A man who obtained money by pretending to be in a position to help his friend acquire a new passport was sentenced to two years imprisonment yesterday by acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson after he pleaded guilty to the offence.
Shawn Younge, 41, of Belladrum Village, Berbice, on March 13, 2008 obtained $15,000 from Orlando Harlequin by pretending to be in a position to obtain a Government of Guyana passport, knowing same to be false.
He said that the two went to the passport office where he offered to help Harelquin obtain the travel document. He said afterwards he travelled to Linden where he left the documents. He told the court that he utilised the money for transportation expenses.
Harelquin said that he had to return to work at sea so he accepted Younge’s offer of assistance.
Police Prosecutor Inspector Stephen Telford said that Harlequin gave Younge his old passport, birth certificate and the money since he had said that he was in a position to get him a new passport. However when the complainant tried to locate Younge, he could not find him. While at the Stabroek Market on July 1, he saw him and alerted the police as to his presence. He was later arrested and charged with the offence.
Younge asked the magistrate to place him on self-bail so that he could get the money to repay Harlequin. However he was sentenced to jail by the magistrate.
