Repeated delays in prosecuting 26 people accused of breaching COVID-19 Public Health Regulations by attending a private party in Valsayn last year, have led to them being freed.
Senior Magistrate Wendy Dougdeen-Bally dismissed the charges against the group after upholding an application from their attorneys during a hearing in the Tunapuna Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
According to the evidence in the case, the group was arrested after police raided the event in May last year. They were charged with breaching the regulations, which put a cap on the number of people who could attend public gatherings.
During the hearing, the group’s lawyer, Martin George, claimed that the prosecution should be discontinued due to repeated delays by police prosecutors in beginning the trial of the case.
He noted that during a previous hearing the previous Friday, a police prosecutor indicated that he and his colleagues could not locate the case file to begin the case.
He said although the accused provided detailed contact information during the last hearing, only one received disclosure of the evidence against him to prepare his defence to the charge.
The police prosecutor who was present at the previous hearing was absent on Friday and the case was stood down briefly to allow him to appear before Magistrate Dougdeen-Bally to provide an update.
When he did appear, he could not provide an explanation for the missing file and Magistrate Dougdeen-Bally upheld George’s application.