Rights activist Mark Benschop last Friday testified that although he was assaulted and his vehicle was vandalized after an encounter with former presidential press officer Kwame McCoy in 2011, he was the one who ended up being arrested by police.
Benschop was at the time testifying from the United States via Skype at the trial of McCoy, who has been charged with assaulting him and damaging his property on March 5, 2011.
Benschop was allegedly attacked outside McCoy’s New Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara home.
Benschop, who was led into his evidence-in-chief by police prosecutor Gillian Simmons, said that on the day in question he drove his truck, GLL 3101, to the area to investigate a huge house with a huge pool that was owned by McCoy. He explained that after he arrived at the property, he met with workers who were working on the house. He noted that with his camera in hand, he spoke to the workers, who cooperated with him.
However, he said that no less than ten minutes into his questioning, a speeding vehicle pulled up and McCoy exited. “…He [McCoy] got out of the vehicle, with one hand on his waist, approached me and attempted to grab my camera from out of my hand,” Benschop said, while noting that during the struggle for his camera between himself and McCoy, the accused held on to his shirt and ripped it. He said too that during the altercation McCoy’s workers began to shout “kill him!”
Benschop said that he managed to wrestle his camera away from McCoy and with his ripped shirt he ran through the yard opposite to the property. “I ran because I was afraid for my life. The workers had tools, one of them appeared to have a gun and I think that McCoy is a licenced firearm holder,” he said. “Based on what I saw and heard, my life was threatened, so I scaled fences and sought refuge.”
Benschop said he was eventually picked up by a truck driver, who took him to a taxi base to get a car, which he used to travel to Georgetown. “On my way to town, I called Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, Freddie Kissoon, Lincoln Lewis, Julia Johnson from Prime News and a few others and told them what transpired,” he added.
Benschop said that he returned later to Diamond to uplift his vehicle and that was when he saw that all his windows and windscreens had been broken, and his laptop and a few documents were removed. He said that he pleaded with a police officer who was there at the time to search the home of McCoy for his belongings. However, he noted that the officer was reluctant to do so and he never did.
Benschop added that he was later invited by a police officer, whom he identified as “Watts,” to go to the Diamond Police Station. He noted that much to his surprise, he was placed under arrest, pending an investigation, based on a statement that was given by McCoy. The witness said that during that period he was taken to the Diamond Hospital for a medical certificate and was then transferred to the Brickdam Police Station.
McCoy’s attorney, Euclin Gomes made a series of objections during Benschop’s testimony, while noting that some of what he had testified about was not in his statement. The witness explained that soon after the incident in 2011, he did make a statement to police, but he later learnt that the statement had disappeared. Benschop said that he gave the police a second statement on the matter in 2016. McCoy was not charged until April of 2016.
Gomes suggested to Benschop that he never made a statement in 2011. Benschop quickly disagreed with the suggestion and added that he was now troubled that the police did not indicate that his statement was the second one he had given.
Also under cross-examination, Benschop admitted that he personally did not witness the damage being done to his vehicle since he was running for his life, but noted that persons whom he deemed as credible did see when McCoy damaged his property.
While Gomes asserted that Benschop’s prime objective is to have McCoy be criminally sanctioned, Benschop replied, “I just want justice.”
After Benschop’s testimony, trial magistrate Annette Singh was subsequently forced to adjourn the case as two of the prosecution’s witnesses were no shows. Singh told the prosecutor that if the witnesses do not show up on the next occasion, the prosecution will have to close its case against McCoy. The matter was adjourned until today.
