Three Dominican Republic nationals were last week each ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 and face immediate deportation out of Guyana for overstaying their permitted time in the country.
A city court heard that between March 19 and July 13, Wilaurdy Calderon, 23, and Fordalizza Tejeda, 25, natives of the Dominican Republic, failed to comply with their permits that only gave them permission to stay in Guyana from February 23 to March 18.
Calderon and Tejeda pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read to them by Magistrate Judy Latchman.
Meanwhile, another Dominican Republic native, Kelia Perez, 30, was also read a charge which stated that she, between May 31 and July 13, also failed to comply with her permit that only permitted her to stay in the country from April 30 to May 30. Perez also pleaded guilty to the charge. Police Prosecutor Kerry Bostwick told the court that all three of the women arrived in Guyana via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Bostwick said that upon their arrival, they were granted until their allotted times to stay. He said that on July 13, the police, acting on information, went to the Bartica Ferry area and contacted Perez, Tejeda and Calderon. The prosecutor said that the police asked the women for their passports and it was found that they had overstayed. He said that the women were then taken to Criminal Investigations Department, Eve Leary, where they were charged.
In mitigation, attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat, who represented all three women, they came to Guyana and fell in love with the wildlife and the cuisine.
The three Dominican Republican nationals were subsequently fined by the magistrate. If they failed to pay the fines, the women would each face two weeks in jail. They were also ordered deported.
