Dear Editor,
Paying a fine of $50,000 for almost killing a child in an accident is seen as justice in Guyana. It is well-known that justice for the poor is rarely met. A few weeks ago, my niece was almost killed by a dangerous minibus driver. What I learned from the accident is that there’s no justice for poor children in Guyana.
The police didn’t do a good job investigating the accident. They never obtained CCTV Video of the accident. I did. After reporting to court, the case was set for January until we received a phone call from the police prosecutor to report to court in 48 hours. Because of the short notice, we were unable to report to court. The case was settled without us present.
The driver who overtook on a double yellow line and struck my niece was charged with dangerous driving and paid a fine (a meagre $50,000) and the case was closed. No licence suspension. No prison time. No apology to the victim. Fifty thousand dollars fine, and go and drive some more. It pays to drive dangerously in Guyana because you will only pay a small fine.
In the end, the police wins, government wins, court wins and driver wins. The victim lost.
This is justice for poor children in this God forsaken country.
Life goes on. The driver goes on driving. The police go on doing their flimsy investigations. The government goes on making their unjust laws. The courts goes on enforcing unjust laws. The prosecutor goes on collecting their salaries. The victim goes on living with physical, psychological scars and from the accident. The victim goes on feeling heartbroken by the injustice of the justice system.
Yours faithfully,
Anthony Pantlitz
