IT is always refreshing to read about the just treatment of anyone who breaks the laws. Laws are there to be adhered to, and when people go ‘scot free,’ not only do they rejoice and laugh at the system, but the suffering party is made to look foolish. Dear Editor, in reading about the charging of an ex-policeman, and how he has been remanded to prison, on an armed robbery charge, is really heartening. It seems as though too many people, who are still in law enforcement, or those who had a stint with it, are of the opinion that they can live ‘above the law.’ Well,it is ‘bad news’for these people. Guyana has a system that works, and the pressing message is that such matters ‘be taken up and not left to chance.’ Only recently, the letter columns have been riddled with the exposing of quite a few ‘secret crimes.’ Too many times, women are being abused, passengers are being treated disrespectfully, and vandals are being left to operate at will etc. and no one does anything. The onus is on everyone to put an end to all of these activities. It is everybody’s business to make Guyana better. One way to achieve this is to expose these types of follies.
In the matter alluded to, the accused of ‘no address’ was not required to plead to the indictable offence, particulars of which said, that on August 31, he robbed Keith Mohabir, at gunpoint, of $18,000 and a cell phone valued $55,000. The police corporal prosecuting the case successfully objected to bail, on the ground that a firearm was used to commit the serious crime. This matter comes up again on September 12, so one hopes that, if convicted, the now accused will be condignly dealt with, and that the public will be inspired to always seek justice in the prescribed way.
It is never wise nor right to ‘take the law into one’s own hands.’
There was a time when Guyanese simply ‘turned a blind eye and deaf ear’ to criminal activities. Also, too many times people are wont to settle ‘out of court,’ just accepting little tokens as compensation. Please take note that the alleged perpetrator is an ex-policeman. So where did he get the ‘supposed’ gun? Also, when the law is not made the recourse, even if a victim is given compensation of some kind, the guilty person goes untouched. Nothing good comes out of this. So the plea is that everyone commits to a safer Guyana, and do this by simply resorting to the court.