Detective Sergeant Dion Bascom of the Guyana Police Force was yesterday slapped with three cyber-crime charges and was granted bail in the sum of $300,000 when he appear-ed before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
The charges against Bascom of Dazzell Hous-ing Scheme on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), state that on August 13, at Eve Leary, Georgetown, he used a computer system to transit electronic data with intent to humiliate, harass, or cause substantial distress to Superintendent Mitchell Caesar.
It was also alleged that on August 19, at Hadfield Street, Georgetown, he used a computer system to transmit electronic data with intent to humiliate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to the said Superintendent.
Furthermore, on August 19, at Hadfield Street, Georgetown, it is alleged that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) detective sergeant, used a computer system to transit electronic data with intent to humiliate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to Superintendent Chabinauth Singh.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges which were read against him.
When asked by Chief Magistrate McLennan, if there were any objections to bail, police prosecutor and legal advisor to the GPF, attorney-at-law Mandell Moore, objected due to the seriousness of the offence, the penalty the offence attracts, and due to Bascom having other charges against him. Moore also stated that the defendant is a flight risk since he is in receipt of a passport and a visa, and that according to reports, he has been seeking money in order to leave the country.
In his rebuttal, Bascom’s attorney, Nigel Hughes, who entered a bail application for his client, said that due to his client’s claims, disclosure was made on August 15 to the president under the Section 9 of the Act seeking protection, since his client had become fearful and had started to receive death threats.
Hughes argued that during the course of the matter, Bascom had reported to work but had eventually fallen ill and is presently on official sick leave. The attorney vehemently denied that his client was a flight risk as presumed by the prosecutor, robustly stating that Bascom’s conduct has been consistent with that of a law abiding police officer.
After listening to both the state’s argument and the defence’s, the Chief Magistrate placed the defendant on $100,000 bail for each charge.
Along with bail, the police officer was ordered to surrender his passport to the Court and report every other Friday at 09:00 hrs to the officer-in-charge of the GPF Office of Professional Responsibility, Deputy Superintendent Elston Baird, until the conclusion of the matter.
The case was then adjourned until September 21, where full disclosure is expected to be made.
Along with Hughes, Bascom was represented by attorneys-at law, Khemraj Ramjattan, and Narissa Leander.
In August, Bascom made bombshell allegations on a live broadcast on Facebook accusing senior ranks within the GPF of corruption, bribery, and the alleged cover-up of the murder investigation of Ricardo Fagundes who was shot several times outside Palm Court.
During the course of his claims, Bascom had also mentioned several names of senior ranks, including Superintendent of Police Mitchell Caesar, Superin-tendent Chabinauth Singh, along with members of the business community.
As a result of his claims, Caesar and one of the businessmen had threatened lawsuits against Bascom, demanding that he retract his allegations and publicly apologize. The defendant was eventually sued by the businessman for $200 million.
In light of Bascom’s allegations against the senior ranks, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had advised the force to institute criminal charges against Bascom.
The public claims of Bascom erupted on social media after he was arrested in connection with a drug bust on Norton Street, Georgetown earlier last month, which saw him airing his frustration over what he described as mistreatment that he and other ranks within force have faced.
Due to his public claims, President Irfaan Ali had asked the Regional Secu-rity Service (RSS) to conduct an independent investigation into the cover-up allegations of the murder of Fagundes. And according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the main objective of the RSS review was to determine whether the GPF had effectively investigated the unlawful killing/homicide of Fagundes, to determine whether there was any evidence to support any wrongdoing by Deputy Superintendent Mitchell Caesar and Inspector Nigel Stephens of the GPF as alleged by Bascom. As such, the ministry last week announced that the RSS report noted that no evidence of corrupt practices or any attempt to cover up the Fagundes’ case was discovered.
