Attorney found guilty of failing to render assistance to accident victim

Attorney Chandra Sohan was on Tuesday found guilty of failing to render assistance to an injured person following an accident. His 10 lawyers were successfully able to get the court to throw out the driving under the influence charge.
Sohan, who is a former Magistrate, appeared before Magistrate Renita Singh on three traffic charges – driving under the influence of alcohol, failing to provide Police with his personal information and failing to transport the injured person to the nearest medical facility.
The charged stemmed from an accident on August 4, 2017.
According to the prosecution’s case, on August 4, 2017, while on the Williamsburg Corentyne Public road, Sohan drove motor car PJJ 6060 while a male pedestrian crossed the road from South to North into the path of the vehicle.
The victim did not offer to give any evidence in court but was still suffering from the injuries he received. The matter was reportedly settled for $250,000.
Meanwhile, Sohan was fined $35,000 after the court found him guilty of not rendering assistance to the victim following the accident.
The other charge against him was dismissed after a battery of lawyers led by Attorney Mursaline Bacchus put forward legal arguments as why the driving under the influence charge should not be entertained by the court.
The court eventually upheld a High Court’s running that the devices being used by the Police to conduct breathalyzer tests for alcohol consumption must be calibrated every six months.
The court found that the device used to test Sohan back in August 2017 was not calibrated within six months prior to its use and as a result, the charge was dismissed.
In April last year, Sohan was fined by Magistrate Marissa Mittelholzer for contempt of court. The incident occurred during the Preliminary Inquiry in the Fayez Narinedatt murder trial of which Marcus Bisram is considered the mastermind.