Former Magistrate files appeal in High Court after convicted on traffic offence

Jun 15, 2018 News

One day after attorney at law and former Magistrate Chandra Sohan was found guilty of a traffic offence an appeal has been filed in the High Court.
Sohan, who was facing a number of charges, appeared before Magistrate Renita Singh in the Albion Magistrate’s Court. He was charged with dangerous driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, failing to render assistance to the injured person to the nearest medical facility, and failing to stop after an accident.
According to documents filed in the High Court, Sohan, through his attorneys, led by Mr. Mursalene Bacchus, is challenging the decision by Magistrate Singh to find him guilty.
The lawyers are contending that the decision by the magistrate is inconsistent, in that there were no grounds to show that Sohan was involved in any accident with the individual, Dale Roach, and that he failed to stop after an accident.
Those named in the appeal are Magistrate Singh and Police Lance Corporal Nagessar
The charged stemmed from an accident on August 4, 2017. While the other charges were dismissed, Sohan was found guilty on the charge of failing to transport the injured person to a nearby medical facility. He was fined $35,000.
According to the charge, on August 4, 2017 on the Williamsburg Corentyne Public Road, Sohan drove motor car PJJ 6060 in a dangerous manner.
Reports are that after hitting the individual, Dale Roach, a vagrant known for roaming the streets, the attorney drove off, thus failing to render assistance to the injured man.
The man was subsequently picked up and rushed to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. A breathalyzer test that was carried out on Sohan reportedly showed results that his blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. The other charges were reportedly dismissed against Sohan after the victim refused to offer evidence. The parties reportedly came to a settlement.
As it relates to driving under the influence, the court upheld a High Court ruling, based on arguments presented by Bacchus and the other lawyers that the devices being used by the Police to conduct breathalyzer tests for alcohol consumption must be calibrated every six months.
The court found that the device used to test Sohan back in August 2017 was not calibrated within six months prior to its use.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News