The Corentyne man who was charged while a juvenile in 2020 with the murders of Canadian hotelier Vivekanand Brijbassi and his watchman Harry Persaud and opted to plead guilty to the lesser counts of manslaughter when he appeared at the High Court in Berbice last month was yesterday sentenced to four years in prison.
The man, who was 16 years old when he was charged with the murders, had appeared before Justice Simone Morris Ramlall at the High Court in Berbice early last month where he entered guilty pleas to manslaughter.
It was alleged that between December 19 and December 27, 2019, at the Sunsplash Hotel, Number 63 Village, he murdered Brijbassi and Prashad.
Yesterday, the now 19-year-old convict was sentenced to four years in prison minus time served. After he has completed his sentence the court ordered that he is to be placed on probation for three years and a report be prepared by the chief probation officer every month. He was ordered to inform the probation officer if he changes his address.
Additionally, he will have to perform community service for one hour weekly for six months. He was further ordered to try to find gainful employment and to not travel unless the court orders it. He is also to keep the peace and be on good behaviour while on probation.
Furthermore, noncompliance with the above orders will permit the State to make an application to review his sentence.
The decomposing bodies of Brijbassi, 71, who was the owner of Sunsplash Holiday Beach Resort at Number 63 Beach, and his watchman, Prashad, 59, of Number 68 Village, Corentyne, were found bound and gagged in the balcony area of the upper flat of the two-storey facility on December 27, 2019.
It was reported that the men died as a result of shock and haemorrhaging due to multiple injuries they had sustained. The police had said that Brijbassi was discovered with two toes from his left foot severed, while Prashad was found with both hands tied behind his back to a post and his left foot completely severed at the ankle.
Brijbassi reportedly arrived in Guyana on September 20, 2019 and was last seen by his sister Krishna Boodram on December 19, 2019, when he visited her home and had dinner with her.
She had related that her brother had been afraid of staying at the hotel but it seemed that he had made up his mind to stay there. She had questioned him about whether he was scared to reside at the building, and he had told her that he had two friends staying with him, one of whom was identified as Prashad.
The man sentenced to four years yesterday was the second person to be charged with the murders. Farmer Alvin Durant had also been charged and remanded to prison. During the investigation, it was reported that two accused stole from the hotelier.
