A Venezuelan, who is suspected to be a member of the ‘Sindicato’ gang, was, on Monday, charged with the murder of Kallicharran Sawak called “Danny”, while the latter was in custody at the Sparendaam Police Station, earlier this year.

Luis Alfredo Gonsalves, 23, made his appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Rushell Liverpool and was not required to plead to the capital office. Particulars of the charge alleged that, between January 17, 2019, and January 28, 2019, at Sparendaam Police Station, East Coast Demerara Gonsalves murdered Sawak.

Gonsalves was remanded to prison until May 8, 2019. The accused is currently before the courts for the possession of hand grenades. Another Venezuelan, Jose Lezama, 24, and Guyanese National, Heeralall Girdhari are also expected to be charged for Sawak’s murder.
According to reports Sawack, of Lot 3 La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara (ECD) died on January 28, 2019 while a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). It is alleged that the 39-year-old LBI resident was beaten in the lock-ups, and due to the severity of the beating, the father of one was warded at hospital where he succumbed.
According to relatives, Sawak was arrested on January 17, 2019 after he was misbehaving while heavily intoxicated and a report was made at the Beterverwagting Police Station. He was subsequently transferred from the BV station to the Sparendaam Police Station, where he remained in custody while awaiting his time to be placed before the court.

Sawak was due to appear in the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court on January 22, but when the matter was called and he was not there it was put aside. It was on the second calling of the case, that relatives were informed by the magistrate that the prisoner had been hospitalised. The man’s mother, Ramdai Sawak, 68, had told this publication that, when she visited the hospital, her son was bleeding from his eyes and head. “He was not talking and his eyes were closed. He was drunk when he was taken to the police station because he was behaving badly at home, and he broke my window and he was locked up,” the mother said.

The woman said that the police told her that Sawak had been hitting his head against the wall, and that resulted in his injuries, a report she said she found hard to believe. According to police investigation, Sawak was in a prison cell with the three accused and was badly beaten by the men.