Dear Editor,
In the aftermath of the mayhem at Mon Repos on Tuesday 16 persons were charged and one pleaded guilty. He was fined $ 20, 000, a mere pittance for such a crime. They say that the punishment should be compatible with the crime. Where is the compatibility here? Or is it complicity?
The Police Force is regularly provided with cars, pickup trucks, motor cycles, ATVs, short-wave radios and bicycles, yet many times excuse themselves by saying that they don’t have transportation. In a divided country like Guyana the Acting Commissioner and regional Commanders should be answerable to such inefficiency. Mobilizing and acting should be priorities in their modus operandi. And what about the use of short-wave radios to alert officers to converge at a crime scene? When I lived in Brampton, Canada, one student had a knife in a high school and there was an immediate lock down of the school –no one could have exited or entered. Seven police cars arrived in minutes and officers took charge of the situation. Police who were patrolling got the message on their radios and converged immediately at the school. Monetary compensation for victims is not the remedy; it is being reactive and a consolation in an attempt to appease the victims. What about the trauma and looming fear of a recurrence?
Moreover, the police force putting one of their own on close, then open arrest is unlawful; the officer should have been arrested and placed on remand until trial by the courts. The Magistrate imposing $20,000 fine for violent robbery and vandalism is a travesty of justice. Further, inciting people to “undermine this government” should be dealt with as seditious and treasonous and dealt with the full force of the law. Additionally, a man who threatened the President’s life has mental health issues is not good enough. A Magistrate should have sent him for further psychiatric evaluation. How many persons with mental issues have not set fires to buildings and killed other persons? The president will visit, address, order financial compensation and then fly off to a foreign country or location for an engagement, with the tragedy a bygone matter. Meanwhile the underlying cause is brewing and will erupt again as happened in 2020, 2022 and post elections that the PPP/C won in the past. It is time for those in control to get a grip of the situation and be on top of it.
Sincerely,
Karan Chand
Region 2 Resident
