Frenchman entered country illegally to wed

-court hears

French national Marceino Browne, who admitted he entered Guyana illegally to marry a Guyanese woman, was yesterday fined $30,000.

Browne, 34, of France, admitted through an interpreter sent by the French Consulate, that he on July 3rd, at Charity, entered Guyana by sea without presenting himself to an immigration officer. The charge was read by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court One.

Browne, an electrician, told the court that he did present himself to the immigration office at Charity, but it was closed when he got there. He said that he then returned to the vessel that brought him into the country but it had already left when he returned.

When asked of the nature of his visit, Browne said he came to marry a Guyanese woman, whom he referred to as his “wife.”

Additionally he told the Chief Magistrate that he did not re-visit the immigration office on July 4 and instead he travelled from Essequibo to Georgetown.

The Chief Magistrate subsequently ordered that Browne pay a fine of $30,000 with an alternative of three months in jail.