Man gets $8M for spending 80 days in jail wrongfully

Apr 30, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – A Kuru Kuru resident, who was wrongfully arrested, detained, imprisoned and maliciously prosecuted by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for 80 days in 2023 was on April 29, 2026 awarded $8 million by the High Court.

Terrence Sandy, through his attorneys at Dexter Todd and Associates Law Firm sued the GPF and the state for wrongful arrest and imprisonment.

According to a statement by the law firma, the High Court in its judgement declared that Sandy was wrongfully arrested by members of the Guyana Police Force; wrongfully imprisoned by agents/officers of the State between June 10, 2023, and August 28, 2023; and was subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment by agents of the State between the same period.

“A declaration that the fundamental rights of the claimant, as guaranteed under Articles 139(1) and 141 of the Constitution, were violated by the State, their servants and agents by imposing inhumane and degrading treatment, false imprisonment and wrongful deprivation of liberty between Saturday 10^thJune,2023 and Monday 28^thAugust, 2023;  A declaration that the claimant was maliciously prosecuted by members of the Guyana Police Force without seeking legal advice on the matter,” the statement detailed.

The Court also ordered compensatory damages in the sum of $3 million for unlawful arrest and detention and for the contravention of the claimant’s fundamental rights to protection of personal liberty as guaranteed under Article 139(1) of the Constitution.

The court declared compensatory damages in the sum of $2 million for the contravention of the claimant’s fundamental rights to protection from inhuman treatment guaranteed under Article 141(1) of the Constitution; and exemplary in the sum of $2,000,000 and special damages in the sum of $600,000 for loss of income, and another sum of $400,000 to be paid by the defendant to the claimant on or before 29^th   May, 2026.

Recalling what transpired, law firm shared that Sandy, a porter, who was 22 years old at the time, was on June 10, 2023 walking home in his village when he was approached by a police van and subsequently arrested by the police.

He was taken to the Timehri Police Station then to the Madawini Police Station, on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, where he was placed in a cell with no explanation and without a statement being requested of him. He was subsequently charged with the offence of break and enter and larceny, and taken to the Diamond Magistrates’ Court where he was unrepresented and subsequently remanded by the Magistrate on June 13, 2023.

Sandy was imprisoned at the Lusignan Prison and his family thereafter retained an attorney to represent him.

The Law Firm stated that a full disclosure was done in this matter and upon review of all the statements served on Sandy, it was discovered by his attorneys that there was absolutely no evidence implicating him in the alleged offence that was committed.

“There was absolutely no mention of his name, no mention of an alias or even a description of him by any of the witnesses. The virtual complainant himself made no mention of Mr. Sandy and never identified him as someone who robbed him. Even further, there was no statement speaking to his arrest, an allegation being put to him or anything pointing to the Police following the procedures prescribed by law and the judges’ rules,” the agency explained.

Sandy’s attorney wrote the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on July 18, 2023 requesting that she review the file and withdraw the charges against him. This was also raised in Court on July 27, 2023 where the police revealed that the file was never sent to the DPP for advice before the charges were instituted against Sandy.

On August 28, 2023 $150,000 bail was eventually granted to Sandy along with weekly reporting conditions.

By letter dated September 26, 2023, the DPP indicated that she reviewed the file and advised that the matter be withdrawn. The charges were subsequently withdrawn on October 5, 2023 at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court, but only after counsel raised the point of the letter sent by the DPP to withdraw the charges.

The law firm said that the ruling in the case once again reflects the court’s zero tolerance for constitutional breaches against citizens and their posture of compensating victims of these breaches.

Justice Sherdel Issacs-Marcus presided over the matter and handed down Friday’s ruling.

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• Dexter Todd and Associates Law Firm, Guyana Police Force, imprisoned, jail wrongfully

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