Kuru Kuru Police Station fortnightly every Friday. The matter was transferred to the Kwakwani Magistrate’s Court for November 24.
