MEMBER of Parliament, Jermaine Figueira, was on Wednesday charged with the offence of playing music without first obtaining a licence from the Magistrate of the district.
He appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Clive Nurse. Figueira was then released on his own recognisance.
According to the circumstances surrounding the case, on June 24, Figueira held a Stag promotion event, which was deemed public, at Figgy’s Grocery Mart, Wismar Linden, without obtaining the necessary licence from the court and permission from the police.
According to the police, he was warned to desist from holding the event but he continued, hence he was charged and placed before the court.
Also appearing before the magistrate was ‘DJ’ Kevin Primus, who was charged with disturbing the public peace. It is alleged that he was instructed by Figueira to continue playing the music although a licence or permit was not granted by the police.
Figueira, in an invited comment to the Guyana Chronicle, said that he has the greatest respect for the law and law enforcement officers and would not engage in anything that is unlawful.
“It is my belief that there is a clear case that the charge was misdirected and as you are aware, the matter is before the court, so I would not want to give any further comment in this regard,” he said.