Acting on information received, Berbice Police swooped down on an abandoned house in Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Thursday, July 17, and apprehended two French-speaking individuals illegally residing there.
Requesting to see their documents, Police discovered that the men, Haitian nationals, had overstayed their time in Guyana and had never sought to extend their stay in the country.
The two apparently confused men were arraigned on that same day before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The charge against 36-year-old Hersuese Martin alleged that, between April 2, 2017 and July 17, 2017, at Georgetown, he failed to comply with conditions subject to which any permit had been granted; that is to say, having been permitted to stay in Guyana from March 1, 2017 to April 1, 2017, he overstayed the said period.
And the charge against 28-year-old Burtuni Luizus alleged that, between March 29, 2017 and July 17, 2017, he dishonoured the conditions of a permit which granted him a one-month stay in Guyana.
Through an interpreter, both defendants pleaded guilty as charged, and the Chief Magistrate fined each defendant $30,000, in default of which they would be subjected to six weeks’ imprisonment.
She also ordered that they be escorted to the nearest port of exit after paying the fine or serving the sentence, from when they would be deported from Guyana.
The last time this publication saw the men, they were fetching their heavy luggage as they boarded official transportation en route to the Lusignan Prison.
