Police child-flogging incident…

May 17, 2008 News

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Manickchand satisfied with staff investigation

Minister of Human Services Priya Manickchand said she is satisfied with the level of investigations conducted by her staff following revelations that a child was hospitalised after being tortured by police ranks.
The 10-year-old child, Ranvanlee Chan, of 68 Sisters Village, East Bank Berbice, was arrested and taken from his home on January 1, 2008.
He was accused of stealing $6,000 from a neighbour’s house but collapsed in police custody, allegedly after four days of beatings.
Chan claimed he was flogged with a belt, a broom and a tamarind whip and forced to kneel half-naked while keeping a stack of heavy books above his head.
The child’s grandmother, Survanie Chan, was reportedly allowed to witness the atrocity.
She told Kaieteur News that she saw Chan kneeling in his underwear while ranks handed him heavy books to hold in the air.
The woman said the child began trembling and as the books fell to the ground, the police administered even more lashes.
Attorney-at-Law Charrandass Persaud said the family had opted for an amicable settlement so as to avoid further trauma to the child.
However, they later recanted and disclosed that they would proceed with private criminal charges since there was no apparent effort by the officers to reconcile with the child.
Persaud expressed disgust that he was met with hostility in attempting to secure a medical certificate and got negative responses to his request for the names of the perpetrators.
The child’s lawyer said he has written to the Commanding Officer requesting the names of the policemen but a response is slow in coming.
Persaud related that he is in pursuit of a medical report from the New Amsterdam Hospital on the nature of Chan’s injuries but issue was made about his correspondence being delivered to the wrong department.
He had also chastised the Ministry for not taking a more proactive approach in the situation.
However, Minister Manickchand told Kaieteur News yesterday that the claims by the lawyer were not accurate.
She noted that her Berbice staff visited Chan’s home and school and has already counselled the child.
According to Minister Manickchand, the Ministry is also examining what other forms of assistance could be given to Chan.
“We are aware that his father died and we are currently looking at some other forms of assistance,” the Human Services Minister disclosed.
The Minister said that she met with her staff on Thursday and was prepared to “haul them over the coals”.
However, after discussing their participation in the matter, the Minister said she is satisfied that only a limited level of intervention was possible given the state of the investigation.
Persaud maintains that he intends to “pull out all the stops” in his quest for justice on Chan’s behalf.
He revealed that his next move is to seek the intervention of the United Nations in an effort to ensure no such atrocity is repeated.
The child was admitted to hospital under police guard and handcuffed and was not allowed visitors, an action that sparked widespread outrage.
A Canadian lawyer, who visited Guyana in March and met with President Bharrat Jagdeo, brought the incident to the attention of the Head of State.
A medical report from the New Amsterdam Hospital revealed that Chan had marks consistent with being flogged with a belt.
Divisional Commander Clinton Conway had expressed concern that a child of his age was admitted to hospital under police guard.
The officer in charge of the Sisters Police Station and the policeman implicated in the beating were interdicted from duty following the incident.
The neighbour had returned home to find her house ransacked and assumed that Chan had stolen her money.
Persaud noted that a policeman, who is reportedly friendly with the neighbour, arrested the child.
“He was beaten with a tamarind whip and a broom and the licks were so much he told them that he hid it under a tree,” Persaud noted.
The attorney disclosed that the police dug up under the tree but found no money and began beating the child again.
“He eventually told them it was somewhere else but they went there and didn’t find anything,” Persaud related.
He added that his client was so frightened that he became confused and decided to admit to anything in order to prevent the beating.
Chan’s parents, Shirdat Chan (who died recently) and Hemwattie Jaimangal, were later told that the money was replaced and so no charges would be pressed against the child.
However, Persaud denied that the money had been replaced since Chan’s parents are extremely destitute.
(Danielle Campbell)

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