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Sleepin’s boss, employee, customers charged for breaching COVID-19 regulations
Charged, Clifton Bacchus.
Kaieteur News – The owner of Sleepin International Hotel, Restaurant and Bar, Clifton Bacchus, 50, of Lots 288-289 Church Street, Georgetown, one of his employees and two customers were yesterday hauled before a city Magistrate after they were charged for breaching the COVID-19 regulations.
The other persons who were charged included: Shontelle Marshall, 33, of Alberttown, a cashier at Sleepin Hotel; Tyson Wickham, 38, a welder of AA Bent Street, Georgetown and Althea Agard, 25, a customer service representative at Western Union, of West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Marshall, Wickham, Agard and Bacchus, made their first court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Principal Magistrate, Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus.
The charge, which was read to Bacchus and Marshall, alleges that on March 12, 2021, at the Sleepin Hotel, they breached the curfew imposed between the hours of 22:30 hrs. and 04:00 hrs. Both defendants denied the charge after it was read to them.
Attorney-at-law, Latchmie Rahamat, is representing Bacchus and in her address to the court, she stated that under the law, which her client was charged, his business is listed as an essential business. The lawyer added that hotels, interior lodges and guesthouses can operate on a 24-hour basis therefore, making the charge against her client unlawful.
As such, the police prosecutor informed the court that a file pertaining to the breach of the curfew was sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C., and that the prosecution is currently awaiting advice on the way forward.
Additionally, Marshall’s lawyer told the court that his client is a cashier who usually works late and stays at the hotel. The woman’s lawyer then made an application for bail in a reasonable amount or that similar to the proprietor’s.
Principal Magistrate, Isaacs-Marcus, granted Bacchus and Marshall bail in the sum of $10,000 each and the matter was adjourned to May 17, 2021.
Both Wickham and Agard pleaded guilty to the charge, which alleges that on April 2, 2021, at the Sleepin Hotel, they breached the curfew imposed between the hours of 22:30 hrs. and 04:00 hrs. However, after the court was informed by the prosecutor that a file is with the DPP pertaining to the charges, Principal Magistrate, Isaacs-Marcus, entered a not guilty plea on Wickham and Agard’s behalf. They are expected to make their next court appearance on May 17, 2021.
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