TRANSPARENCY Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI) yesterday decried what it believes to be preferential treatment being meted out to two senior members of the country’s disciplinary forces.Reference was made to the cases of Assistant Superintendent Terrence Brown of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and Gary Beaton of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). In the case of Brown, four policemen, the assistant superintendent, a corporal and two constables were charged recently with a $6M cocaine bribe at Whim Police Station in East Berbice. The ranks were allegedly involved in a conspiracy to allow a man to pass unchallenged with cocaine in a minibus on the Corentyne Coast, sometime between September 10 and 11.

The man, Renason Parks, was stopped at a police roadblock. When the cocaine was discovered, the man allegedly offered the three junior officers $1 million as a bribe. However, they demanded $6 million. They gave the man time to bring the money, and they parked the bus at the station. It was at this point that the assistant superintendent was offered a share in the bribe ($500,000) so he would keep quiet.

“According to reports, Mr. Brown was the officer-in-charge of the Whim Police Station when a vehicle carrying cocaine was interdicted by three police ranks and taken to the Whim Police Station, where it is alleged that Mr. Brown was in charge. The vehicle was released after $6M was paid to the police,” TIGI said in a statement.

Accordingly, the organisation said media reports indicate that Brown and three of his subordinates were charged, but only the subordinates were taken to court, shackled, through the entrance of the court complex and placed in the prisoner’s dock. They were not granted bail, and were remanded to prison.

“Contrast this with the treatment of Mr. Brown. He was allowed to enter through the backdoor to the court, not shackled, and not required to go in the prisoner’s dock. Mr. Brown was given bail on the spurious ground that, if he was not granted bail, he would have been put in the lockups where he would have had communication with the other three.”

The organisation argued that the rule of law which underpins the Constitution of Guyana requires that persons be treated equally before the law. “This means that everyone must have the same rights, whether of property ownership, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of movement, etc. It also means that everyone has the same obligation and duty to comply with the general laws of the country, and to the enforcement and judicial process.”

TIGI believes that the preferential treatment displayed is a “negation of the rule of law, and therefore violates the Constitution.”

“TIGI finds the explanation for the different treatment quite strange, since the magistrate could have released the three junior ranks and remanded Mr. Brown to prison. That would have been quite logical, since the higher the rank the greater the responsibility, and it surely would have been less costly to the State to have one person in custody, rather than three.

“Alternatively, the magistrate could have ordered that the persons be placed at different stations. It is a denial of the rule of law when there is one type of justice for a senior police officer and another for junior ranks,” the statement to the media added.
The second matter involves Gary Beaton, Head of the GDF Coast Guard, and spouse of former Public Service Minister Dr. Jennifer Westford. This is one for concern by the organisation.

The organisation believes that, given the spousal relationship between the duo, a clear case of conspiracy can be established. “To any rational person, this is a clear case of a conspiracy to engage in theft of government property. The spousal relationship between Dr. Westford and Mr. Beaton is a matter of public knowledge, and could hardly have escaped the attention of the investigating authorities. Instead, the Minister of State commended Mr. Beaton “for doing his job well”!

While TIGI does not believe that this statement by a high political person was intended as a suggestion that Mr. Beaton should be charged, the fact that he has not been charged causes our organisation considerable discomfort.”

TIGI believes that while the government, during its elections campaign, spoke of respect for the rule of law and its plans to upkeep the rule of law, the failure of law-enforcement officials to investigate and charge Beaton, and the preferential treatment afforded Brown, “undermine that commitment” made by the current administration. (Ariana Gordon)