Four Sri Lankans who claimed they didn’t know that they had to present themselves to an Immigration Office in order to travel in and around the country were fined and ordered deported after they were charged with illegal entry.
Anthony Jeyaraj, Thanbirasa Nirojan, Siriranjan Senthusaan, and Sebamalal Dias appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court One and were read a joint charge.
The charge stated that between February 18th and 22nd, 2020, at Springlands, Corentyne, they entered Guyana by sea and disembarked without the consent of an immigration officer.
The quartet pleaded guilty via translator after the charge was read.
According to Prosecutor Cort, on February 22nd, 2020, ranks at the Mabura Police Station stopped a minibus, which was heading to Lethem and asked the four accused to present their passports. After examining their passports, it was discovered that there were no entry stamps. They were subsequently arrested and taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters, where they disclosed that they entered the country on February 18th, 2020.
The men agreed with the prosecution’s statements and told the magistrate that they were tourists and they wanted to see and travel around the country.
Meanwhile, attorney Paul Fung-a-Fat told the magistrate that he was hired by a businessman to represent the quartet. He added that if the four were fined, the businessman would also pay their fine.
As a result they were fined in the sum of $40,000 each and ordered deported.
