3 Essequibo Coast drivers fined $600,000 for drunk driving

…1 fined $75,000 for missing number plate

Four men were fined at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court last week after pleading guilty to separate traffic offences committed along the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). Twenty-eight-year-old Pooran Beepat, a labourer of New Road, Essequibo Coast, appeared before Magistrate Ravindra Mohabir on Wednesday last charged with driving while his breath alcohol level exceeded the prescribed limit. The offence was committed on April 21, at Richmond Public Road, Essequibo Coast. The charge was laid under Section 39A (1) of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, Chapter 51:02, as amended by the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Amendment Act 17 of 2022. Beepat pleaded guilty after the charge was read to him and was fined $200,000 or, in default, three months imprisonment.

In a separate matter, 68-year-old Basdeo Gokul, a security guard of Queenstown Public Road, Essequibo Coast, also pleaded guilty to driving while his breath alcohol level exceeded the prescribed limit. The offence occurred on December 22, 2025, at Anna Regina Public Road, Essequibo Coast. Gokul appeared before Magistrate Mohabir on Thursday last and informed the court that he wished to change his plea from not guilty to guilty. After the charge was re-read, he pleaded guilty and was fined $200,000 or three-months imprisonment if the fine is not paid. Meanwhile, Totaram Mahadeo, a 37-year-old rice farmer of Spring Garden, Essequibo Coast, was charged with failing to have an identification mark at the rear of his vehicle.

The offence was committed on May 4 at Good Hope Public Road, Essequibo Coast. Mahadeo appeared before Magistrate Mohabir on Friday, May 8, 2026, where he pleaded guilty to the charge. He was fined $75,000 or, in default, three months imprisonment. Also appearing before the court was 45-year-old labourer Deo Shankar Ramdehol of Onderneeming Sand Pit, Essequibo Coast, who was charged with driving while his breath alcohol level exceeded the prescribed limit.
The offence occurred on May 3 at Onderneeming Public Road, Essequibo Coast. Ramdehol pleaded guilty when the matter was heard before Magistrate Mohabir on Friday last. He was fined $200,000 or, in default, sentenced to three months imprisonment.