TWO men, Attish Singh and Anil Basdeo, were each sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday, after pleading guilty to the 2019 fatal beating of Sherwin Shafeek, also known as “Coolie Boy”, in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).
The incident, which occurred on March 22, 2019, resulted in Shafeek’s death after he was viciously attacked while returning home from a birthday party.
At the men’s sentencing hearing, Justice Navindra Singh confirmed that they had voluntarily pled guilty to manslaughter. They had initially been indicted for the capital offence of murder.

The prosecution outlined that on the night of the attack, Basdeo struck Shafeek multiple times on the head and back with a piece of wood, while Singh attempted to stab him.
Witnesses reported that Shafeek, 32, collapsed and began bleeding from the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Shafeek was in immense pain, and vomited blood, but was not taken to the hospital until the following day, when he died from his wounds.
A post-mortem examination confirmed multiple blunt trauma injuries, including skull fractures, with the death caused by cerebral haemorrhage due to blunt trauma.

During the sentencing hearing, both Singh and Basdeo expressed remorse, and begged the court for leniency.
“I’m really sorry for how it happened. Me nah premediate to kill him; I’m begging for a second chance in society,” Basdeo said.
Singh, too, pleaded for mercy, stating, “I’m really sorry. It’s not no planned thing; it was a mistake. I am begging you for mercy, sir.”

In her submission for sentencing, Prosecutor, State Counsel Taneisha Saygon emphasised the aggravating factors of the case, noting that a weapon was used during the unprovoked attack on Shafeek, an unarmed man.
She highlighted that unlawful killings had become increasingly prevalent in society.

As such, Saygon stressed that the primary objective of sentencing should be deterrence, referencing relevant case laws to support her argument. Saygon also pointed out that Basdeo’s expression of remorse was not genuine.
Although Basdeo acknowledged the agreed facts of the case, she noted that during his interview with a probation officer, he claimed he was defending himself during the attack; a defence he had not raised previously.
Meanwhile, the convicts’ attorney, Ronald Bostwick, in his plea for mitigation, argued that Shafeek might have survived, had his now dead girlfriend taken him to the hospital immediately.

In his sentencing remarks, Justice Singh noted that neither of the men expressed genuine remorse. Although the evidence indicated that Singh and Basdeo intervened to address a dispute between Shafeek and his girlfriend, Justice Singh questioned why they resorted to striking him three times in the head instead of restraining him and contacting the police.

Both men have been sentenced to 15 years in prison for their role in Shafeek’s tragic death. However, the court ordered that their time spent in pre-trial custody be deducted from their sentences.