October 18, 2016

Archives for May 14, 2016

Haslington shop owner stabbed to death by brother-in-law

Dead: Terrence Adams

Dead: Terrence Adams

A father of eleven was on Thursday evening stabbed several times during an argument with his brother-in-law over undone work at his sister’s home at Haslington, East Coast Demerara. Dead is Terrence “Sleepy” Adams, 53, of Haslington. He was reportedly stabbed three times during a row at his shop at about 20:00h.

Reports are the now dead man visited his sister, who resides in the same area, and was not happy about the condition of the surroundings. He expressed his unhappiness about the conditions to the brother-in-law who became annoyed.

Adams subsequently left his sister’s house and went back to his businessplace but the man turned up there and an argument ensued. It was then the suspect whipped out a knife and dealt the man several blows.

In a bid to escape, the injured man scaled a trench but collapsed a short distance away. He was picked up and

The shop where the stabbing incident occurred

The shop where the stabbing incident occurred

taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

When Guyana Times visited the area Friday morning, his house was tightly secured but not far away at his mother’s house, a brother, Maxwell Adams explained that he was at home when he received a phone call from his brother in Cayenne enquiring about the stabbing incident.

A clueless Maxwell informed the brother that he was not aware and immediately promised to make some enquiries. He then went to his now dead brother’s shop where she saw a group of people and blood on the road.

He was told that his injured brother was taken to the hospital. The aggrieved brother went on to say that he rushed to the hospital where he saw his brother lying dead on a stretcher. From indications, the man would have sustained a stab wound to his right arm, one in the vicinity of his heart and the other to his abdomen. While he did not know the circumstances surrounding the stabbing incident, he told Guyana Times that the argument stemmed from a statement his now dead brother made during a visit to his sister’s house. Apparently, he noted, his brother-in-law got offended but he is sure that a mere statement could not have triggered his brother-in-law to act that violently. “There is got to be something else… a statement alone to offend someone to that extent… I don’t think so”, the man stated. Nevertheless the suspect he noted, was arrested at the scene and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital for treatment of a wound to his forehead. He was then taken into police custody.

The brother described the now dead man as a simple individual who worked hard for what he had. He has never been in a police matter nor was he accused on wrong doings. The dead man leaves to mourn his mother, children and five siblings. Meanwhile, the police confirmed that the suspect is assisting with the investigations.

 

17-year-old CXC student drowns

Sunset of Thursday brought great grief to family and friends of Vicky Persaud, 17, whose body was fished out of the Lusignan Canal.

According to reports, the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) student scheduled to sit the examination on Friday, left home Thursday afternoon in the company of a colleague whom he would usually work with on a part-time basis, to dispose of garbage near the ‘line top’ canal in Lusignan. It is alleged that Persaud fell into the canal when he bent over to wash his hands.

Aunt of the now deceased boy, Natasha, said she was informed that the child was with his part-time employer and son when he fell to his demise.

It is reported that upon realising he was about to fall, Persaud reached for the foot of his employer’s son, in an attempt to save himself. However, this resulted in the duo falling into the canal.

Natasha relayed that screams for help were heard from the boys, since neither knew how to swim. She said that Persaud’s boss then jumped into the canal in an effort to save his son, but this proved fruitless since he also could not swim.

Villagers were alerted by the cries for assistance and rushed to rescue the trio but by then it was too late for Persaud, whose body had moved from sight.

According to Natasha, the Vigilance Police Station was informed of the incident but they responded some

Deaded: Vicky Persaud

Deaded: Vicky Persaud

hour and fifteen minutes later.

She said the excuse given by the officers was that there were no vehicles available for them to travel to the area.

Persaud’s aunt further relayed that when the officers did show up, they refused to conduct a search for the boy’s body in the canal.

Another hour later and the body of Vicky Persaud was found by residents of the area.

Meanwhile, this incident was described as ‘sad’ by a senior rank of the Vigilance Police Station who declared that for villagers to expect there will always be an available officer at the Police Station, was irrational.

He said further that another unreasonable thought was for persons to think all officers knew how to swim and would put their life at risk for “an already dead person.”

It was reported by Natasha that a post mortem examination was conducted Friday, and the results were that Persaud’s death was caused by head trauma and drowning.

The family of the dead boy indicated that though they are not holding anyone responsible for the young man’s death, they are hoping for investigations to continue in an effort to reveal exactly what occurred in the seconds leading up to Persaud’s death.

Young Vicky Persaud leaves to mourn his parents, brother, 15, and sister, 13.

 

APNU/AFC Councillors support calls for Ramayya to be removed

The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Regional Councillors in Berbice have joined the call for embattled Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Dr Veerasammy Ramayya to be removed from his post over his apparent incompetence.

APNU’s lead Councillor at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Samuel Fraser, was very vocal when the Council held its May statutory meeting on Thursday and made no hesitation in joining calls for Ramayya to be removed from the position of REO.

For several months, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Councillors have been lobbying for the REO to be replaced. A no-confidence motion against Ramayya was even tabled last year at the Council’s statutory meeting and was passed in November with a 16-8 majority vote.

Adding fuel to the fire, Ramayya recently imposed a limit on the amount of fuel to be issued to Regional Vice

Embattled Region Six REO, Dr Veerasammy Ramayya

Embattled Region Six REO, Dr Veerasammy Ramayya

APNU’s lead Councillor Samuel Fraser

APNU’s lead Councillor Samuel Fraser

Chairman, Dennis DeRoop, who also heads the Regional Works Committee.

At Thursday’s meeting, Fraser said “enough is enough” and joined the call for the REO’s removal. The APNU Councillor pointed out that the REO as a public servant should keep his focus on administrative work which he has not been doing.

“The previous REO, I understand used to remain in the office in the afternoon to get his work done and even on weekends. We cannot have our administration on TV discussing politics. The President (David Granger) said that the election period is over. We need the REO to be in his office doing his work… I support all that you have been saying,” Fraser remarked to the Council during the recent statutory meeting.

However, Regional Chairman David Armogan explained to the Council that the utterances from Fraser are meaningless unless he and his collogues take their concerns to the party. “We can talk here all the time but it don’t mean anything. You have to use the mechanisms that your party has to get action, but I am glad that you raised it,” the Chairman stated.

Meanwhile, PPP Councillor Zaman Hoosain had earlier moved a motion to have the cap on fuel for the Vice Chairman’s vehicle removed. According to the motion, the REO has no authority to regulate the use of or to stop the supply of fuel to the vehicles assigned to the Vice Chairman.

“Be it resolved that the decision of the Regional Executive Officer to stop the supply of fuel to motor vehicle PKK 6310 be rescinded and that fuel be supplied forthwith to the said vehicle. And be it further resolved that a cap on fuel for vehicle PKK 6310 and the Vice Chairman’s vehicle be removed immediately,” the motion presented to the Council detailed.

When the motion was voted on, it received full support from the PPP and five of the seven coalition Councillors.

Ramayya was not at the meeting at which he should have been the clerk. Concerns were also raise that Councillors are not being paid their travelling allowances and contractors have been waiting on payments for months. According to Armogan, some of the vouchers have been sitting on the REO’s desk since February to be signed.

Only recently, the Region Two RDC also expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the region’s REO, Rupert Hopkinson.

At the May Regional Democratic Council (RDC) meeting, Councillors from the Government and Opposition sides debated the poor performance of the REO.

The RDC expressed dissatisfaction that the REO had sidelined the Accounts Department by having an inexperienced Accounts Clerk in the office of his confidential secretary to examine vouchers, thus creating delays in processing of vouchers.

 

Lazy public servants will get lazy person’s salary – Granger

President David Granger on Friday warned persons working in the public sector against developing traits and practices that could prevent them from rising to the challenge and performing exceptionally, maintaining that “if they want to be lazy, they will get a lazy person’s remuneration.”

It was after the Head of State received the long awaited final report of the investigation into the public service at the Ministry of the Presidency (MoP), that he made the comments. He referred to the inquiry as a “landmark study”.

The three-member panel headed by Professor Harold Lutchman was charged with investigating, reporting on, and making recommendations on the role, functions, recruitment process, remuneration and conditions of service for public servants. The Commission was also expected to determine measures to improve the efficiency of the public service. It was also expected to have a detailed examination of how salaries and wages are determined and allocated. The CoI commenced in September 2015 and came to an end in January of this year. The other Commissioners were Sandra Jones and Samuel Goolsarran.

President Granger said that those in the Public Sector need to become aware of the importance of their roles to the people they serve, noting that any laid back attitude will attract a matching pay.

“Many people expect that there is going to be some bonanza. I hope they will discover that the bonanza will come from their own efforts. The bonanza will come when they work hard and do better than the next person. If they work hard they will be rewarded for their hard work. This is what people in every area of endeavour must learn, that actual output is related to input,” the Head of State remarked.

Zooming in on three critical areas on which public servants are being judged, President Granger noted impartiality and social responsibility, education, and experience.

He stressed the need for a cadre of public officers who must discharge their duties without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.

“Any concerns about ethnicity, party affiliation, neighbourhood or family should be erased from professional performance,” the Head of State asserted.

He noted that the country cannot function without an efficient public service, which he said, is meant to ensure that the State is well governed.

“The politicians will be elected and they will leave, but the public service remains and is responsible for continuity. It is responsible for the maintenance of standards. It is responsible for the enforcement of the laws of the country. Any country that is going to be lawless is going to come to grief… if we are to be lawful we have to have a professional public service,” the President said.

Soon after taking Office, President Granger met with senior public servants at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) where he spoke of his Administration’s plan to ensure that the public service is one that is professional and “unbribable”.

Professor Lutchman, in a brief comment, spoke highly of his colleague Commissioners, whose areas of expertise and qualifications were relevant to the issues which the Commission was mandated to examine. He also informed that the Commission received support and submissions from a number of persons and organisations both locally and abroad.

The report will be deliberated on at the level of the Cabinet after which it will be presented to the Speaker of the National Assembly to be tabled in the House. It will also be shared with the unions.

 

Guyana invades South Dakota for “King of Dragz”

Guyana will look to defend home territory against Suriname this Sunday at the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) Golden Jubilee “King of Dragz” race event at the South Dakota Circuit, Timehri. A large contingent of Surinamese participants is expected to invade the land of many waters with the GMR&SC already confirming over twenty registrants from the Dutch speaking nation.

Guyana’s faith will rest on the wheels of the performances of Mohammed Enterprise 2 Nissan GTR’s, Toyota Supra, Mitsubishi Evolution, Mazda RX7 and other cars to defend its homeland.

Some of the Surinamese and their machines that will lead the challenge are the Lester Choy – Chevrolet Nova, Jean Paul Jose – Ford Cobra Jet, Ashton Ceyaren – Toyota Chaser, Ruben – Acura Integra, Prakash Latchman – Toyota Supra, Jeff Dong – Nissan Silvia, Vijai – Mitsubishi Evolution 5, Navin Biharie – Nissan 350Z and the Namchand’s Mazda RX7’s.

Upcoming Guyanese racing stars Rondell and Peter Daby as well as other local drivers are expected to present a good showing of themselves with the GMR&SC fine tuning preparations for participation at the Caribbean

The Nissan GTR that will be representing Guyana

The Nissan GTR that will be representing Guyana

Motor Racing Championships (CMRC).

The opening round of the CMRC is slated for JAMWEST in Jamaica on May 22 with the final leg scheduled for November in at the South Dakota Circuit in Guyana.

For tomorrow’s “King of Dragz” the GMR&SC will be using the Time Bracket Elimination system and the same drag strip that was used for last drag race meet that was held at the South Dakota Circuit.

Admission for adults is $1,000; children, 12 years and older $500 while vehicles and children under 12 years old will be admitted free. The action gets going at 9:00 Hrs

Participants are strongly urged to be on time to ensure the smooth flow of the event.

 

Baby succumbs to burns while receiving treatment overseas

Almost three weeks battling for his life after suffering 50 per cent second and third degree burns to his body, baby Devin Bishoondial, 15 months old, succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment overseas.

In late April, the toddler was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Paediatric Surgical Unit after receiving injuries when his elder brother allegedly lit a fire and threw a highly flammable substance into the fire. It was reported that the baby received seriously burns about his face, chest and legs.

Due to the condition of the toddler, The Saving Hands Emergency Aid (SHEA) Charity along with other

Dead: Devin Bishoondial

Dead: Devin Bishoondial

organisations made arrangements for him to be taken overseas but after fighting long and hard to survive, his tiny, fragile body could not handle the severity of his injuries.

Guyana Times understands that the toddler died due to complications stemming from fluid build-up in his lungs, and heart failure.

His mother is devastated and is struggling to come to grips with the pain of losing her child.

Preparations are being made for the funeral.

 

Conditions could give Jags advantage against Canada

BY AKEEM GREENE

The intense heat combined with the unaccustomed playing surface could play more out of favour of Canada’s Olympic Football team as they engage Guyana’s National Team, the Golden Jaguars tomorrow the National Stadium, Providence.

Canada based Golden Jaguars player, Daniel Whyte explained that the Jaguars have a major home field advantage against the North Americans.

“You have to adapt, it’s o

Daniel Whyte

Daniel Whyte

bviously a bit hotter but I adapted since I came before but that will be a challenge for the Canadians and that could give us the advantage,” Whyte said in an interview with Guyana Times Sport on Friday.

Whyte, who plays for Sigma FC in League One in Ontario, revealed that the visiting Canadians are a talented bunch that plays professional soccer in Canada.

“They are a bunch of United Soccer League (USL) players, which is a division just under the Major League Soccer (MLS), so they are ready; they have been playing a lot of games, so it will be good competition and I can’t wait to play them,” Whyte said.

He further revealed that Head Coach, Jamaal Shabaaz has been using some of these insights into the style of play by the Canadians.

He said “Canadian football really developed, so they like to play the possession game or direct, but it all depends on the coach but (Jamaal) Shabaaz and I discussed some of the areas that I know of and also give him some information regarding the opposition.”

Whyte played for the Golden Jags last year with the Under-23 team against St Lucia in Grenada and also for the under-23s at Olympic qualifiers.

The centre-back said that his usual role was that of right-back, as only after producing some good performances in the central position, that the coach made it more of a permanent position for him.

“I play centre-back but I usually play right-back but last year when I played for the under-23s, Coach Shabaaz put me as Centre-back and he liked what I did, so now that is my more main role,” said Whyte.

The 21-year old is excited about playing for the National team, since his father is Guyanese and he has high expectations of the match as Guyana seeks a much celebrated win. ([email protected])

 

Dover pleased with Jaguars’ preparation for Canada clash

By Akeem Greene

Assistant Coach of the Golden Jaguars Wayne Dover has expressed some amount of pleasure in the level of preparation the team has undergone for their International Friendly match against Canada on Sunday at the National Stadium, Providence.

In an invited comment on Friday, Dover said, “We had four to five days with the local players mixed with a few young foreign players; we have seen little bit of good cohesion in the squad in terms of their understanding of the pattern and defensive organisation and I think it augers well for the game on Sunday”.

To some extent, preparation would have been hampered by rain over the last days but being able to have access to the facility at Providence would have been extremely beneficial and when combined with the fact that the full

Wayne Dover

Wayne Dover

squad is in the country we can say that we are ready.

“Today [Friday], is the very first day we have gotten to see the full squad in preparation, using a whole field and we saw a few things that if we had earlier seen in the earlier sessions, we could have worked extensively on but nevertheless we maximise on the time we have and we are a bit satisfied on the session this morning”, the assistant coach explained.

When Guyana Times Sport visited the team, they were engaged in rigorous practice routines in the steaming heat of the morning, which was a bit unusual since it is bar far more tiring on the player and more so, their match is at night

On this aspect, Dover said, “The sun is a factor but at the end of the day, we train at a time that the ground was available for us, the fact that these players have been playing football through the season and we all know the rules that in place where players availability is concerned for international football”.

The clash promises to be a good test for the locally based players against a team that is currently ranked 92 on FIFA world rankings as opposed to Guyana at 132.

 

Teenagers admit to heinous crime

Professor’s murder

Hours after Guyanese-born American Professor Perry Mars was found dead in his Prashad Nagar, Georgetown, home, gagged and tied to a chair, the police have arrested six teenagers – four boys and two girls for the gruesome murder.

Upon arrest they were found with a sum of cash, a laptop computer, an I-phone and a play station. The six youngsters were reportedly arrested in the Campbellville and Sophia areas and have been positively identified by eyewitnesses who saw them on Thursday evening removing suitcases from the now dead man’s home and placing them in a car.

Police have confirmed that none of the teenagers are older than 18. From reports, the now dead man would normally help the same group of teenagers. They would visit the home and take on jobs of cleaning the yard andprofessor washing his vehicles. He also assisted them with food items sometimes.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum when contacted told Guyana Times that five of the teenagers including a female have given the police statements that detailed the actual robbery and murder. He noted that the sixth teen only received stolen items.

Based on reports, the mastermind of the episode is a 17-year-old girl, who frequented the man’s house and who resides in close proximity.

On the day of the incident, she reportedly phoned her boyfriend and informed him that the professor would be at home alone and that it was an opportune time to commit the robbery.

The boyfriend, according to their statement, agreed and picked up a few friends and went to Prashad Nagar. While there, they met with the mastermind and planned the robbery. The girl then walked to the man’s house and upon seeing her, he opened the door and let her in. As she entered, she left the door ajar.

The others then entered Mars’ home and attacked him. First they reportedly duct taped his hand and feet and tied him to a chair after which one of them strangled him since he would have seen their faces.House

The suspects then collected a sum of cash and other valuables and left the premises.

Professor Mars, 75, of Lot 395 Bissessar Avenue, Prashad Nagar, was discovered by his wife in his study at about 19:00h on the evening. The house was ransacked and several articles and cash were missing.

Guyana Times understands that Mars’ spouse, who works with the Legal Aid Clinic, spent most of Thursday out of town and upon return she made the gruesome discovery. She immediately contacted the police who cordoned off the area and launched an investigation.

The now dead professor studied history at the University of Guyana and Carelton University in Ottawa, Canada, and went on to work at Africana Studies at Wayne State University, Michigan, USA.

He has been also credited with developing an international academic exchange project between Africana Studies, the College of Urban Labor and Metropolitan Affairs, and the University of Guyana.

 

17-year-old Golden Jaguar ready to roar

Curtez Kellman is currently in the Guyana Golden Jaguars training camp ahead of the national side’s big clash against Canada’s Olympic team this Sunday, May 15 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Kellman, at 17 years old, is the baby of the team and is eager to showcase his skills on the international scene.

The former St Mary’s High student is a brilliant young central midfielder that Georgetown Football Club (GFC) has nurtured who has been playing in the first team since joining the club in 2014.

The humble Georgetown youth, expressed his delight at being called up to the National team; “This has always been a dream for me; to be selected on the National Team, it has been a great moment for me to make my family and my club [GFC] proud, and I am full of joy.”

Kellman executes comfortably in a number of different positions, systems and formations while playing for GFC where he has started in over 20 games in the Stag Elite League Genesis and Finale segments combined.

Curtez Kellman taking part in the Golden Jaguars training session

Curtez Kellman taking part in the Golden Jaguars training session

Kellman has also scored some important free kicks for GFC and made numerous key tackles in the middle of the park. His series of impressive performances undoubtedly led to him being called up to the National Side.

Coach of GFC, Faizal Khan expressed his admiration for Kellman’s work-rate on and off the field. Khan praised Kellman as a “young, hard working, humble footballer who rarely misses a single minute of training. A great example of how a young Guyanese footballer should conduct himself in order to have a chance of making a life out of pro football in the future.”

Kellman’s family and friends all sent their well wishes and congratulations to the player. Khan gave his support to his star player saying he is extremely happy to see the GFC home grown philosophy continuing to bear fruit.

“Congrats to Curtez fly your club and country’s flags high our youth! We are proud!”

Sunday’s main event will be preceded by a preliminary showdown between the Digicel’s Inter-Secondary School Football Competition Champion Christiansburg/Wismar Secondary as they take on the Milo Secondary School Under-20 champion, Chase Academy at 16:00hrs. Players from both sides will be looking to impress on the grand stage as they also seek to don national colours one day.

The feature game will see the Golden Jaguars battle Canada’s Olympic team in a much anticipated game set to kick off at 19:00hrs. This exciting double header forms part of the calendar of events for our nation’s Independence jubilee celebrations this month.