Georgetown : The APNU+AFC coalition raised the alarming turn of events in the court case involving the son of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds. The Coalition learnt today that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has ordered another Magistrate to decide whether this man who has already been tried and found guilty, should face retrial. Sam Hinds Jr. was accused, tried and found guilty of the crime of battery against his teenaged sister-in-law while threatening her with a gun.
It is an understatement to say that this new development flies in the face of justice and smacks of governmental interference.
Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond who had tried the case in 2014 and found Sam Hinds Jr. guilty of the crime, was dismissed on the same day that she was scheduled to hand down her sentence. The intervention of the DPP at this time to suggest that the man be re-tried obviously seeks to prejudice the outcome of the case.
The coalition says “This man perpetrated a heinous act of physical violence against a young lady that was fuelled by uncontrolled rage. He was found guilty of the crime and must face the consequences. Irrespective of his parental lineage, the constitution of Guyana recognizes every citizen as being equal and subject to the same levels of benefits and punishment. Domestic and other types of violence perpetrated against women in particular is currently the hot button topic in this society and Guyanese people are rightfully outraged at the steadily increasing incidents of domestic violence and crimes against the person. The DPP’s unhelpful intervention could only serve to further enrage the people who are already on the picket line demanding changes to the law enforcement and judicial systems which do not provide sufficient deterrents to the criminals who violate our women.
The Coalition forthrightly condemns the despicable acts of violence that Sam Hinds Jr. perpetrated against the teenager, and we call upon all fair and right-thinking Guyanese, particularly those in the legal profession, to join the already loud voices protesting against inhumane acts of violence and the unequal sentences handed down.
The APNU+AFC coalition takes this opportunity to remind the PPP/C and its cohorts that the Judiciary is the third arm of the state. It is constitutionally as separate and independent as the legislative and executive arms of state.
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