NEWS
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Boat Captain drowns after colliding with wharf
Dead: James Bender of Sand Hills, Berbice River
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boat captain is now dead after the boat he was operating collided with a wharf in the Berbice River. Dead is 49-year-old James Bender of Sand Hills, Berbice River. The accident occurred at about 01:00h on Saturday morning at Kimbia, Berbice River, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), how-
ever, Bender’s body was found at about 02:00h on Monday. At the time of the accident, there was another man in the boat, who went to Deputy Toshao of Kimbia, Rawle Walker and reported the mishap. However, a resident of Kimbia, Debra Jones, discovered the body floating in the wee hours of the morning. “We saw the body floating, from the tummy was out of the water and it is just swollen. I took it in the corner and I tied the body,” Jones said, adding “when somebody drowned you have to keep looking for them before they raise, float and gone…” Meanwhile, the Deputy Toshao, Walker, noted that a villager was in the vicinity of Kimbia when he requested to operate the boat since Bender was under the influence of alcohol. The villager related that Bender refused, saying that he did not allow anyone to operate his boat. “He told me they end up driving and they crashed into a wharf and Bender fell out of the boat. That is the report he brought to me that
Undertakers removing James Bender’s body from the boat
James fall out of the boat and he went to drive the boat and when he turned it around to check for Bender, he was nowhere around.
The rain was falling and the place was dark when he came to me at around 1 o’clock (01:00h),” the Deputy Toshao related.
He added that he immediately made arrangements for a message to be sent to relatives of the missing man. “We tried to use the internet to get on to his relatives at Sand Hills but the internet was not working because of the rain, so I told him to take the boat and go to Sand Hills and tell them.” After the body was found it was taken to New Amsterdam. However, relatives have since requested that the body be removed from the funeral parlour where the Police took it as a result of a previous unpleasant experience. The man’s sister-in-law, Simone DeCouna, said that in April 2020, her brother, Julian McKenzie, who was among four persons who lost their lives in a boat mishap, was taken to the very parlour but by the time he was ready to be buried, his body was decomposing. “They spoil a body before, not again I am pleading with them and they are still carrying the body there,” the grieving woman said. An investigation has been launched into the drowning. (G4)
Qatar field hospital expected today Man charged for posting nude …to boost COVID-19 fight
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uyana’s COVID-19 fighting capacity is set to be boosted with the arrival of a field hospital from Qatar today. Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony said the mobile hospital will be established in the compound of the West Demerara Regional Hospital at Best village, and would accommodate 60 beds. It would also be fully equipped with the necessary equipment to treat critically ill patients. “This hospital would
have the beds required for COVID-19 patients and will also have things like ventilators and monitors so if it’s necessary to intubate someone that will be able to do that. They will have all the necessary equipment to assist somebody who’s critically ill… this would increase our capacity to respond to spikes,” Dr Anthony is quoted by DPI as saying. The field hospital is part of the realisation of a commitment made by Qatar to the
Guyana Government October last. President Dr Ifaan Ali and Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had held discussions on the countries’ bilateral relations. Guyana has also benefited from COVID support from other countries including, Mexico, China, India and Kuwait. The country has received donations of several ventilators, and quantities of medication and personal protective equipment to boost its capacity.
photos of teen on WhatsApp
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33-year-old Kitty, Georgetown resident was on Monday released on $300,000 bail after he was charged with posting nude photographs of a 16-year-old girl on his WhatsApp status. Ryan Seecharran pleaded not guilty to the charge which was read to him by Principal Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The charge stated that on January 10, 2021, at Kitty, he used a computer system to publish obscene/explicit photographs of the young girl to humiliate and cause her substantial emotional distress. He will make his next court appearance
on February 15. Based on information, Seecharran and the teenager are friends. As the friendship progressed, Seecharran asked the girl to be in an intimate relationship with him, but she declined his request. The Prosecution is contending that Seecharran then became angry, and it is alleged that he posted nude photographs of the girl on his WhatsApp status. According to the facts of the case, the girl had sent the pictures to a female friend, who, in turn, sent them to the defendant. More charges are expected to be laid against Seecharran, according to the Prosecutor. (G1)
