Tuesday September 25, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 17
Fisherman kills self after Odinga Green walks free again! forcing baby to drink kerosene Up to late last night doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital were battling to save the life of a 21-month old boy whose father had forced him to drink a potentially deadly dose of kerosene before killing himself with another poisonous liquid. Jairaj Jaikarran was fed a glass of kerosene by his father 41-year-old fisherman, Mahendra Jaikarran, who collapsed and died minutes later in his neighbour’s yard, after he too had ingested a deadly dose of a so far unknown poison. Jaikarran’s older son, fiveyear old Neeraj, managed to flee to another neighbour’s yard after refusing the glass of kerosene that his father had offered him too. The incident, which occurred arou n d 0 8 : 2 0 hours at Mon Repos North, E a s t C o a s t D e m erara, stemmed from a domestic dispute that Jaikarran had with his reputed wife. Sources in the Mon
Mahendra Jaikarran Repos area said that whenever Jaikarran, a heavy drinker, returns from a fishing trip he would usually accuse his reputed wife of having an affair. As a result the couple would normally argue with each other in the presence of their children. One such argument took place on Sunday, prompting the woman to flee the house
Senior IT official sues GRA for ‘wrongful dismissal’ A senior official within the data entry department of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been dismissed and he is suing for over $2M. In a writ filed last week, Francis Simmons of the stateowned tax agency’s Management Information System (MIS) department is claiming damages in excess of $1M for wrongful dismissal. The writ was filed against GRA. Through his lawyer Stephen Lewis, he is also asking for another $1M for breach of contract and interest under the Law Reform Miscellaneous Provisions Act. There have been reported issues with GRA’s data entry centre. In recent years,
Attorney-at-law Stephen Lewis millions of dollars were lost in revenues because of manipulations in the entries of transactions with businesses.
with the two children after Jaikarran threatened her with violence. Early yesterday, Jaikarran collected his two children from his wife and took them home. A few minutes later, fiveyear old Neeraj Jaikarran ran back to his mother and told her that his father was giving his brother kerosene to drink. By the time his mother reacted, Jaikarran had already forced the child to drink and was already out of the house. The woman eventually grabbed the child and rushed him to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was admitted. Meanwhile, Jaikarran went to a friend’s house nearby where he was seen with a bottle in his hand, acting strangely. According to a neighbour, when the friend asked what was the matter, Jaikarran dismissed him as if nothing was wrong. “All he say is ‘Boy me done!’” the neighbour told this newspaper. Jaikarran was then led outside the yard where he started vomiting before collapsing to the ground. He appeared to be dead. No effort was made to take him for medical attention. His father, Mahadeo Jaikarran, who lives a short distance away, told Kaieteur News that he saw his son alive around 06:00 hours yesterday. “He come by me fuh $500 fuh buy milk fuh de li’l boy and I give he,” Mahadeo Jaikarran recalled. He said that about two hours later he received word about what his son had done and he immediately went across to confirm the information. It did not take him long to ascertain that his son had ingested poison for he found him lying motionless on the ground with what appeared to be froth coming from his mouth. The p olice were subsequently informed and they are awaiting a post mortem examination on Jaikarran’s body.
Police hunt two teens Marijuana users following stabbing Police are still trying to Reports added that while sentenced locate a 17-year-old and his the injured teen did not older brother from Mashabo. The younger of the two brothers, it was reported, allegedly inflicted multiple stab wounds with a knife to the back of another teenager from the Essequibo Coast. The incident occurred Sunday night in the Amerindian community. The teen, who is in a serious condition, is said to be receiving saline at the Suddie Public Hospital. The older brother of the teen apparently dealt slaps to the now injured teen.
retaliate, he was observed holding onto the older brother. During that episode, the younger brother sneaked up and proceeded to stab the victim with a knife. This recent incident is said to be the second wounding to occur on two previous heritage celebrations. Two brothers were involved in a fight last year. The younger brother was hospitalised after he sustained injuries at the hands of his older brother.
Rudy Persaud and Martin Eastman, who both had cannabis in their possession, were yesterday fined $3000 each and ordered to perform three months community service by (Ag) Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry. The two accused each had one gram of the illegal substance in their possession. They pleaded guilty to the charges. Eastman said that he suffers from malaria and uses the drugs as medication.
By Latoya Giles Former death row inmate and murder accused, Odinga Greene, called ‘Dingo’ can consider himself twice lucky as he was freed yesterday by Justice Franklyn Holder who upheld no case submissions made on his behalf. Greene, 36, of Wisroc Housing Scheme, Linden, and also of Lot 73 Leopold Street, Georgetown, was on trial for the murder of 28-yearold Nazalene Mohamed of Lot 1 East Ruimveldt Front Road which occurred between February 2 and February 12, 2007. He was represented by Attorney-atLaw Nigel Hughes. Greene had been convicted of the murder of Sandra Harvey on April 26, 2004, and was sentenced to death by Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes. On appeal, a retrial was ordered by the Guyana Court of Appeal and this was done before Justice Jaynarayan Singh who upheld no case submissions and freed Greene on May 12, 2005. Three years later, Greene was before the Courts again, this time charged with Mohamed’s murder. In both cases, Greene admitted taking the women to Linden where they were both found bound and strangled. He gave statements in which he claimed in both cases that the women were left with “a man”. Harvey was murdered between December 9 and December 12, 1999. Greene was subsequently found with her jewellery. His defence was that she had given it to him. In upholding no case submissions yesterday, Justice Holder directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty for Greene and following this, told him that he was free to go. Greene and his relatives thanked the Judge before hastily exiting the courtroom, even as the sister of the dead woman began crying. As she left the
courtroom, she could be heard saying, “There is no justice in this country.” The Prosecution’s case, led by Senior State Counsel Judith Mursalin, together with Diana Kaulesar, was that on the evening of February 2, 2007, Greene had arrived at Mohamed’s home with a car where Mohamed and her friend, Desha, called ‘Black Girl’, joined the car. Mohamed’s mother, Jenny Martin, asked her why she was wearing all her jewellery and she said it was because Odinga told her that she should wear all because she “had to look nice where she was going”. Upon enquiring where she was going, Mohamed told her mother “Cayenne”. She was never heard from again. Some 10 days later, the decomposing remains of a woman were discovered in an abandoned coal pit at Third Phase, Wisroc. An autopsy was performed on the body by Dr. Nehaul Singh, following which the body was buried at a cemetery in Linden. Based on 34 photographs taken of the corpse by Corporal Troy Yorrick, Jenny Martin positively identified her daughter by a red and green tattoo around her navel. Mohamed had been tied from her toes to her ankles
and then to her wrists. A female blouse and a black string were tied tightly around her neck. All her jewellery was missing and her gold capped teeth were also removed from her mouth. She was still dressed in the clothing her mother last saw her wearing when she left with the accused. Dr. Singh gave the cause of death as asphyxiation as a result of ligature strangulation. The day following their trip to Linden, Greene returned to Georgetown and then fled to Suriname where he assumed the identity of “Orlando Lewis.” Some 13 months later, in March 2008, he was brought back to Guyana by Surinamese Police and handed over to Inspector Ray Geness at Moleson Creek Police Outpost where he maintained that his name was Orlando Lewis. When he was taken to the Central Police Station, he was identified as “Odinga Greene” by Superintendent Chapman, following which he was escorted to CID, Eve Leary, and then to Linden. When told by ASP Julius Wright of the allegation that he had murdered Mohamed, Greene gave a lengthy oral statement in which he admitted to taking her to Linden but that they had gone there “to buy weed”.
Narco accused granted bail Sherwin Garraway, a sugarcane harvester of Lot 409 Caneville, East Bank Demerara, is accused of having six grams of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking. He subsequently admitted to the charge which was read by (Ag) Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday. However, the Magistrate entered a not guilty plea for the accused after he refuted the claims of the police.
Garraway told the court that the police arrested him while he was on “the road looking to buy some food.” “The police stop me and went behind a stand, then they show me a packet and tell me is me own. I didn’t have it with me.” The prosecution did not object to what the accused had to say and he was therefo r e r e l e a s e d o n $50,000 bail. Garraway is scheduled to make his next c o u r t a p p e a r ance on October 2.
Awareness campaign nets increase ... From page 16 for that reason would not speak. Of the 3,999 incidents of child abuse, 60 per cent were counseled, 16 per cent were reported to the police, whilst three per cent of the cases went to court. Of 489 children, 50 per cent were placed with Family/ Relatives Kinship, 33 per cent were placed in residential care facility, and 11 per cent were placed in foster care. Officials say that since children cannot protect themselves alone, adults must learn to recognise and inquire about behaviors that make children vulnerable or suggest that abuse has occurred. Adults must not wait for children to speak about abuse. This position leaves
them to face the confusion and trauma of victimisation on their own. Keen attention must be paid to the early signs of abuse. Parents must learn to listen and take seriously the verbal and non-verbal cues of children suffering from the sexual advances of adults. Director of the Child Protection Agency, Ann Greene, had noted that this is the eighth year her agency is acknowledging that Child Protection Week is being observed worldwide. This, she said, is being done so that people can be reminded that “No child deserves to be abused since child abuse robs children of the persons they would have become”.
According to the statistical bulletin, this increase in cases is due to the awareness campaigns of the Rights of the Children and the relevant safety nets in place. Nevertheless, experts say cases of child abuse in the education system are not reported to the agency since many schools try to contain the issue(s) and deal with the situation at their level. It was further noted that the law says if any teacher or professional knows that a child is being abused, it is their duty to report it. Failing to do so could attract legal sanction. The head teacher is supposed to report cases; a lot needs to be done by the heads, and even other teachers.