Hughes, State not prepared for trial over missing diamonds

More than four witnesses are expected to testify in the High Court case involving $54 million worth of diamonds that went missing while in Police custody 24 years ago. The trial is set to commence at the High Court on October 24.
This announcement was made by Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes on Thursday before Justice Fidela Corbin-Lincoln, who has set out timelines for the case.
The diamonds at issue were taken in evidence by Police after being recovered following a 1994 robbery investigation. However, the merchandise, which purportedly belongs to businessman Ronald Khan, vanished while allegedly in Police custody.
When the matter came up for hearing at the Demerara High Court on Thursday, Solicitor General (SG) Kym Kyte-Thomas, who represented the Attorney General’s Chambers, disclosed that locating certain documents was proving difficult, as the matter has its genesis in Mahdia in 1994.
This prompted Justice Fidela Corbin-Lincoln to remark that the State appeared not prepared to present documents that the plaintiff had requested since May.
Hughes, representing businessman Ronald Khan, was similarly upbraided for not filing submissions relating to claims of limitations.
Justice Corbin-Lincoln gave the SG until September 14 to produce Khan’s witness statement, and Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes has to file his submissions at latest by that date.
“Both sides appear (to be) on the wrong foot,” Justice Corbin-Lincoln said.
Despite announcing that it could not locate the missing diamonds, the State had, earlier this year, stated that it was not settling the suit with Khan, who is now an elderly man. The State is, in fact, contending that Khan has to prove that the items now missing were indeed diamonds. This followed the businessman’s intimation that he would have dropped the suit once his property was returned.
Khan had, back in 2011, filed legal action against the State when he moved to recoup his uncut diamonds which the Police had found some time after his Ewang Creek mining camp in Region Eight had been robbed in 1994.
The precious merchandise was taken to the Mahdia Police Station and transported to Police in ‘E’ (Linden-Kwakwani) and ‘F’ (Interior locations) Divisions, and Khan is claiming he had been told that the items were exhibits in the case.
The filing of Hughes’s submissions is based on the State’s argument that Khan’s decision to wait until 2011 to file his claim was not within the three-year timeframe as outlined in Section 6 and 8 of Chapter 7:02 of the Limitation Act.
According to court documents which <<Guyana Times>> had earlier this year obtained, Khan had, in 2010, written late Police Commissioner Henry Greene requesting the return of his diamonds, but this was never done.
The case garnered increased attention after the Attorney General had published notices in the press calling for several Police ranks, including former Police Commissioner Floyd McDonald, to make contact with his Chambers.
McDonald, who served as Crime Chief in 1994, has been named in Khan’s lawsuit, in addition to Harley Davidson, Deputy Crime Chief; Eon Sandy, who was stationed at the Supreme Criminal Court’s Police Outpost; and Alwyn Wilson, who was stationed at then ‘E’ and ‘F’ Division headquarters at Eve Leary. Notices were also sent out for Terrence Semple, who was last stationed at Mahdia Police Station; Courtney Ramsey and Desmond Leitch, both last stationed at the Criminal Investigation Department; Constable Fraser (Reg Number: 10881), and ex-Detective Sergeant Carl Wilson (Reg Number: 7797).