Dear Editor,

In response to your article published on July 11, 2008 under the caption, ‘Held over forgery of attorney’s signature,’ the article stated that the Berbice Land Registry employee was arrested and placed on “self bail.”

This is far from the truth; the clerk was invited to the police station then sent home.

A transfer was filed by one Shondell Yearwood to P. Heeralall.

According to the land registry clerk, she is an African woman in her 50s and weighs about 200lbs. On proceeding to check the transfer he noticed there were no witnesses on the document. Ms Dhanela Chandiprasad, Adrian Anamayah’s clerk was in the registry and he asked her how come they were filing transfers without witnesses and he requested her to sign as one.

This practice is not unusual, for if he sees a lawyer’s clerk in or out of the registry he would tell them their documents have been queried.

The article went on to state that “the clerk subsequently cancelled the receipt even through there are procedures to do so through the court.” The clerk cannot cancel the receipt, that is the job of the cashier who is employed with Deeds Registry (Land Registry is sharing space with this entity). My permission was sought by the land registry clerk to do so; I consented as is the standard procedure.

The documents in question were returned to Ms Yearwood as they were not recorded in the presentation book and property register.

I realize this is a ‘set up’ to get rid of me and the registry clerk as we do not bow to people’s wishes but do our job honestly, sincerely and to the best of our ability.

Yours faithfully,
Juliet Sattaur
Registrar of Lands

Editor’s note

We were told by the police that the Berbice Land Registry employee had been placed on “self bail.”