Charges against four youths, accused of stealing 55 pounds of fish glue, were dismissed on Monday at the Blairmont Court after the virtual complainant (VC) indicated under oath that he did not wish to proceed with the matter.
It is alleged that between January 18 and 20 two youths, both 16-years-old, Feroze Alli, 19 and Chaitraj Bishram, 20 all of Rosignol, West Berbice broke and entered a storeroom at the Rosignol Fisheries belonging to a fisherman, Latchman and stole 55 pounds of fish glue worth $250,000.
Representing the defendants, attorney-at-law, Joel Persid Edmond informed the court that the money would be repaid and that the parties have agreed to settle the matter.
But the magistrate was not prepared to let the matter drop easily and was contemplating sending the defendants to prison or to the New Opportunity Corps. He said the offence is prevalent in Rosignol and that “matters of that nature should not be dealt with in a hurry.”
He noted that resolving the issue would not solve the problem of the society and that the perpetrators may continue with the malpractice.
In reply, the lawyer said a harsh penalty is not always the way youths learn and that he has already given his clients a stern warning and has also been offering counselling to them. He did not think placing his clients in prison would help the situation and urged the court to “embark on an amicable solution.”
Police prosecutor Sergeant Donna Grant-Fraser made a request for Latchman to give sworn evidence from the box about his intentions to have the charges withdrawn. He then received full payment in cash for the fish in open court from the mother of one of the defendants.
The magistrate subsequently placed the defendants on a bond and ordered that they perform six months of community services (CS), failing which they would face three months imprisonment.
The CS would be done two days per week for four hours at the Blairmont Community Centre Ground, Number 3 Settlement for the number one, two and four defendants. Alli who would be relocating to the East Coast with his mother was ordered to perform his tasks at the Cove & John Police Station.
