A Dominican man, who said he thought he automatically gained Guyanese citizenship by being the father of a Guyanese child, was yesterday fined and deported after he admitted to overstaying in Guyana.
The charge against Eric Gaunte alleged that between January 5th and February 24th, at Georgetown, he failed to comply with conditions of his stay, that is, that while being permitted to stay in Guyana from December 5th to January 5th, he overstayed.
At first, Gaunte, via a translator, pleaded not guilty to the charge and told the court that he is the father of two Guyanese children, which makes him a citizen. He claimed that this was told to him by a friend. He added that he had plans to get married to a Guyanese woman but he was attacked and this resulted in him not marrying the woman.
However, after attorney Dexter Todd explained to Gaunte that he would be remanded to prison, Gaunte pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $30,000.
Police Prosecutor Richard Harris then asked that Gaunte be deported after paying the fine, citing the fact that the police had no records indicating that the claims made by the man were true. Gaunte was then ordered to be deported after paying his fine.
