Monday 18
Bee Hive man found dead in self-built makeshift coffin
THIRTY-EIGHT-year-old Jeewan Seenauth, aka Teddy, of Bee Hive, East Coast Demerara, was found dead at his home in a makeshift coffin that he had allegedly built. Seenauth had reportedly been planning this event for a very long while, but family members never thought he had really meant it. They were shocked and incredulous when Seenauth made good on his promise. His relatives descried him as a loving and caring person.

Soyini Fraser keeps Jamzone 2014 crown on local shores
THE delegate line-up this year was certainly not as exquisite as last year’s, save for the compelling presence of Miss Guyana, Soyini Fraser, Miss Trinidad and Tobago, Yaya Henry, Miss Bahamas, Lexie Wilson, and Miss Barbados, Dannyele Leslie. However, it was the captivating Miss Guyana, Soyini Fraser who eventually fused intelligence and ‘Guyanese sizzle’ to cart off the coveted crown and the whopping US$10,000 and bragging rights associated with the pageant. In second place was Miss Barbados, Dannyele Leslie, with Miss Bahamas, Lexie Wilson placing third. In the fourth runner-up spot was Trinidad’s Yaya Henry, with Jamaica’s Joanna Sadler placing fifth.

Agricola children to graduate from three-month art & craft programme
ALMOST 60 children from Agricola yesterday graduated from a three-month art and craft training programme conducted by professional art and craft designer, Indira Hicken, wife of ‘A’ Division Commander, Clifton Hicken. The training sessions, which started in June, were made possible through intervention of the head teacher and several other generous persons from Agricola, as well as the business community, which has been supporting the initiative — brainchild of Commander Hicken but falling under the Guyana Police Force with respect to its new approach in engaging the various communities through their leaders and representatives.

Tuesday 19
‘CG’ bandits shoot businessman dead, escape with bag of money
BUSINESSMAN Ashok Raghu, 43, of 77 Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown was shot dead in his vehicle by bandits on a Honda CG motorcycle. The shooting occurred at the traffic light on Vlissingen Road near the entrance to Botanical Gardens. Raghu’s wife, Sherry, was also shot in the thigh and toe, and is now a patient at the Georgetown Hospital. The bandits reportedly traced the couple from a city bank where they went to make a withdrawal. The two bandits reportedly made good their escape after the deed was done, with the pillion rider still carrying the gun in his hand.

‘JAGS Aviation’ adds ‘brand new baby’ to its fleet
JAGS Aviation, the aviation arm of BK Group of Companies, added a brand new Cessna Grand Caravan to Guyana’s domestic aviation services to aid in boosting local tourism. The US$3M Cessna Grand Caravan 208B EX was acquired directly from the manufacturer, making JAGS Aviation the first private sector entity to acquire an aircraft straight off the production line. Manufactured in the United States, the Caravan is able to seat 13 passengers comfortably, and is the first aircraft purchased by JAGS since its acquisition by the BK Group of Companies in June.

Forestry Commissioner dismisses overharvesting claims as ‘false’
–blames misconception on ‘lack of understanding’ of forest procedures
THE Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), responding to “mass allegations and misinformation” regarding the operations of Chinese logging company Bai Shan Lin (BSL), has “set the record straight” in order to dispel the many rumours circulating about this company. Commissioner James Singh put paid to the many claims that BSL has been involved in exploitation of Guyana’s forestry resources. He noted that much of the information being circulated in the press “is as a result of a lack of understanding” of the procedures in forestry. He even disclosed that Bai Shan Lin (BSL) has an “unutilised quota” for its concessionary holdings coming out of joint ventures with other companies.

Wednesday 20
Police arrest suspect in robbery, murder of Campbellvile businessman
A SUSPECT has been arrested by police in the shooting robbery/murder of 43-year-old businessman Ashook Ragghu of 77 Pike Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, in the vicinity of the Botanical Gardens on Vlissengen Road in Georgetown.

Two die in Cuyuni River accident
JOSE Henrique Salvao De Souza, 66, of Junior Ross Landing, Cuyuni and Bisham Munilall, five, of Charlotte Street, Georgetown are now dead after the boat in which they were travelling in the Cuyuni River, Region 7 hit a rock at Dukwari and spilled several passengers into the river. Investigations are in progress.

Nine-year-old drowns in creek near Wauna Bridge
THE North West District villages of Hosororo and Wauna in Region 1 were plunged into mourning following news of the drowning of nine-year-old, Dinesh Saktue of Hosororo Hill. Dinesh, late Grade Five pupil of the Hosororo Primary School, died shortly after noon in the black waters at the popular Wauna Bridge. His deeply distraught mother, Juliet Valenzuela, trying to hold back the tears said she and her husband, Tullsiram Saktu, had gone to church earlier in the day and had left Dinesh and his other siblings at home. His elder siblings were preparing to take their cousin, Nicholas, visiting from Venezuela, to the Wauna Creek for an outing, and Dinesh’s older sister, Anisa Dhanraj, was also going on the trip, but was against taking Dinesh with them. Anisa maintained a close watch over Dinesh as they all got into the water, but an emergency situation caused her to exit the creek and head uphill for a short while, and that was when tragedy struck.

Thursday 21
Bandits rob Loo Creek businessman on highway and Galaxy Game Shop at Wismar Market
BANDITS had a ‘field day’ on the Linden Highway when they robbed the business owner of Loo Creek on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. Loo Creek was once one of the more popular picnic spots but at the time of the robbery no one was camping there. The businessman who is said to be the owner of the creek was robbed by two bandits who were armed with a machete and a knife. He was duct taped on his mouth and hands as the bandits robbed him of his Samsung Galaxy cell phone and 650 gallons of diesel although there was a security guard on duty. After the robbery a report was made to a police station on the highway where the police responded to the matter.

Suspected accomplice in Ramchand’s Auto Spares robbery/shooting of customer arrested
FIVE weeks after Agricola youth, Kevin Fields was shot dead by a businessman following an armed robbery at Ramchand’s Auto Spares in Campbellville, the police have arrested his suspected accomplice, and have detained that suspect to assist in their investigations. This suspect is also allegedly involved in an armed robbery that occurred at the Medicare Pharmacy at Sandy Babb Street, Kitty sometime after the Ramchand’s Auto Spares robbery. Fields, 21, was fatally shot on July 14 by a businessman after he had snatched a bag containing some $1.7M from a customer at Ramchand’s Auto Spares on Sheriff Street and attempted to flee. The Guyana Chronicle understands that the Agricola resident and an accomplice, who is said to be the suspect that was arrested by the police, had trailed the businessman from another location in the city, and after the man had entered Ramchand’s Auto Spares, he followed him there.

GDF receives $5M RMB in machinery, equipment from PLA
THE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) received from the 2011 aid package from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China equipment and machinery amounting to $5M RMB. This is apart from the $4.8M RMB aid agreement which was inked between the Chinese Army and the GDF. The gift equipment included one ambulance, three front end loaders, one excavator, one generator plant and two inflatable boats with outboard engines. President Ramotar said that the Government and the country value very much, its relationship with the People’s Republic of China and appreciate the great contribution that the country is making in many parts of the world and more importantly in Guyana.

Friday 22
DNA samples from female remains at Turkeyen sent for testing
CRIME Chief, Leslie James has confirmed that the samples from the decomposed remains which are suspected to be that of missing St Stanislaus teacher, Nyozi Goodman left these shores for a Caribbean destination. The samples will undergo tests to determine if the remains are indeed that of the missing teacher although the belt which was discovered close to the body was identified by her mother as belonging to her daughter. In the past the Guyana Police Force came in for harsh criticism by both Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee and Head of State President, Donald Ramotar in the highly publicised case of Demerara Bank employee, Sheema Mangar who was killed in September 2010 and samples were sent to a Caribbean country for DNA testing and the matter is still unresolved.

CANU destroys 730 kg cocaine, 1,970 kg marijuana
THE Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) destroyed over 730 kilogrammes of cocaine (street value US$29M) and 1,970 kilogrammes of marijuana. The illegal drugs, which were destroyed by burning on Homestretch Avenue, were acquired following several drug busts. Head of CANU, James Singh said that the exercise was necessary because they did not wish to encounter a stockpile and for other security reasons. He added that the marijuana being destroyed was seized during last year and this year in numerous exercises aboard vessels and also search operations. Singh stated that the cocaine was found at various airports and other locations. He reported that the pricing (street estimates) as it relates to that in the United States and Europe- is €45,000 per kilogramme of cocaine and in the US based on purity it is about US$40,000.

$31M earmarked for Parika Stelling repairs
CABINET last Tuesday granted its no-objection to a contract worth more than $31M that would see the rehabilitation of the Parika Stelling, East Bank Essequibo. This was announced on Thursday by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon. The facilities at Parika, Leguan and Fort Island were among stellings that were rehabilitated last year under the Transport and Harbours Department’s (T&HD) 2013 capital allottment of $393M. Work on the Parika Stelling cost around $5M, and included the construction of additional lavatory facilities for passengers among other repairs that were effected.

Repairs undertaken at the Leguan Stelling cost in the vicinity of $4.7M, while Fort Island’s was to the tune of $3M. Some work was also done at the Bartica Stelling at a cost of $11.9M.

Saturday 23
Police nab man just after committing a robbery at knife point
‘C’ DIVISION Police caught up with Kevin Innis seconds after he held a Canje Berbice resident at knife point and robbed him of the latest iPhone on the market. Innis saw his victim, Michael Gopta standing at the bus shed at the University of Guyana access road and walked up to him, placed a knife to his throat and relieved him of his phone worth $185,000. While the victim was still in shock the police who had moments before wrapped up a roadblock at Sparendaam were heading to conduct another roadblock in Sophia when they encountered the victim who related to them what happened. By that time Innis had already walked a few feet away and the police trailed the man to the head of B Field Sophia where they arrested him.

Ex- soldier charged for attempted murder, attempted felony, setting fire on house
FORMER Guyana Defence Force Soldier Sergeant, Rawle Glasgow, 49, of 8 Enterprise Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara who up to two weeks ago was employed as a security guard appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate Court charged with attempted murder, attempt to commit a felony and setting fire to a dwelling house. The man pleaded not guilty to the charges but was remanded to prison and will return on September 12. Glasgow was accused of setting fire on the home in which his family resides. The man then went into hiding and consumed a poisonous substance and was later caught and taken to the hospital. Prior to setting the home ablaze the man had threatened his family that he would kill them all but no one took him seriously. There were reports that the man became enraged when he returned home and saw his wife with a doll with needles sticking out of it, something that is widely considered by many as a witchcraft and voodoo practice. He lived at the home with his wife, three children and mother.

Man remanded over killing stepfather – deceased was stabbed 18 times
TWENTY-YEAR-OLD Inderjeet Sewdan, who was charged with the brutal murder of his stepfather, was remanded to the New Amsterdam Prison by Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh following his appearance at the Whim Magistrate’s Court. The accused was not required to plead to the charge which alleged that on August 13 at Free Yard, Port Mourant, Corentyne, he unlawfully killed his stepfather, Deochand Singh. The autopsy report confirmed that Singh succumbed after 18 stab wounds were inflicted to his body. Fourteen of those wounds were inflicted to his neck. The case is fixed for hearing on September 15.