Latest update December 20th, 2024 4:27 AM
Latest News
- EPA shamefully omitted sections Exxon Permit to argue against unlimited parent company guarantee for oil spills- Dr. Adams
- Hicken appointed top cop
- Israeli attacks pummel Gaza’s north as UN denounces lack of aid access
- Brutus refutes claims of attempting to leave Guyana
- Man gets life imprisonment sentence for felonious wounding
Chief Justice dismisses Mc Bean wrongful dismissal challenge
By Zena Henry
Chief Justice (CJ) Ian Chang has dismissed the legal proceedings brought against the Guyana Police Force (GPF) by former Superintendent of Police, Simon McBean, ruling that the claims of both parties have no bearing and each side should stand their own legal costs.
The case was dismissed on the grounds that McBean could not have been an active member of the Guyana Police Force, while remaining in the United Kingdom as a full-time student at Leicester University. It was thus decided that by this action, McBean had “effectively terminated his own service” to the police force and the dismissal letter he received from the institution was only a confirmation of his action.
Former Superintendent of Police Simon McBean
McBean, being the plaintiff in the High Court matter, was thus denied his claim of $100,000 in damages; pension; gratuity and monthly pension, among other requests, while the police, being the defendant, will not have the salary paid to McBean prior to his job termination returned.
McBean was represented by Attorney-at-law Patrice Henry.
The lawyer presented to the court that in 2009, his client received a termination letter from the Police Service Commission (PSC), stating that McBean had unlawfully extended his annual leave by almost nine months and his services were no longer needed in the force.
McBean claimed that he was wrongfully terminated because he had followed the stipulations which necessitate officers informing the force of their inability to resume work for reasons such as illnesses. Following Mc Bean’s 112 days leave, which commenced in August and ended on December 24, 2007, he said he became ill, and informed the GPF of the developments via the Guyana High Commission in London.
The GPF, which had the representation of Pritima Kissoon, contended however, that Mc Bean’s extended stay was unauthorized and during that time, he enrolled and completed a Master’s Degree programme in the UK without the requisite approval. The Force claimed that by failing to obtain the approval, McBean had abandoned his position and was therefore liable to dismissal by the PSC in accordance with the terms and conditions of his contract of service.
The Force said too that since McBean pursued his Master’s Degree while on his annual leave and was not granted approval to continue thereafter with his study or no-pay leave, he erroneously received salaries from the time he returned to work, to the time he was dismissed.
It was however revealed that McBean had applied for study leave prior to the vacation leave, but was denied same. It was not until McBean was granted his vacation leave that he commenced studying in the UK.
According to the court information, on the day McBean’s vacation was scheduled to conclude, he reported his illness to the UK-based Guyana High Commission and returned for duty the day following the completion of his course. They said that McBean was diagnosed by a UK doctor with an acute nerve disorder. Medical certificates were thus faxed to the GPF via the UK-based High Commission. The certificates, according to the UK doctor, advised that for McBean to fully recover, he had to complete the Master’s programme as a form of therapy.
Chief Justice Chang however stated in his ruling that McBean was not an Inspector or Constable or subordinate officer, so Section 37 A (1) (a) of the Police Act, which deems the act by an officer absent for more than 24 hours an illegal withdrawal, could not apply to McBean. The Chief Justice stated that McBean however sought to cover his absence from duty “by way of medical certificates of sickness.”
He said that assuming that McBean obtained vacation leave up to the concluding date and subsequently went on a study course, “it was not open to him to cover his absence from official duty thereafter by medical certificates since he was then an attending full-time student at the University without study leave which was inconsistent with his obligations to be a serving member of the GPF on active duty.”
Chang said McBean could not have been a full-time University student without study leave and thus formed the view that the plaintiff had effectively terminated his own services by remaining a full-time student following the conclusion of his vacation leave.
To the police, Chang said that it was not McBean’s fault that he sought to resume duties in the Force and was paid until he received his termination letter. In light of this, the police’s counter claim for the return of his salary was dismissed.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A question of timing and priorities
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The advent of significant oil discoveries has catapulted Guyana into the global spotlight.... more
Let the asylum seekers go: a first step for Venezuela to rebuild relations in the Americas
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – The government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela has steadfast support from many... more
Weekend Cartoon
