Family of murdered fisherman protest suspect being granted bail
Some of the family members and friends of John Alexander Yhap who came out in protest on Tuesday
Some of the family members and friends of John Alexander Yhap who came out in protest on Tuesday

FAMILY and friends of John Alexander Yhap, a fisherman and father of two who was stabbed to death on September 14, 2020, staged a protest outside the Albion Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, after the suspect was granted bail on Monday.

Bearing placards that read “Justice needed, no bail” and ‘No bail, Justice needed”, the small group of about 30 protesters stood in the morning sun to express their displeasure at the granting of bail to the prime suspect, a fishing colleague and fellow Kilcoy villager.

Suspect: Arjune Mohabir called “Piken”

Yhap was fatally stabbed multiple times about the body on September 14 in Kilcoy, East Berbice, Corentyne, some two streets away from his home, allegedly, by Arjune Mohabir, 21.

Reports are that Mohabir called “Piken’’ and Yhap had a prior altercation on September 18, where Yhap was stabbed to the neck by Mohabir, which required multiple sutures, after he went to a female acquaintance that Mohabir likes, to get his hair braided.

Sometime around 21:00 hrs on September 14, at a Superbet location in Chesney, with tensions still rife from the previous feud, the men got into another argument after Mohabir started to verbally abuse Yhap for returning to the said female to braid his hair earlier that day.

During the argument, Mohabir allegedly whipped out a knife from his waist and dealt Yhap several stabs before fleeing the scene. He was subsequently arrested the following day out at sea by police and eventually placed before the court on Monday.

Appearing before Magistrate Peter Hugh and charged with manslaughter, Mohabir was granted bail in the sum of $250,000 on Monday and the matter transferred to the Albion Magistrate’s Court for Tuesday.

After the family learnt that the suspect was granted bail, they staged the protest, demanding that the suspect be charged for murder since his actions were pre-meditated.

“We are here today because we want justice for my brother. How can you place a murderer on bail for $250,000? He took the knife and juk me brother first, seven times he juk him. How can that be self-defence when he took the knife he had and juk him? We want justice for my brother and his two children and wife,” Mariam Yhap, 22, the sister of the deceased told the Guyana Chronicle.

However, the actions of the protester did little to deter Magistrate Renita Singh who adjourned the matter until October 28, 2020.

Earlier in the day, the relatives were in the Albion court yard voicing their frustration in a bid to influence the magistrate, but were removed by police since they were disrupting the court’s proceedings. The family then moved to the public road with their placards and continued their protest.

Yhap’s 22-year-old widow, Minesha Chandralall, expressed frustration and fear that the man who murdered her husband will be free to move around the community and may want to harm her.

On the night of the murder, Chandralall came face-to-face with the suspect who had the alleged murder weapon in his hand and blood on his clothes and confronted him.

“I asked he why you do that and he seh meh get more fuh am; that nah done yet.”

This, the woman said was more than enough to have the suspect charged for murder, in addition to the fact that he had previously stabbed her husband.

The family is calling on the relevant authorities to look into the matter since they claim their loved one was not the aggressor during the altercation that led to his death.

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