A 27-year-old fibre-technician of Seventh Street, Cummings Lodge, was on Wednesday fined $70,000 by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for making a false declaration for the purpose of procuring a new passport.Mahindra Charran pleaded guilty to the offence, which stated that on June 11, 2006, at the Central Immigration and Passport Office, Georgetown, he made a false statement by signing a written declaration that he was Kishore Ram, despite knowing same to be false.
Prosecutor Corporal Deniro Jones said the defendant is the holder of a Guyana passport in the name of Charran, which he used to travel to Saint Martin, but was denied entry because he had previously overstayed. He was subsequently deported to Guyana.
However on June 11, 2006, Charran visited the passport office in Guyana to apply for another document in the name of Kishore Ram, which he used to travel to Saint Martin. The man reportedly was deported again after he overstayed his time.
Police in Guyana arrested the accused after it was revealed that Charran used the faked name of “Ram” to obtain the passports. He begged the court for forgiveness and apologised for his action, but was fined with an alternative of eight months imprisonment.