Two Rose Hall Corentyne fishermen were today remanded to prison, for the piracy murder of boat captain Mahadeo Ramdial, while a third man was charged with aiding and abetting the men.
The men, Khemraj Naraisan and Doodnauth were not required to plead to the indictable charge of murder, when they appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. The men reportedly committed the act on May 16th at sea between Tain and Rose Hall. The survivors recalled a small fishing boat slamming into their boat and shortly after they saw two men armed with cutlasses in their boat. The men were beaten and told to jump overboard, while the Pirates took away their catch and 40 horse power Yamaha engine.
Ramdial’s body washed up at the Rose Hall Foreshore days later.
Singh’s brother, Davanand Singh, 57, of Lot 5 Portuguese Quarters Berbice, was charged with aiding and abetting the men.
Attorney at Law Chandra Sohan who represented the men, told the court that they are all married with children. Sohan asked the court for bail for his client, arguing that his client is not a flight risk. He told the court that it was Davanand who had helped rescue the two survivors from the river, where the alleged hijacking took place.
His bail application was objected to by Police Prosecutor Arwin Moore who argued that the accused who is also a fisherman on the high seas, can easily escape through a back-track route to neighboring Suriname.
The three men were remanded to prison until June 5 and the matter was transferred to the Whim Magistrates’ Court.