The Court of Appeal moments ago overturned a decision by High Court Judge Simone Morris-Ramlall freeing Guyana-born U.S.-based businessman Marcus Bisram for the 2016 murder of Berbice carpenter Faiyaz Narinedatt. In a virtual hearing today, Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards said that the Court is of the view “that the committal proceedings by the magistrate and the direction by the Director of Public Prosecutions would not have been invalid.”
Marcus’s attorney, Arudranauth Gossai, is expected to hand him over to the police, where he will be remanded until his trial.
In June last, Justice Morris-Ramlall ruled that the DPP’s directive to Magistrate Renita Singh, who had discharged the charge against Bisram following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), was unlawful. The Judge had also ordered that Bisram be immediately released from jail, where he had been on remand pending trial.
In her 32-page judgment, Justice Morris-Ramlall noted that the evidence disclosed by the prosecution did not meet the requisite evidentiary threshold to support calling upon Bisram to lead a defense at the close of the prosecution’s case. The Judge held that no prima facie case had been made out against him to put him on trial by a jury before a judge.
Taking this into consideration, Justice Morris-Ramlall further held that the DPP did not lawfully exercise her discretion under Section 72 of the Criminal Law Offences Act, Chapter 10: 01, for Bisram to be committed, and that the committal by the Magistrate cannot stand.
Hence, the Judge issued an order quashing the DPP’s directive for Bisram’s committal.Bisram’s PI commenced on January 20, 2020, and concluded on March 30, 2020, before Magistrate Renita Singh at the Whim Magistrate’s Court. At the close of the prosecution’s case, the Magistrate discharged Bisram on the ground that a prima facie case had not been established against him.
It was alleged that between 31 October 2016 and 1 November 2016, Bisram coerced, procured, and commanded five persons to murder Narinedatt. The five were charged with the carpenter’s murder and remain on remand.
