Investigation
Complainant not pursuing allegation against Dharamlall – police: The 16-year-old complainant has decided not to pursue her rape allegation case against, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall. This is according to Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, who told Stabroek News that a `No Further Action’ statement was given by the girl in the presence of a parent, the police, and officials. “At this time, I am only able to confirm that the alleged victim has given a No Further Action statement to investigators in the presence of one of her parents and a representative from the Childcare Protec-tion Agency. The file is currently being prepared to be sent to the DPP for further legal advice,” the Crime Chief informed. The announcement by Blanhum sparked consternation and a flurry of questions as to why the complainant was withdrawing after going to great lengths to make her allegation and acquiesce to protection under the Childcare and Protection Agency. Amid the raging controversy, the police last evening defended their actions. In a statement, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) said that it wished to categorically state that at all times, the “highest level of professionalism was adopted during the investigation into an alleged Rape made against Minister Nigel Dharamlall”. As a result, the police force condemned what it described as the dangerous and mischievous attempts made by several social media personalities and an online news outlet to obscure and contort the facts in this matter. The GPF did not identify these persons or the entity. The GPF said that on the 28th of June 2023, the file was returned to the Police by the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with instructions to conduct further investigations. As a result, the investigators proceeded to action same. The GPF said that at no time on Thursday the 29th of June 2023, did any investigator or member of the Guyana Police Force make contact with the virtual complainant to conduct any interview, “as is falsely and maliciously being peddled that the virtual complainant was subjected to interviews after interviews, up until 11:00 pm last night. This allegation has no basis in fact, and the truth can easily be established”. Further, the GPF said that these mischievous and inaccurate claims do not reveal the fact that since yesterday the virtual complainant informed her parents and the Child Care Protection officer that she did not want to proceed with this matter any further.
Fire
Man, two children die in Drysdale St fire: A fire of unknown origin claimed the lives of a man and his two children last Friday morning at Lot 8 Drysdale Street, Charles-town, Georgetown. Fire Chief Gregory Wickham told Stabroek News that the burnt remains of 40 year-old Michael Richards and his daughter Somaya Richards, 6, and son Supreme Richards, 4, were removed from the scene. The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) stated that it is investigating the circum-stances that led to the early morning blaze. It said that it received a report at approximately 6:45 am yesterday, alerting it about the fire. The structure involved was a two-storey wooden and concrete building which was severely damaged by the time the fire was extinguished.
According to the GFS, three water tenders, one water carrier, two ambulances and a hydraulic platform from the Central Fire Station, Alberttown, Campbellville, West Ruimveldt, and Fire Service Headquarters, were dis-patched to the location. They arrived at the scene at 6:48 am and firefighting operations began at approximately 6:50 am.
Medical
Rare spiral appendage removed from baby at GPH: Neurosurgeons at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) on Sunday last, successfully removed from a 10-day-old infant, a tail, described as a rare medical phenomenon, which was a continuation of the spine/spinal nerve element. The medical team, led by Chief Neurosurgeon Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, successfully reconstructed the baby’s spinal cord, which would allow the child an opportunity to develop normally. It was a sophisticated technique which required the protection of the patient’s spinal nerves. The infant was discharged from the hospital. According to the GPH, the human tail is usually considered a marker of underlying pathology of peculiar spinal dysraphism. The reported presentations of spinal dysraphism include spina bifida occulta, meningocele, and spinal lipoma or tethered spinal cord. However, the etiological basis of the human tail is unclear. The distinctive presentation of a pathology such as the human tail is uncommon not only in Guyana but globally, the hospital said. A rare congenital anomaly which mostly presents immediately after birth or in early childhood, less than 60 occurrences of caudal human tail have been documented in medical literature. A baby having a caudal appendage resembling a tail generates an unusual amount of interest, excitement and anxiety and parents may be concerned about the social stigma, superstition or shame that may befall their young child when they are integrate into society, the release added. The GPH said that as a tertiary medical institution with the commitment to medical education and research, it will be presenting this case to the global medical community for documentation and review.
Oil & Gas
APNU dismayed at draft petroleum bill: APNU has expressed dismay at the government’s draft Petroleum Activities Bill and said that it should address direct spending from cost oil. The government recently released the bill which is intended to replace the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 1986 and a two-week period for comments was set aside. A statement from the Office of the Opposition Leader, raised several reservations and said more detail will be provided when the legislation is presented to the National Assembly. Statements form the Office of the Opposition Leader usually reflect the views of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). The statement said that the Bill, in tandem with the country’s financial management laws, should address the issue of government spending on infrastructure directly through cost oil, as this form of unregulated expenditure could lead to high-level corruption and misuse and waste of public funds. “At minimum, such company/government agreements must be tabled in parliament for scrutiny, debate, and approval — as for any other government spending of the people’s money”, the statement said. Cost oil is being used to finance the controversial gas to shore to energy project even though this had not been subject to parliamentary approval. The statement from the Office of the Opposition Leader said that the draft bill shows that the government continues to take an apathetic approach to establishing a Petroleum Commission. It said that the mandate, powers and functions of the commission should be integrated within the Petroleum Activities Act, similar in pattern to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the mining sector. The Petroleum Commission had been a promise of the PPP/C government even before it entered office in August 2020 but legislation for it is still to be presented by the government.
Judiciary
CCJ judge floats pre-trial chamber to ease case backlog: The establishment of a pre-trial chamber in the criminal justice system holds great opportunities in clearing backlogs and reducing the prison population, Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ Judge Jacob Wit said last evening. Such a system, he explained will aid in the swift determination of cases to be heard as the chamber will have the power to sift out weak cases and keep stronger ones. This process can then be used to engage in plea bargaining while others go to trial. Justice Wit made the suggestion as he delivered the feature lecture on “Rethinking Criminal Justice” at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. “In my proposition, we create a pre-trial chamber that should consist of a high court judge assisted by some master or even magistrates… The chamber should have timelines that should be abided by. The chamber should give bail in a transparent manner, following guidelines that should be published. On top of that, they should monitor the type of evidence in these cases…”, Wit said as he outlined the functioning of such a system. He added that the chamber should also be able to address requests of defendants and have the power to supervise both prosecution and defence to move cases forward and protect the quality of evidence. Justice Wit in his presentation pointed out that Guyana has a high number of cases being thrown out on the acceptance of no-case submission arguments. With the pre-trial chamber in place, he explained that following a review of the case, it can be determined years ahead before a remanded prisoner goes to trial. “It struck me that quite a lot of criminal cases in Guyana get kicked out at the no-case submission stage meaning the prosecution was not able to produce sufficient evidence even before the defendants have to say anything. You might hear a pre-trial chamber would have taken out that case long before … why keep the accused in prison… This is a process of sifting out the weaker cases and keeping the stronger ones the latter then should be considered for plea bargaining and the rest should go to trial,” he underscored. The CCJ judge highlighted delays in the criminal system here in Guyana and noted that persons on remand spend jail time longer than some sentences handed down. “It also happens sometimes in pre-trial detention, it lasts longer than the maximum of what was your sentence for the alleged offence that has nothing to do with justice. It is what the good Bible calls an abomination…” he stressed. On this note, he stated that accused who are on remand should be tried within a year to six months while accused freed of pre-trial imprisonment via bail should be tried within 18 months to two years.
Food Security
We need more action, less talk for food security: Making a plea to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) that its forum here be one with tangible outcomes, President Irfaan Ali last week said that countries must show how the regional bloc will ensure food and nutrition security while reducing poverty. “We must produce the action plan. You are not here to dwell on the problems. That is what every conference will do. You are here as the policymakers to craft policies in a regional settings by learning from each other; best practices so that we can learn and maybe to unlearn. Maybe we are doing something that we think is right that we need to unlearn,” Ali told the opening of a high-level meeting with ministers of agriculture and representatives of CELAC countries. The President underscored that the focus on food security needs to be swift, as global statistics show that Latin America and the Caribbean saw the number of hungry people increase by 13.2 million during the 2019-2021 period alone. He posited that if not addressed, those numbers could increase. “The prevalence of hunger was 7.9 per cent in South America and 18.4 per cent in the Caribbean. Sometimes, we are of the mistaken view in CARICOM that all is well. The moderate food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean was higher than the global average. We were higher than the global average,” Ali informed. Ali, who is the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) leader responsible for food security, said that producing more food and integrating food security objectives of respective countries, while simultaneously reducing poverty and inequality, remains the key to ensuring food and nutrition security in Latin America and the Caribbean. “So we can’t speak about this nutrition in the region and food security if we don’t also bring into the discourse, poverty reduction strategies and reducing inequality… this is very important to what we are doing.” Fed up with talk and no actions to back the plans suggested at various high level meetings he has attended, Ali charged that representatives should come to high level fora with respective country and overall plans and discuss ways on how those can be integrated for the good of CELAC.
In the courts
Four ‘romance scammers’charged in Linden
-eight women reportedly defrauded of $804,000: Four ‘romance scammers’ were last week charged by the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) with twenty-one counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and three counts of forgery. They were charged after they allegedly defrauded eight women of sums totalling $804,000. The accused scammers have been identified as: Khadijah Long, 27, of Lot 28-26 Central Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden; Wayne Halley, a 27-year-old driver of Lot 194 First Street, Mocha, East Bank Demerara; Kevon McBean, a 43-year-old postal clerk of Lot 42 Amelia’s Ward, Linden; and Matthew Ejike Nwackukwu, a 36-year-old unemployed Nigerian national of Lot 96 Duncan Street, Kitty, Georgetown. The quartet appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Rondel Weaver where the charges were read to them. They all pleaded not guilty. Long was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a felony and was placed on $50,000 bail. Halley was charged with ten counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and was placed on $300,000 bail. McBean was charged with three counts of forgery and was placed on $100,000 bail, and Nwackukwu was also charged with ten counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and was remanded to prison. The matters were adjourned to July 27.
Crime
Riverview labourer dies after stabbed in argument: Police are currently investigating the death of 34-year-old labourer, Dellon Waterman, called ‘Puppi’ of Lot 2 (c) Riverview, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, on last Wednesday evening. The suspect, a 22-year-old male, is yet to be apprehended. Enquiries revealed that around 18.15 hours, Waterman intervened in an assault against his nine-year-old nephew by the suspect along the Riverview Access road and an argument ensued between the two, which escalated into a fight. During the scuffle, the suspect who was armed with a knife, stabbed the victim to the left side of his chest and escaped. Waterman then went home and collapsed. The police were summoned and the injured man was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The body was subsequently placed in the hospital’s mortuary to await a post-mortem examination. Meanwhile the mother of the deceased, Rita Dazel, told Stabroek News that her grandson told her that he was coming from the shop when the suspect hit him on his buttocks. The boy asked him not to do that but the suspect continued to assault him. It was at this point that her grandson became annoyed and picked up a brick from the ground and threw it on the suspect’s foot. The suspect then responded by hitting the boy in the head. The grandmother related that her grandson ran to Waterman and told him what had occurred. Waterman then took the boy to the suspect to inquire about what had happened. Dazel said that according to her grandson, the suspect became annoyed and slapped Waterman and an argument then turned into a fight between the two. Waterman then turned away to return home and the suspect stabbed him in the chest and ran away. Waterman held his chest and ran into the yard calling for her, the grandmother recalled. She said her son spent an hour in the yard before he was taken to the hospital where he died. Dazel told this newspaper that she wants justice for her dead son. She also said that the suspect is wanted by the police.
Police say wanted man fatally shot in confrontation at Bachelor’s Adventure: The police say that William De Abreu for whom a wanted bulletin was issued on May 17, 2023 died last Tuesday following a confrontation with the police. Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum during a telephone interview yesterday said that De Abreu was shot during a confrontation with the police at Bachelor’s Adventure on the East Coast of Demerara. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died while receiving medical attention. Blanhum added that a firearm was recovered by ranks from De Abreu. De Abreu was wanted for questioning in relation to a series of gun robberies and discharging a loaded firearm with intent at Enmore, East Coast Demerara on April 8, 2023.
