A Betsy Ground, East Canje canter driver, was on Wednesday placed on $500,000 bail, after being charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
The canter driver, Marvin Meenkum, 36, of Betsy Ground, East Canje, Berbice, appeared before presiding Magistrate, Renita Singh, at the Reliance Magistrate’s Court, where he answered to the charge.
According to the charge, Meenkum on the day of the accident, drove in a manner dangerous to the public, resulting in the accident. At the time of the accident, the accused was reversing his motor canter, GWW 1831, on to the Betsy Ground Public Road, while the deceased, Rajendranauth Haralsingh, was on his way home.
While having no objections to bail, Police Prosecutor Althea Solomon told the court that Meenkum failed to exercise the five ‘Cs’, resulting in the accident which claimed the life of Haralsingh.
However, Meenkum’s attorney, Ramesh Rajkumar, asked the court for reasonable bail. He noted that his client was placed on $100,000 station bail, while requesting that bail from the court be granted at a similar amount.
Solomon, after listening to the attorney’s application for bail, asked for bail to be a substantial amount. She noted that the suspect was released on bail from the station pending legal advice, however, he is now being prosecuted and bail should be substantial.
Magistrate Singh, after listening to the arguments, granted bail in the sum of half a million dollars and adjourned the matter until January 23.
Haralsingh, 52, of Lot 28 Reliance Abandon, East Canje, Berbice, a former employee of the Rose Hall Estate, was rushed to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital following the accident, and succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment.
The police, in a press release issued on the day of the accident, stated that the driver of the motor canter was reversing west out of his yard towards the public road, when Haralsingh, who was proceeding north on his motorcycle, CF 1651, collided with it.
Haralsingh, a father of two, was laid off after the closure of the Rose Hall Estate. However, he was later rehired by the Special Purpose Unit currently managing some of GuySuCo’s assets.
