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The punitive damages must be substantial

Jul 19, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
This government continues to trample on the rights of our citizens. Yesterday I heard a horror story of a young lady, who cannot now find employment, since she was dismissed from GEA for failing to pass a polygraph test, a wholly illegal affair.
As long as we Guyanese file claims against the government asking for paltry compensations and damages, even when deliberately killed by trigger happy police, the abuses will continue.
Unless there is a committed attempt by competent attorneys, who are prepared to go all the way to the CCJ if necessary, to demand massive punitive damage when the government violates our rights, the abuses will continue.
A little over 13 years ago, it had to be at least that, since the lawyer for the plaintiff,  Derek Jagan died in October 2000, the plantation Houston truck which was transporting the labourers accidently killed a pedestrian. I have tried to recover the court documents to no avail but the case does exist. I remember it because my family had to pay this compensation.
The family of the deceased took Houston to court. Their lawyer, as I have stated, was Mr. Derek Jagan. Our lawyer is considered by many to be the best in our generation, but at the end of this trial Houston was required to pay the family of the deceased $25 million. This case established that once the defendant has the capacity to pay, he would have to pay heavy punitive damages.
The government in this country has deep pockets and the legal system has an obligation to enforce the rights of the people in this country. Until the government is called to pay massive punitive damages for their actions, the abuses will continue.
Offering $3 million for the deliberate shooting to death of three people at Linden is an insult to all of us and if we condone it, all of us will expose ourselves to similar abuses. If Houston Estate was penalised for its truck killing a pedestrian, accidently, through negligence, then the government should be called upon to pay more than $100 million in punitive compensation to the families of the Lindeners killed deliberately.
Until we do so, the abuses will continue. Until they are forced to pay the GEA workers massive compensation for violating their fundamental rights and in the process destroying their lives, the abuses will continue.
It is our obligation to force this issue since unless the government is called upon to pay heavy damages when it uses its power to deliberately penalise and victimise us wrongly, none of us living here will be safe from violation of our fundamental rights.
If any of us is not safe then none of us is, and the abuses will continue.
Tony Vieira

 

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