$75,000 fine for using forged passport

An elderly man, who tried to get on an outgoing flight with a forged passport, was yesterday fined $75,000 after he admitted to the felony at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

David Deochand, 71, admitted to presenting a Caribbean passport to Narrisa Phillips at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), knowing it to be forged.

Deochand’s lawyer, Paul Fung-a-Fat, explained to Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry that he had moved to Barbados, where he was in a relationship with a young woman, who forged the document because the one he had prior was expired.

Fung-a-Fat added that his client accepted that he was wrong was ready to face the consequences for it. As a result, the magistrate imposed the $75,000 fine with an alternative of six months imprisonment.