William Bassant, who was on trial for carnally knowing a young girl, has died after ingesting a poisonous substance bringing the legal proceedings against him to an end.
The charge against the man was that between December 1 and 2, 2007 in the county of Demerara, he had carnal knowledge of a girl above the age of 15 and under 16.
He had pleaded not guilty upon indictment. Bassant’s matter was set to conclude on Monday, when Justice Jo-Ann Barlow was expected to sum-up the case and hand it over to the jury for their deliberations and the possible return of a verdict. However, when the case was called on Monday morning, the accused was a no-show. The judge then issued an arrest warrant and stood the matter down for continuation that afternoon.
Police who had gone to effect the warrant in search of Bassant, later reported to the court that efforts to locate him proved futile as calls to his residence had gone unanswered and the premises was tightly shut.
Bassant’s attorneys; Paul and Charlene Fung-a-Fat, were unable to account for their client’s absence from court
The judge then adjourned the matter to yesterday morning for continuation.
But on Tuesday afternoon, relatives of the accused visited the High Court in Georgetown where his trial was being conducted, and informed court officials that the man had committed suicide.
The court was told that Bassant had ingested a poisonous substance and had been found dead in his house.
