The Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) says it is currently investigating an incident which saw a Berbice teen being detained by Police for four days last week after an allegation was levelled against her.
Concerns were raised by several stakeholders after reports surfaced in the media that a 16-year-old girl, who hailed from Corentyne, Berbice, was locked up in a police station way beyond the 72-hour detention period after being accused of simple larceny.
CCPA Director Ann Greene
CCPA Director Ann Greene confirmed on Wednesday that the report on the matter was being prepared as the Agency’s probe continued into the unfortunate incident.
Greene, who appeared tight-lipped, said that she would need to receive and review the report before she could disclose any information on the issue.
Meanwhile, B Division (Berbice) Commander Lyndon Alves told Guyana Times that a file on the incident has been prepared and will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
The teen’s mother, Radikha Udho, related that her daughter was asked to assist an elderly woman from their village. After the teen left, the woman claimed that she could not find her US green card and several other items.
Udho recalled that it was while she was at the market that she received a call stating that she needed to visit the Number 51 Police Station after the elderly woman had made a report about the missing items and was accusing her daughter of theft.
Udho was requested to take her daughter to the Number 51 Police Station the following Friday, to make a statement, but the teen was subsequently locked up for four days.
Further complications arose as the teen was initially placed on $100,000 bail. A senior rank of B Division had stated that the bail that had been set was too excessive and given the circumstances, the officer could have used his discretion. After much deliberation about the excessive amount, the station bail was reduced to $50,000.
The officer also mentioned that the matter could have been dealt with differently; he added that if it was necessary that the teenager had to be locked up, it could have been done without her being held for such a long period.
