Carpenter Mahase Baichan will be spending the next seven months in jail after he admitted to trying to use a forged passport to travel to the United States, from where he had been deported.
Baichan, 32, of Lot 83 Patentia Public Road, West Bank Demerara (WBD), yesterday pleaded guilty to the charge that he uttered a forged passport to an immigration officer.
The court of city magistrate Ann McLennan heard that on September 3rd, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, with intent to defraud, Baichan uttered the forged passport.
Baichan was an outgoing passenger at the CJIA when he uttered the Republic of Guyana passport #705641, bearing the name Rovin Mahase. The picture used in the passport looked similar to the convict. However, the immigration officer suspected that the document was forged and when subsequently confronted Baichan identified the name of the individual who provided him with the passport. Baichan was arrested and subsequently charged.
Attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat, who represented Baichan, told the court that the man was a first time offender. He added that the man was deeply upset since his wife has been in the United States of America for the past five years and he had been unable to see her, which led to his actions.
But Prosecutor Deniro Jones informed the court that Baichan was deported from the United States in 2012.
Despite the defence attorney’s plea for a non-custodial sentence, the magistrate sentenced Baichan to seven months in jail.
