Dear Editor,
FURTHER police work will now have to be done in Region Two, where I live, in a case which resulted from an out-of-court Agreement of Settlement by a Justice of the Peace (JP), with a claim from the victim that it was initiated by a detective corporal.The recipient in the document is school teacher Rajesh Singh, who, after being paid a hefty $250,000, was subsequently charged for having obtained that amount of money by false pretence.

During the continuation of the hearing, before Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the last sitting of the Suddie Court, the JP, Boodnarine Ramnarine, who drafted and attested to the Agreement of Settlement, and Detective Corporal Terry Beharry, who was the investigating rank in the matter, testified. At the conclusion of their testimonies, the Magistrate made an open statement that there was evidence bordering on fraud and perjury, and he urged Police Prosecutor Inspector Haimwant Ramsaywak to get senior detectives to conduct an investigation before an adjournment was taken for April 7th.

The magistrate warned that anyone found culpable would be dealt with condignly. Prior to then, on the day of the commencement of the trial, the victim, Badewattie Persaud, a brother and a detective sergeant also give evidence. All the witnesses were cross-examined by Defence Counsel Mr A. R. Bacchus.

The victim related to the court that during a visit to the Suddie Police Station on a given date last December, while her two brothers were in custody, she learnt that Singh had made a report against them, accusing them of being involved in a fight with him at a wedding function. During the fight, Singh is alleged to have suffered the loss of a gold chain and a band at a given value of $270,000., but he was prepared to accept $20,000 for a settlement.

In her evidence in chief, Badewattie Persaud said the investigating rank initiated the settlement, of which she was not in favour, and he insisted that her brothers would be charged and placed before the court. After the officer had injected in her fear that her brothers could end up in jail for three to six months, she had no option but to make the settlement as compensation for the missing jewellery.

For reasons best known to the investigating rank, this matter was a complete ‘write off’, as ‘dead and buried’ at the station level; but after information surfaced that Singh was in possession of his jewellery, the victim felt she had been unfairly treated, and she contacted the Divisional Commander, who must be commended for having done an excellent job in the interest of justice.

The matter was resurrected, and, from statements taken, the file was sent to the DPP’s office for advice, which was given for Singh to be charged for the present offence.

To the best of my knowledge, the police rank, fully cognizant that the proper forum to effect a settlement is at the courts, for financial gains linked to corruption, violated the law with impunity.

This problem could well have been avoided had the investigating rank confined his behaviour within the ambit of the law, which does not allow for settlements to be made at the station level.

As far as I am aware, justice was never designed to be put on sale, with the police making a mockery of the system. Justice must be allowed to take its course, with no shortcuts introduced, as was done here.
Respectfully,
BALIRAM PERSAUD