Some legal minds are of the firm belief that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should appeal the recent dismissal of 24 charges of larceny by a public officer that were laid against former Public Service Minister Dr Jennifer Westford and her former aide Margaret Cummings, while questioning why a technicality that rendered the charges against the former bad in law was not detected during the two years the matter engaged the court’s attention.
However, the attorneys, who asked not to be named, advised against the institution of fresh charges, while saying that doing so would be an abuse of the process.
The joint charges against Westford and Cummings, the Personnel Officer at the former ministry, stated that between the period October 19th, 2011 and April 28th, 2015, they stole a total of $639,420,000, belonging to the Government of Guyana, which they received by virtue of employment.