Former cop charged for giving false evidence

A former Police Constable of Number 67 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, was on Monday placed on ,000 bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, for uttering false evidence at the Weldaad Magistrate’s Court.
It is alleged that Marlon Chatterpaul on July 28, 2016 at Weldaad Magistrate’s Court, being a witness in the matter of Police v Kenston Charles and Victor Edwards, falsely swore to seeing a black car locked.
Further, on the same occasion, he falsely stated that in the car he saw a coloured plastic bag.
In court on Tuesday, Police Prosecutor Arvin Moore in his submissions said that the former cop was a flight risk. He informed the court that Chatterpaul had pending matters before the courts and investigations were currently ongoing.
However, bail was granted to the former Policeman in the sum of $25,000 for each charge, and the matter was transferred to Weldaad Magistrate’s Court to continue on July 27, 2017.
Twenty-year-old Edwards of Canefield, Canje and 24-year-old Charles, of Anchor Village, Berbice were charged for allegedly trafficking in narcotics on May 31, 2015, at Washington Public Road, Berbice.
According to reports, Chatterpaul, the main witness in the case, lied under oath and deliberately gave contradictory evidence, thereby facilitating the dismissal of charges against the two men implicated in the trafficking of over seven kilograms of cannabis.
Charles and Edwards were freed in September last as Magistrate Rhondell Weever in her <<<ratio decidendi>>> declared that the judicial decision owed to the deliberate and blatant lies and inconsistent evidence given by the Constable.
The rank had even admitted under cross-examination that he was guided by a corporal to construct his statements to ensnare the two men for trafficking in narcotics.
The Weldaad Magistrate’s Court initially heard that Chatterpaul was en route to New Amsterdam when he saw a white motor car parked on the Washington Public Road with a man (later identified as Edwards) standing three feet away from the vehicle.
In his evidence, Chatterpaul had testified to seeing a road block in progress at the Weldaad Police Station, so he suspected that the occupants of the car were seeking to avoid it. He subsequently searched Edwards and upon finding nothing of substance, proceeded to search the vehicle where he discovered the suspected marijuana concealed in plastic containers behind the driver’s seat.
However, the former Constable changed his story under cross-examination, subsequently revealing that he had been guided to write the statement by a corporal.
The Magistrate in her summing up stated that the court found that the entire conduct and demeanour of Chatterpaul and his participation in the investigation of the matter of the trafficking in narcotics fell short of being credible and reliable.