Two in court over littering

Two persons appeared yesterday before Magistrate Geeta Chandan Edmond in Court 10 at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with littering and one was fined while the other is to lead a defence in two weeks.

Joseph Freeman, a roadside vendor, pleaded guilty to depositing waste on Water Street on April 14. He was fined $10,000 and is expected to complete payment of the fine by April 22, or spend 20 days in jail.

Meanwhile, Patricia James who was charged with depositing waste on the Avenue of the Republic on April 15, also pleaded guilty. However, she explained to the court that she is a vendor and that she hired someone to place a piece of plywood in the compound of the Maraj Building as per usual. An officer apprehended her ad hoc employee and took him to her and subsequently charged her with the offence.

After listening to James’s explanation, the magistrate recorded a not-guilty plea and set the date for the trial to begin on April 30. James was placed on her own recognisance.