Georgetown: High Court Judge Fidela Corbin-Lincoln on Tuesday scheduled a trial commencing from August 23, 2018 to resolve a matter between the state and its refusal to settles a claim by Ronald Khan which resulted in police wrongfully detaining $54M worth in diamonds belonging to him.
The State has refused to offer settlement to Ronald Khan, who filled a writ since 2011. The diamonds which were recovered from a 1994 robbery investigation are presumed to have vanished from the custody of the police.
According to the writ filed on January 3, 2011 at the High Court in Georgetown and issued by Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes, Khan said that police “wrongfully detained” the diamonds after a robbery on his mining camp at Ewang Creek, during 1994.
Khan stated that after he checked and identified his diamonds, police ranks lodged them at the Mahdia Police Station. “Officers of the Guyana Police Force thereafter transported the diamonds to ‘E’ and ‘F’ Division,” the writ states.
Sometime later when Khan requested the return of his diamonds, he was informed that the said diamonds were required as exhibits in the criminal trial of the persons charged with the armed robbery of his mining camp.
The writ said that after the passage of several years and the unsuccessful prosecution of the defendants who over time have either died or escaped, Khan’s lawyer wrote a letter to the then Commissioner of Police requesting the return of the merchandise.
“The Commissioner of Police acknowledged receipt of the said letter but failed to return (Khan’s) property,” the writ added.
At an earlier court hearing (May 07), State Counsel Joan Ann Stuart-Edghill was given until Tuesday by the court to report on the location of the diamonds and to disclose the possibility of settlement with Khan.
However, when the matter came up Tuesday for report, Solicitor General Kim Kyte, said that attempts, which are still ongoing, to locate the diamonds have been unsuccessful. She reasoned that the incident occurred over a decade ago, and that some persons involved in the case have died.
As such, Kyte stated that the state has no intention of offering a settlement to the plaintiff, but instead, wants the matter to be resolved by way of trial.
For his part, Khan is requesting an order directing the defendant who is listed as the Attorney General and/or the Commissioner of Police to return the diamonds to him.
Alternately, he is seeking an order directing the Commissioner of Police to pay him the sum of $54,000,000 being the value of the “uncut diamonds wrongfully detained by the Guyana Police Force.”
Khan is also seeking damages in excess of $100,000 for the wrongful detention, interest, costs and such further or other order as the court may seem just.
During preliminary submissions yesterday morning, Kyte contended that Khan has to prove that “the stones” were diamonds, and also, its value.
Kyte said, “Assuming but not admitting the stones were diamonds, he (Khan) has to prove its value.”
Referencing Sections Six and Eight of the Limitation Act Chapter 07:02, Kyte is further contending that Khan failed to file claim against the state over the alleged missing diamonds within the period specified in the Act.
According to Section Six of the Limitation Act Chapter 07:02, “Every action and suit for movable property, or upon any contract, bargain, or agreement relating to movable property, or to recover money lent without written acknowledgement or upon any account or book debt, or to recover any salary or the value of any goods sold and delivered, shall be brought within three years next after the cause of action or suit has arisen.”
Further Section Eight states, “Every action and suit for any illegal or excessive levy, injury to property, whether movable or immobile, assault, battery, wounding or false imprisonment, and every other action or suit in which damages may be recovered (save and except for libel or slander) shall be brought within three years next after the cause of action or suit has arisen.”
Advancing further arguments, the Solicitor General said that it is not mandated under the law for police to detain an item (s) to be tendered as an exhibit until the hearing and determination of a criminal matter. Moreover, she argued that certain sections of the law make provisions for photographs of the items to be taken and tendered as exhibits.
She added that even as way back as 1994, it was customary for police ranks to take photographs of items to be tendered in court as exhibits, and thereafter, return the property to its owner.
As such, the Solicitor General submitted that Khan could have filed an action requesting the return of his belongings even as the criminal proceedings were on going and not wait over a decade later to do so, as in this case.
In relation to the trial, three witnesses are expected to testify—two on behalf of the State, and of course, Khan in defence of his claim.
Attorney-at-law Kezia Williams, who appeared on behalf Hughes, and Kyte were given up until June 22 to file witness statements (affidavit). Thereafter, the State will file and serve submissions on the plaintiff as it relates to the issue raised about limitation by July 6. The plaintiff was given until July 20 to respond and the trial commences in August.
Meanwhile, former Commissioner of Police Floyd McDonald on Sunday denied any knowledge of the disappearance of diamonds belonging to Ronald Khan, a miner, while he served as crime chief. Khan has since filed a civil suit against the state to recover approximately $54M, the approximate value of the missing diamonds.
McDonald, along with a former Deputy Crime Chief Harley Davidson, and former Inspector Maison all denied handling the diamonds in the said matter. In fact, they have all indicated that at the time the diamonds were discovered missing, they were either no longer serving in the force, or were attached to other departments.
McDonald said he joined the Guyana Police Force on July 19, 1967 and retired in 2004.
“During the period stated I never received, saw, examined, sent to examine any diamonds in relation to Ronald Khan, he declared in his statement.”
He also refuted giving instructions or diamonds to Inspector Maison.
“Inspector Maison therefore never returned any diamonds to me. It is my view therefore that the article’s corrosive nature is aimed at my character,” the statement, said while calling on this newspaper to correct “his poisonous article with like coverage”.
Subsequent to his response to the article, McDonald told reporters at his Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home that from information he has received, the time when the diamonds belonging to Khan went missing, he was no longer in the police force.
“When I checked with the police, it appears as though when the diamonds were allegedly found missing some investigation was launched or investigations; I was out of the force then. The police would have more information on it.”
The Ministry of Legal Affairs had issued an urgent public notice for nine former policemen to explain why some $54M worth of diamonds has disappeared. The diamonds reportedly belong to Ronald Khan, a miner, who has since filed a suit against the state to reclaim the diamonds, and/or its value.
The matter dates back to 1994. According to the notice published in the Guyana Chronicle newspaper on Saturday, May 5, 2018, former Police Commissioner Floyd McDonald, who back in 1994 served as Crime Chief; Harley Davidson, Deputy Crime Chief; Eon Sandy, formerly stationed at the Supreme Criminal Court Police Outpost; Alwyn Wilson, stationed at then ‘E’ and ‘F’ Division headquarters, Eve Leary; Terrence Semple, last stationed at Mahdia Police Station; Courtney Ramsey, last stationed at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), police Headquarters, Eve Leary; Desmond Leitch, last stationed at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary; Constable Fraser,
Reg#10881 and Ex-detective Sergeant Carl Wilson, Reg # 7797 are being asked to make urgent contact with the the Attorney General’s Chambers.
Meanwhile, the former top cop who now serves as chairman of the New Building Society (NBS), said he is somewhat concerned that after some 20 years the matter has resurfaced. “I am very concerned, because there is apparently a gap between the [Attorney General] AG’s Chambers and the police.”
McDonald in the presence of his wife, said the police would supply information to the AG’s Chambers in such matters.
“I was not even in the force when the diamond [sic] was apparently discovered missing. I am just speaking based on my knowledge… it is not a matter I would deal with at CID headquarters; we don’t keep exhibits at CID headquarters,” he explained.
The former police commissioner said evidence would have been kept at ‘F’ Division or at the court when the matter was being heard.
“In this case, it is Mahdia. I don’t know if they kept the exhibit at Mahdia or they kept it at ‘E’ and ‘F’ headquarters,” he said, maintaining that he had nothing to do with disappearance of the diamonds as the diamonds were never in his possession.
The Guyana Chronicle on Sunday reported that based on information provided by an ex-policeman who has also been asked to make contact with the AG’s Chambers, that at some point the diamonds were handed over to McDonald after it was inspected by a diamond dealer.
However, McDonald said “I don’t want to talk much about this matter, but the point I am making is that I am totally surprised that this allegation was made against me just like this. Nobody called me to find out anything. Matters like these don’t be dealt with by the CID headquarters.”
He said he is not inclined to believe his name was placed in the mix because of grudges. “I don’t want to think so. It is how the AG’s Chambers dealt with this matter,” he said, while adding that he is unsure of the relationship between the AG’s Chambers and the police.
However, McDonald disclosed that the Office of Professional Responsibility had mounted an investigation into the matter either in 2006 or 2011. He said too that based on information received, ‘F’ Division also carried out an investigation when the diamonds were found to be missing.
“I wasn’t there and I wasn’t involved in any way,” McDonald said.
Further, the former top cop explained that the system which exists at the Guyana Police Force (GPF) requires that exhibits be kept separately from the actual cases.
“CID headquarters would have cases and they would keep the exhibit separately. I as a crime chief never kept any exhibits in my safe; that was not my function,” he said.
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