April 21-26, 2014
Monday 21
Easter Sunday morning fire ravages North Ruimveldt home
FIRE early Easter Sunday morning ravaged the home of a North Ruimveldt couple, reducing their hard-earned possessions to rubble and leaving them in a state of despair. Arthur and Jennifer Wong, who lived at 2927 North Ruimveldt, had just left the home when, around 08:30 hrs neighbours said they saw smoke coming from the back bedroom of the two-flat building, and within moments saw fire billowing from within. The ground floor of the building, said to have been a family property, housed CANJI Massage Parlour, operated by Jennifer Wong. The fire department was summoned and two tenders quickly arrived at the scene, but nothing was saved.

Jury in 2012 D’Urban St murder disagree on verdict
THE jury trying Anthony Morrison for the murder of his reputed wife Donna Thomas in May 2012 disagreed on a verdict. In relation to murder, the verdict has to be unanimous – all 12 jurors must be saying either ‘Not guilty’ or ‘Guilty.’ But in this particular case, eight of them were saying ‘not guilty’ while four were saying ‘guilty.’ In light of the disagreement, presiding Judge Mr. Navindra Singh had no alternative than to further remand the prisoner and order a new trial at the next criminal session.

No serious injuries as vehicle turns turtle at Houston bypass
A DRIVER narrowly escaped death when the car he was driving, licence plate PMM 4831, turned turtle in the vicinity of the Houston bypass. Eyewitnesses told the Guyana Chronicle that the man was overtaking another vehicle when he suddenly decided to divert onto the Houston bypass. In so doing, he clipped the front of the other vehicle, which caused his to topple before coming to a halt on the eastern parapet of the Houston bypass, on the lower East Bank. The errant driver, who was the only occupant of his vehicle, had visible lacerations to the head, and appeared quite bloodied.

Tuesday 22
DJ Casual’, Sean Hinds nursing gunshot wounds
CURTIS Armstrong, the popular 34-year-old radio announcer and disc jockey who operates under the name ‘DJ Casual’, as well as ex-cop Sean Hinds, were reportedly shot in the car park at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara. Police reported that the incident occurred at the Easter Fest Concert featuring international artistes Jah Cure and Sean Paul. ‘DJ Casual’ was reported to have been involved in a heated argument over ice, and a subsequent scuffle, with two men in the car park at the Stadium. Police said Hinds intervened in that argument and both were shot by two men.

Port Kaituma man shoots wife dead before turning gun on himself
TRAGEDY again struck the remote North West District at Port Kaituma when 62-year-old Victor Pires shot dead his reputed wife Pamela Martin, 39, before turning the weapon on himself, following a heated argument in the presence of their children on Easter Monday. Police found an improvised shotgun and three empty cartridges at the gruesome scene of the murder/suicide.

Jamaicans busted with marijuana at CJIA
RANKS of the Police Force’s Narcotics Branch conducted searches on the baggage of two Jamaican nationals who were on an incoming flight Easter Monday at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and found them with marijuana. The officers unearthed a total of 28 kilogrammes of compressed marijuana.
The Jamaican nationals, a man and a woman, were taken into custody.

Wednesday 23
Kaneville man slaughters brother in heated midnight argument
THIRTY–six–year-old Rohan ‘Janko’ Teekaram of Kaneville, East Bank Demerara allegedly chopped his brother, 38-old Jairam ‘Nasho’ Teekaram to death after a heated argument at their home late Easter Monday morning. The incident allegedly stemmed from ‘Nasho’ allowing his friend ‘Buck Boy’ to stay by the two unemployed brothers. Janko has been arrested.

Vandals deprive East Georgetown residents of landline phone service
THE Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) has, in a release, apologised to the residents of Sophia, Prashad Nagar, Blygezight, Bel Air, Bel Voir Court and parts of Cummings Lodge, whose services have been put down as a result of vandalism. The company has said that approximately 2,400 pairs of feeder cables have been severely damaged and would necessitate major repair, which would last for approximately five to seven days before service can be restored to the affected areas, while 15 metres have been stolen over the Easter Holidays. GT&T reiterated its call for communities to be vigilant for persons who set out to destroy such vital communication infrastructure, and to report such acts to the police and to GT&T’s vandalism hotline, 0908.

Minibus touts continue to harass city commuters
TOUTS who solicit passengers continue to plague the various minibus parks in the city much to the distaste of the travelling public. These unkempt and unmannerly people would assist bus operators to fill their vehicles for the different routes. Often they hassle persons, taking away their bags or holding onto and placing them in buses of their choice for a fee of $100 per bus. Their presence at the parks creates confusion in an already congested area and they, often, harass commuters, including children and the elderly. Despite numerous telephone calls to the relevant minibus organisations, no one was available to comment on this matter.

Thursday 24
Taxi driver shot in feud over female
TWENTY-YEAR OLD Rawle Braithwaite of South Ruimveldt Park, Georgetown was shot in the buttocks in a running feud between himself and another man. The taxi driver was accused of having a relationship with the ‘child mother’ of the assailant and the two had an argument about that. While Braithwaite was hanging out on the corner at the Exit in South Ruimveldt, at a car wash, the man with whom he had the argument the night before showed up. Rawle reportedly rushed to arm himself with a piece of wood to confront the man but by then the man reportedly whipped out his firearm and fired a shot at Braithwaite which struck him to the buttocks. The gunman escaped on his cycle.

Keith Burrowes is new Go-Invest CEO
EXECUTIVE Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest), Mr Keith Burrowes has now been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the country’s premier investment agency. This announcement was made by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon. Known for holding several concurrent portfolios, Burrowes had been serving as Chairman of GO-Invest, but Dr Luncheon explained that he has been relieved of that appointment, and is now only the CEO. GO-Invest was established under the Public Corporations Act of 1994 as a semi-autonomous body and falls directly under the purview of Office of the President.

Kite flying causes fire scare in Lodge
A MAJOR conflagration was averted in Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown as a fire started on a Guyana Power and Light (GPL) utility pole and surged along electricity lines. The blaze, which threatened houses and sent shivers down the spines of residents, resulted from a disruption of current along the lines caused by children flying kites in the neighbourhood, Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and GPL servicemen said. People who live in the vicinity said they heard a loud and strange sound coming from the post to which a transformer is fitted and, immediately, the attached wires began flaring and running along the conduits. Terrified, they called the GFS which dispatched a unit to the scene, as well as contacted the GPL Emergency Crew, summoning them to the scene of the explosion.

Friday 25
Blind Institute entering students for CSEC exams in June
THE Guyana Society for the Blind (GSB) has broken new ground in promoting the education and intellectual development of persons who are blind, visually impaired or have other physical disabilities. The GSB will, for the first time, be entering a batch of students (in-house trained), to write the Caribbean Secondary Education Council (CSEC) examinations in June this year. The programme which kicked off last year, with academic classes being held at the Guyana Institute for the Blind, entails the coaching of a class of 15 students, 10 of whom, will be writing CSEC exams within the next two months.

Unmasked gunmen shoot Patsan salesman dead
– make off with money bag
SALESMAN Bharat Ramcharan, 57, of Section ‘C’ Enterprise, East Coast Demerara was shot dead when two gunmen invaded his workplace, Patsan Trading Services at John Smith Street, Campbellville, and robbed him. Ramcharan, who worked at Patsan’s for over 10 years, was reportedly trailed by two men on a CG motor cycle from another location in the city, and as he arrived at his workplace, the pair entered the building behind him, shot him, and took away a bag containing money he had collected during the course of the day.

Alleged Mosque looter to post $75,000 bail
VERNON Seecharran was granted $75,000 bail after he pleaded not guilty to a charge of break and enter and larceny before New Amsterdam Magistrate, Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus. Seecharan, of Gay Park, Greater New Amsterdam, is accused of committing the break and enter offence at the storeroom of the Gay Park Masjid, from which he stole a generator valued $750,000, and five electric stand fans, totalling $817,000 in value. The case is fixed for hearing on May 12.

24th RHTYSC annual awards ceremony postponed to May 18
THE ROSE HALL Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) 24th Annual Awards ceremony at St Francis Training Centre has been postponed to May 18, due to unforeseen circumstances. The venue remains the same. The ceremony would feature the sharing out of close to $3M worth of trophies, medals, plaques, gifts and prizes to over 40 awardees and is viewed as the biggest of its kind in Guyana.
The club’s Cricketer of the Year for the period January 2013 to April 2014, would receive a package worth over $500 000, inclusive of a return trip to the United States of America, $200 000 in cash, jewellery, designer clothing, cell phones, electronic gadgets and household utensils. Some of the other major awards to be shared out would be Under-15 and Under-19 Cricketer of the Year, Most Promising Player, Most Committed Player and Female C.

Saturday 26
President hints at polygraph testing for disciplined forces
THE disciplined forces may soon be subjected to polygraph testing in order to weed out dishonest and corrupt members from its respective ranks, according to President Donald Ramotar. He made this statement as he reiterated his government’s support for integrity testing for senior public servants and other levels of servants within the public sector. Addressing the Annual Officers Conference of the Guyana Police Force, the President said: “It is necessary to ensure that (members of) the Force which is empowered with ensuring the safety and protection of citizens from criminals are themselves free from such elements.”

Region 2 tops at National Science Fair
REGION 2 (Pomeroon/ Supenaam) has emerged as the most outstanding region at the National Science, Mathematics and Technology Fair held at the Anna Regina Multilateral School on the Essequibo Coast from April 23-25.
Announcing the winning region, Chief Judge Ms Loris Oliver said the region was awarded first place winners in Agriculture Science, Craft and Visual Arts, Physics, Integrated Science, Industrial Technology, Information Technology and Chemistry. The region also won the best oral presentation in the primary and upper secondary categories, and the top position in the best overall project. A special prize was also awarded to the region for the involvement of nursery students in the fair.

Suicide hotline to be established by Police/Human Services Ministry
POLICE Commissioner, Seelall Persaud has disclosed that the Guyana Police Force and the Ministry of Human Services will be collaborating to establish a suicide hotline.
The Commissioner of Police was at the time addressing the opening of the Annual Police Officers’ Conference held at Eve Leary on Thursday. According to the Top Cop, this move is to help prevent suicide within communities. Persaud did not go into much detail about the new initiative but said that in the initial stages volunteers will be trained as councillors and will be taking calls through the hotline.