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Friday April 30, 2021
LATE AFTERNOON FIRE DESTROYS DOWNTOWN SHOPPING MALL CANU, SURINAME POLICE COOPERATE IN DRUG BUST
MAN WITH TWO WIVES FINED $100,000
LIFE SENTENCE FOR SOPHIA KILLER
Friday April 30, 2021
LATE AFTERNOON FIRE DESTROYS DOWNTOWN SHOPPING MALL
While hundreds of workers remain out of a job and occupants are counting hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, has explained that if the Guyana Fire Service would have understood
the layout of the building the disaster at Sharon’s Mall could have been averted A fire which started just after 17:00 hours on Wednesday and quickly escalated to engulf the entire building some two hours later saw most of the
occupants losing almost everything in the process. They had been told that the fire was under control when smoke was first observed coming from the building. With the fire looking like it could have controlled at one point,
CANU, SURINAME POLICE COOPERATE IN DRUG BUST
As Customs AntiNarcotics Unit continues to try to have a grip on narcotic trafficking within Guyana and on its borders, it recently collaborated with the Surinamese police and together both intercepted 902 Reports coming out of Suriname indicated that the bust took place as the drugs were being transported from Tafelberg, in Suriname’s interior to the capital city, Paramaribo. The report added that this would have been a success but for the operation that was
carried out by members of the Suriname Police Corps (KPS) and other security services. In a statement from CANU, the body has indicated that this bust forms a part of a close collaboration with the Surinamese authorities. This, according to CANU, adds to their success in fighting the drug trade and organized trade beyond the Guyana Borders. “Organised crime is a transnational problem and requires trusted cooperation among law enforcement authorities
in the region and further afield,” CANU said. This level of cooperation is part of the Government of Guyana’s multi-faceted approach to suppress and ultimately eliminate the scourge of drug trafficking in Guyana. The strategy will continue to be enhanced to deter traffickers from using Guyana to further their illicit activity. This collaboration according to CANU will continue through intelligence sharing to fight drug and organized crime together.
to a point where nothing could have been saved, many persons have been critical of the fire service and its operations. Some are of the view that better could have been done. Speaking to the media during the fire, Minister Benn insisted that much could have been done by the Fire service if there was a clear understanding of the structure of the building. “The Fire Service needs to better understand the type of building construction, and the challenges they have in getting actively engaged on a scene,” Benn noted. Mr Benn explained that the current structure of the building would have caused some difficulties in the judgement of the fire
service. “They may have thought they had the situation under control but that reticulation, the wiring of the building, and the drop ceilings proved a problem. So, when we got here the fire suddenly got to another floor and just as suddenly got to this side. That is the issue. “So, if there is electrical wiring and whatever else in the ceiling that is why it is burring along with any other flammable material around,” Benn Insisted. Benn said that going ahead, the wiring along with other structures of the buildings must be looked at to prevent such a situation from occurring again. “Obviously, there are issues we have to look at;
things like the construction of the building and other fundamental issues. The use of fire alarms, the provision of the sprinkler system and the provision of riser mains in these type of buildings when they get a couple of storeys high.” Just after 5 PM a small amount smoke was emanating from the building. It quickly escalated into a large fire, which has caused many to lose their valuables. Among the victims are lawyers, Boutique, Salons, and a Makeup Studio owner. According to some Owners, who were at the time closing their businesses, they saw smoke coming from the second floor next to the Charlotte Street entrance.
LIFE SENTENCE FOR SOPHIA KILLER
Two weeks after pleading guilty to gunning down a birthday boy back in 2018, Travis Evans, called “Short Boss” was today slapped with a life sentence. Short Boss was today sentenced by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Georgetown High Court for murder after he opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter two weeks ago. It was back on August 2, 2018, at C Field Sophia, when he unlawfully killed Ronsley Clarke. According to reports, on the day in question
Clarke was at a birthday celebration at Sophia and was standing in front of a shop with some friends. Short Boss reportedly walked up to Clarke, while hanging out with some friends and shot him several times. He then made good his escape and was later arrested. He told officers that he and Clarke had a problem and he saw it as an opportune time to murder him. Clarke was at the time celebrating his birthday. Short Boss is also before the court for another murder and rape. He was one of three
prisoners who escaped from the Lusignan Prisons on October 15, 2018. He was recaptured days later. He is charged for the August 2018 murder of legal clerk, Gregory Wayne Frank, during a robbery at his Lot 686 Kuru Kururu, SoesdykeLinden Highway home. Short Boss is also on remand for the rape and the robbery charges which read that, on October 30, 2010, in the county of Demerara, while being armed with a knife, he robbed a woman of $650,500 and also raped her.
Guyana Post Wednesday April 28, 2021
MISSING 20-YEAR-OLD FOUND IN SHALLOW GRAVE, SISTER ARRESTED ‘Let’s take her to hospital’ and he said: “No she died already”. He then accompanied the sister to his father and told him what he did and his father told him ‘don’t tell me stupidness. Why (you) playing with the
gun?’ They subsequently left and collected a spade from a man and dug a hole aback of the house where the victim was buried. The suspect then hid the gun. In the wee hours of this morning, on her directions, ranks went into action and dug up the area about four feet down during which they stumbled upon the body of a female, partly
Hospital Complex and pronounced dead on arrival at 03:50hrs. It is now at the Pensioners Mortuary where it is being stored awaiting PME. The 15-yr-old was placed into custody pending investigations. The father of the suspect was also arrested and placed in custody pending investigations. The police are now on the hunt for the boyfriend.
said location. During the search of the building and in the presence of the owner several packages containing what is suspected to be marijuana
were discovered. The drugs weigh over 56 pounds and were placed in 53 packages. Subsequently, the Owner was arrested, as the investigation continues
Shaquan Allen After being missing for close to a month, a 20-year-old Linden girl was found in a shallow grave buried allegedly by her boyfriend with gunshot wounds to her body. The victim, Shonette Dover, a bartender of Canvas City, Wismar, Linden, went missing on April 3, 2021. The matter was reported on April 5, 2021. After close to a month-
long search her 15-yearold sister led a party of policemen this morning to where her sister was buried. The body was partially decomposed at Canvas City, Wismar, Linden. The police informed the public that they would have made contact with the young sister just before midnight last night and it was just after midnight that the sister led them to the
area where her sister was buried. She was later arrested along with her father after it became known that they allegedly knew what transpired. The teenager was taken to Child Care and Probation Officer ať Wismar Police Station Criminal Investigation Department. She was later subjected to a video interview, during which she was
oiling ‘his brownish gun in their living room’. Allen then pointed the gun at the victim who told him ‘he likes to play and he should put away that thing.’ The sister says she then heard a sound like a squib and the (suspect) said ‘Oh shoot, I shoot that girl’. She then saw Shonette’s mouth open and blood on her face. She said to Shaquan,
due to problems that arose out of their relationship. Taylor without divorcing his wife moved out of their marital home to live with his new lover and later married her. Somerset, while visiting the General R e g i s t r a r ’s O f f i c e (GRO) got the surprise of her life that Taylor while still being her husband married his new lover. A report was made to the police and Taylor was later arrested and charged. In court, Taylor claimed that he was not aware that they were both still married since Somerset had promised to file for a divorce for the two.
Ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) have made yet another large marijuana discovery, this time in, Kingston, Little India #79 Village, Corriverton.
They also detained a man identified as 41-year-old, Wesley Antonio Barry. In a statement coming from CANU, the ranks conducted a search yesterday afternoon at the
MAN WITH TWO WIVES FINED $100,000
A man who had not divorced his wife but later married his new lover has been fined $100,000 or in default spend the next 12 months in prison. The Convict 35-yearold Ramp Attendant, Michael Taylor, was on trial before Magistrate Rondel Weever. He was found guilty of the charge of bigamy. It was back in May 2020 that Taylor was charged for bigamy and released on $50,000. Taylor married his Wife, Shena Somerset, in 2015. The two separated in late 2019
decomposed. Due to the decomposed state of the body, it was difficult to see any marks of violence on the most exposed parts of the body. The body was escorted to the Linden
told of an allegation, cautioned by the Judges Rules, and provided a statement. Information provided alleges that on the night the victim went ‘missing’, her boyfriend, Shaquan Allen, was
Shonette Dover
CANU MAKES CORRIVERTON DRUG BUST
Guyana Post Tuesday April 27, 2021
Man rapes daughter for seven years, COVID-19 claims 52 lives to date in gets 28 years, 24 lashes
A man who raped his daughter for about seven-and-a-half years was jailed for 28 years and sentenced to 24 strokes of the cane on Monday. The 44-year-old Singapore permanent resident had also molested his daughter’s best friend when he came by to hang out with her. By his own count, the man had raped his daughter, now 13, between 10 and 20 times, and forced her to perform oral sex on him even more times. Both man and daughter cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity. Sentencing the man from the European Union, Justice Mavis Chionh noted four aggravating factors to his offence: the vulnerability of the young victim, the man’s abuse of his position of authority and trust, the premeditation, and grooming of the victim, and that the sex acts were unprotected. “I should add that the tenderness of the victim’s years and the pathos of her vulnerability are obvious from the (statement of facts). At the start …she was a young girl afraid of showering alone. At the tail end, she was by all accounts still a young
girl afraid to return to her room to sleep because she found the sounds of her room fan weird. “The greatest tragedy, in this case, is that she (was) robbed of her childhood innocence by her own father.” She noted that the prosecution told the court that even today, the daughter continues to write letters to her father to tell him that she loves him. “This is the other great tragedy in this case that the victim (was) preyed upon by the person meant to protect her,” she added. As for the mitigation, Justice Chionh took into account the man’s plea of guilt, which spared the victim the trauma of having to testify in court. She did not assign mitigating weight to the man being diagnosed with a pedophilic disorder or that he had no criminal history, given the lengthy period he had been abusing his daughter. His offences were committed from 2011 to 2019. The man earlier pleaded guilty to three charges of statutory rape of his daughter when she was between nine and 11 years old. Another 19 charges of a similar nature, such as sexually assaulting his daughter, showing
her pornography and molesting her friend, were taken into consideration for sentencing. His wife has since divorced him. The man worked as a product manager in Singapore and stayed in a condominium with his wife, their daughter, and her baby brother. The couple, who were married overseas, moved to Singapore in 2008. The man first sexually assaulted his daughter when she was between three and seven years old. After watching a television programme about people drowning while swimming, the girl became afraid of showering alone and took a shower with her father. At that point, the man developed a “sexual desire” to touch the girl. He realised then that he was a pedophile and there was “no turning back”. He continued abusing her for the next seven-and-a-half years, with the sexual assaults increasing in frequency after the family moved houses. He knew that the girl did not like the incidents as she would keep her face turned to the side when they happened, to avoid looking at him. He would go into the girl’s bedroom or ask her to enter his bedroom, before
locking the door and raping or sexually assaulting her. When the girl expressed reluctance, he would say it would only take a few minutes. The girl often felt she could not protest further as the man was her father, whom she should listen to. At times, the man would show her pornographic material from his phone or laptop. One of these was a child having sex with her father. He also molested his daughter’s best friend when the girl went over to play and watch movies. This girl stayed in the same condominium, and her parents regarded the man and his wife as “close friends”. He kissed this girl on the lips and told her to keep it a secret. Once, as the man, his daughter, and her best friend watched a movie in the master bedroom, the man molested both girls at the same time while lying between them. Eventually, this girl stopped going to the daughter’s house. The police eventually learned of the sexual assault after the second victim made a police report about the man’s inappropriate behavior. In June 2019, as the girl’s best friend was preparing to undergo her first communion in her home country, she was asked to confess her sins and revealed the man’s offences. She made a police report upon returning to Singapore. The man was then arrested. When settling the man’s affairs, his wife came across child erotica stories in his email inbox. The man had downloaded and sent these to himself.
April
…4 more deaths, whopping 152 new cases recorded
The Health Ministry on Saturday reported the death toll for the month of April as 48. On Sunday there were two more deaths. Since the pandemic started, Guyana has seen 286 persons succumbing to the virus. From 1760 swabs that were taken for analysis on Saturday, 152 persons tested positive for COVID-19. Now, the total confirmed cases are at 12,600 – 6364 males In the facilities, 16 patients are seeking treatment in the Intensive Care Unit, with 74 in institutional isolation and 11 in institutional quarantine. Another 1529 persons are in home isolation. Guyana has tested 117,000 persons thus far and some 10,702 infected persons have since recovered. New cases were detected across eight administrative regions with three in Region One (Barima-Waini); six in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); 30 in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara); 83 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); three in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); 12 in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); seven in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and eight in Region 10 (Upper
Demerara-Berbice). During an engagement on Saturday, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony reminded Guyanese to take their vaccines as it offers 100 percent protection against coronavirus deaths. Persons were also asked to encourage those within their neighbourhood and various social circles to get immunised. “It would reduce your possibility of getting into the hospital. It would reduce your possibility of getting into the ICU and it would prevent you from dying, which is very important. All the vaccines that are right now in use totally prevent people from dying from COVID. Let us remember that so we can persuade people to take this vaccine,” the health official positioned. He added, “The Government of Guyana has invested a lot of money to ensure that we procure vaccines for every single adult in Guyana… We have tied up some arrangements to ensure that everyone in Guyana would be able to get that COVID-19 vaccine. “That cannot be said for many countries. What we need to do is to ensure that people take the vaccine. It is of absolutely no use if we have these vaccines and we keep them in a room.”
Guyana Post Tuesday April 27, 2021
Mayor Narine requests Human Services Ministry immediate financial accepting WhatsApp calls assistance from Government
as proof of life for old age pensioners
The Georgetown Municipality is suffering under the management of the Government of Guyana, the Municipality is yet to receive its budgetary subventions of $10million for 2020 and $30 million for 2021. Meanwhile, two hundred million dollars is set to be handed by the Government of Guyana to employees working in an unproductive sugar industry. Guyanese heads of organizations, citizens of Georgetown and
across Guyana, and Guyanese within the diaspora all complain of the state of the city, especially where the collection of garbage and the rise in the spread of COVID-19 in the city. The City Markets need to be closed to facilitate deep cleaning for full sanitation to aid in reducing and spreading COVID-19 in and across the city’s shopping areas. The city sprays and fumigates the markets weekly to maintain a healthy environment
COVID death toll mounts
The Ministry of Health (MOH) regrettably informs that as of April 26, 2021, another person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has died. This takes the total
number of deaths from the pandemic to 287. The latest fatality is one 46-year-old male from Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne) who died while receiving care at our medical facility
and prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is now time for a deep cleanse of the Markets as the rise in the infection of COVID-19 and deaths is spiraling out of control. The Markets and the city environment need to be fumigated to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the city. The United States has warned its citizens on travel to Guyana because of the increasing number of COVID-19 infections and deaths.
The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security wishes to advise pensioners who have to provide quarterly Life Certificates to ensure continuous old age pension payments are deposited into their bank accounts can now make a WhatsApp video call to the Ministry to confirm proof of life. Currently, life certificates are signed and stamped by
either a Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, Commissioner of Oaths, Medical Practitioner, Head Teacher, Minister of Religion or a Manager of a Bank or Branch of a Bank and can be dropped off at any of the Ministry’s Offices countrywide or scanned and emailed to pension@mhsss.gov.gy. The Ministry, mindful of the need to be adaptable to this category of our elderly citizens, will
now be facilitating video submissions as proof that they are alive. Pensioners can video call our staff via WhatsApp 6621572 Monday through Thursday – 8:00 am to 4 30 pm and Friday – 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. Additionally, during the call, they would have to clearly show some form of valid identification, albeit National ID or passport.
COVID-19 claims 52 lives to date in April …4 more deaths, whopping 152 new cases recorded
The Health Ministry on Saturday reported the death toll for the month of April as 48. On Sunday there were two more deaths. Since the pandemic started, Guyana has seen 286 persons succumbing to the virus. From 1760 swabs that were taken for analysis on Saturday, 152 persons tested positive for COVID-19. Now, the total confirmed cases are at 12,600 – 6364 males In the facilities, 16 patients are seeking treatment in the Intensive Care Unit, with 74 in institutional isolation and 11 in institutional quarantine. Another 1529
persons are in home isolation. Guyana has tested 117,000 persons thus far and some 10,702 infected persons have since recovered. New cases were detected across eight administrative regions with three in Region One (Barima-Waini); six in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); 30 in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara); 83 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); three in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); 12 in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); seven in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and eight in Region 10 (Upper
Demerara-Berbice). During an engagement on Saturday, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony reminded Guyanese to take their vaccines as it offers 100 percent protection against coronavirus deaths. Persons were also asked to encourage those within their neighbourhood and various social circles to get immunised. “It would reduce your possibility of getting into the hospital. It would reduce your possibility of getting into the ICU and it would prevent you from dying, which is very important. All the vaccines that are right now in use totally prevent people
from dying from COVID. Let us remember that so we can persuade people to take this vaccine,” the health official positioned. He added, “The Government of Guyana has invested a lot of money to ensure that we procure vaccines for every single adult in Guyana… We have tied up some arrangements to ensure that everyone in Guyana would be able to get that COVID-19 vaccine. “That cannot be said for many countries. What we need to do is to ensure that people take the vaccine. It is of absolutely no use if we have these vaccines and we keep them in a room.”
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