Twelve Nepalese men were remanded to prison yesterday after being arraigned before Magistrate Ann McLennan for allegedly departing Guyana illegally after vacationing here.
The charge against Nebrew Sherpa, Shankar Shapota, Benod Jeshe, Prakesh Adi-Khan, Tengi Sherpa, Tengi Cherping, Seetang Goorung, Danraj Timsena, Villey Pouden, Kunjab Guruaging, Cunja Goorung and Prakesh Nipali is that on November 15, at Charity, Essequibo, they departed Guyana without presenting themselves to an immigration officer.
The unrepresented men, through an interpreter, denied the charge when it was read to them.
The jointly-charged men gave their country of origin as Nepal, which was substantiated when their passports were presented to the court.
The prosecution’s case is that the men all arrived in Guyana legally at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, but later left Guyana for Venezuela illegally.
Prosecutor Deniro Jones said that the men, upon their departure from Guyana, failed to present themselves to an immigration officer. The court heard that they were later arrested in Venezuela after it was discovered that they were not in possession of Venezuelan visas. They were then deported to Guyana.
After the men were brought back to Guyana, the court was further told, investigations revealed that they had overstayed their time granted in Guyana.
Jones had noted that some of the men were granted stays of two weeks, and others three weeks’ duration but they had all overstayed. He, however, noted that they were not charged with overstaying their time as they had been arrested in Venezuela.
The prosecutor said that the men were instead being charged with illegal departure.
When asked the purpose of their visit by the court, the men, through their interpreter, said they were “visiting Guyana.”
Nebrew Sherpa, Shankar Shapota, Benod Jeshe, Prakesh Adi-Khan, Tengi Sherpa, Tengi Cherping, Seetang Goorung, and Danraj Timsena were provided with an interpreter who interpreted from English to Hindi for them.
Meanwhile, after it was disclosed that Villey Pouden, Kunjab Guruaging, Cunja Goorung and Prakesh Nipali only spoke Nepalese, the court allowed Nebrew Sherpa, who is fluent in both languages, to interpret for them.
The hearing lasted just over an hour owing to the time needed for the proceedings to be interpreted for the men.
Jones objected to the men being granted bail, saying that they have no ties here and pose a risk of flight since there is a likelihood they will not return to stand trial. The court upheld the prosecution’s objections and the men were remanded to prison until December 11.
