Another hospital employee remanded for stealing COVID-19 vaccination cards

Aug 31, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Yesterday, another person was remanded for allegedly stealing COVID-19 vaccination cards. The defendant is Mark Samuels, 30, a driver for the Ministry of Health (MOH) who was charged in 2018 for a million-dollar fuel fraud.

Mark Samuels who was remanded yesterday.

Samuels of 276 South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus. He denied the charge which alleges that between August 22, 2021 and August 23, 2021, at Brickdam, Georgetown, he broke and entered the vaccination centre of the MOH and stole 66 COVID-19 vaccination cards valued $1,014.
Attorney-at-law Dexter Smart, who is representing Samuels, told the court that his client maintains his innocence and added that the alleged stolen cards were not found on his client nor were they found in his home.
According to the lawyer, the defendant is not a flight risk and will abide with any conditions seen fit by the court if placed on bail.
However, Police Prosecutor, Annalisa Brummell, objected to bail being granted to Samuels, citing the serious nature of the offence and due to the fact that the defendant was caught on CCTV video footage, showing him entering the premises.
The court also heard that the defendant was previously charged with rape and is currently awaiting a High Court trial.
As such, he was remanded to prison by Principal Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus and the matter was adjourned to September 27, 2021.
According to reports, in December 2018, Samuels was charged for fraudulently obtaining a little over $1 million in diesel from the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil). That charge had alleged that between December 12, 2017 and January 7, 2018, at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, Samuels obtained $1,054,789 in diesel from GuyOil on Regent Street by presenting a cheque in the name of Clyde Fowler, knowing same to be forged.
On Friday, August 30, 2021, an employee attached to the West Demerara Regional Hospital was remanded to prison by Magistrate, Zameena Ali-Seepaul, after he was charged for stealing 12 COVID-19 booklets belonging to the MOH.

Avinash Ramaherwar who was remanded last week.

The defendant, Avinash Ramaherwar, 27, appeared in the Leonora Magistrate’s Court where he was not required to plead to the charges of simple larceny and forgery.This publication had reported that Ramaherwar, a bus driver and two other employees were arrested after they were found with four blank COVID-19 booklets, 17-stamped sick leave forms, a stethoscope, and other items in their possession.
According to initial reports from the police, on the day in question, a female nurse of the hospital was on duty when two of the suspects approached her with their COVID-19 booklets asking for it to be stamped. They further informed her that a third employee was waiting to take them to the Diamond Diagnostic Hospital.
The nurse told police that when she checked the booklets, she observed that they were blank. Knowing that the suspects were not supposed to have the books, she immediately brought it to her supervisor’s attention who then reported it to the Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station.
Following the investigation into the matter, Ramaherwar was the only one to be charged after being placed before the court.

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