A father of four was yesterday ordered by Magistrate Sunil Scarce to do community service for breaching the national COVID-19 curfew.
Bruce Forde, 40, of Mocha, East Bank Demerara, appeared at the Diamond/ Grove Magistrate’s Court when Magistrate Scarce read the breach of curfew charge to him. The charge states that on May 15 at First Street, Mocha, East Bank Demerara, he breached the 6 am to 6 pm curfew which was imposed by the Government on all persons except those labelled as essential workers.
Forde, who is a farmer, confessed to breaching the curfew but explained that he was packing up the stall where he sells his produce when the police approached him and warned him about the offence. He also pleaded with the Magistrate to not have him fined since he is a single parent with four minors to provide for.
However, before a decision could be rendered on Forde’s fate, the Police Prosecutor read the facts of the matter to the court. The prosecutor informed that ranks were on patrol duty at around 20:30 hours, checking to see whether persons were following the curfew when they saw Forde and asked him for a valid reason as to why he was not in his house at the time. The prosecutor said that Forde could not give a reason that explained why he was not abiding with the curfew and so he was subsequently arrested.
In his defence, Forde told the Magistrate that he was never arrested, only told to appear at the court yesterday. After listening to both sides, Magistrate Scarce advised Forde to do his farming during the day and try to pack up and return to his home before the curfew. He cautioned Forde that the penalty attached to the offence is either imprisonment, a fine or community service, depending on the circumstances under which the offence is committed.
Magistrate Scarce gave the examples of a person who was fined $10,000 for having a social gathering after the curfew was in place, and another having to do community service for a similar charge. The Magistrate then ordered Forde to serve four days of community service at the Grove Police Station beginning Monday from 8am to 11 am.
