A Colombian national was yesterday ordered to pay a fine of $30,000 or risk being thrown in jail for 4 weeks for overstaying her welcome in Guyana.
The court heard that between May 12 and July 11, at Georgetown, Karen Rosario Mona, 29, a native of Colombia, failed to comply with her permit that only gave her permission to stay in Guyana from March 11 to May 11. Mona pleaded guilty to the charge that was read to her by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
According to Mona’s lawyer Paul Fung-A-Fat, his client was applying for a five-year extension at the Ministry of Public Security which apparently took too long causing her time to run out.
According to the lawyer, his client was applying for an extension because of her business in the country.
Fung-A-Fat further mentioned that his client’s business is one that is legal and involves “no hanky-panky.”
Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones told the court that Mona was granted a three-month stay from March 11 which would have taken her up to June.
According to Mona, she had filed the necessary paperwork to have her time extended at the ministry but she had no idea that the process would have taken so long.
She said that after the staff at the ministry told her to fill out the forms, she returned to Bartica to run her business.
