The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAGISTRATE yesterday questioned why a Jamaican man who was charged with overstaying was not arraigned until about a week after his arrest.

During the man’s arraignment yesterday, the magistrate said this fact suggested some “irregularity” was present at the Department of Immigration and said those types of oversights were contributing to the number of unlawful detainment lawsuits that were draining the country’s resources. He insisted people should be brought before the courts at the earliest convenience to avoid there being a breach of their constitutional rights.

The matter was raised during a hearing involving Jamaican men who overstayed in the country. Radcliffe Walker, 55, was arrested after immigration officers found him residing in a motel in Bimini, past the time granted to him to remain in the country by an immigration officer.

He appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis alongside Derek Swaby, 30, who was also charged with the same offence.

The court heard on March 15, a team of immigration, police and defence force officers were made aware of a building on the island that was housing suspected foreign nationals. Acting on this information, the officers went to the Bailey Town premises where they searched the property and found the two Jamaicans. When they were questioned about their status, Walker gave the officers his passport which revealed he had been granted leave in February to visit the country for seven days.

Swaby’s passport on the other hand, indicated he was granted leave sometime in January and was also only given permission to stay in the country for one week. The court heard neither defendant was granted any further extensions. The prosecution said Walker overstayed for 17 days, while Swaby exhausted his welcome for some 46 days.

During the hearing, both men pleaded guilty. Walker also apologised for committing the offence and told the magistrate it was his first time visiting the country. He stated that he had spent seven days in custody after he was initially arrested in Bimini and insisted he had planned to “upgrade his ticket” so he could return home. The judge then raised the question about why it took so long for Walker to be brought to court.

Meanwhile Swaby also apologised to the magistrate and begged for leniency. He said while he was “touring the country and having fun,” he “met a girl and fell so in love,” that he got “carried away.”

After listening to their explanations, Magistrate Rolle Davis fined Walker $300 and Swaby $800. He said once the fines were paid, both men would be turned over to the Department of Immigration for deportation back to Jamaica at their own expense.