Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore this afternoon set June 28, 2019 for the ruling in the case of Sawak Maraj, the Trinidadian who allegedly faked his own kidnapping shortly after his entry into Guyana.
Today when the matter was called, Court Prosecutor Dominic Bess, presented closing arguments to the defendant before Magistrate Azore granted the adjournment.
The 33-year-old chemical engineer is currently out on $1M bail after pleading not guilty to two charges.
Particulars of the first charge against him allege that on October 27, 2017 at Georgetown, he knowingly gave false information to the police by stating he was kidnapped and that his abductors demanded US$700,000 for his release.
The second charge alleged that on the same day at Madewini Resort, Soesdyke/Linden Highway, Maraj conspired with other persons to negotiate to obtain a ransom of US$700,000.
According to information, Maraj came to Guyana on October 27, 2017 via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
He reportedly left the airport in a taxi and was heading to a hotel on East Bank Demerara when he disappeared.
Maraj told the court that he came to Guyana to attend a job interview with ExxonMobil. Shortly after the engineer left the airport, a photograph of him with someone holding a cutlass to his neck was sent to his parents and other relatives in Trinidad and Tobago.
It is alleged that the “kidnappers” threatened to kill their victim if the demanded ransom was not paid. The engineer’s family immediately made contact with the Guyana Police Force and forwarded the photograph.
Ranks were able to track the number of the “kidnappers” and the officers were immediately mobilised in and around Georgetown.
They then went to the location in a bid to rescue the “victim”. On arrival at the hotel, the ranks were puzzled when they entered the room where they saw Maraj relaxing on a sofa, drinking a can of fruit juice. He was not bound or gagged.