Reporter on attempted murder charge granted bail
CHRONICLE reporter Sharon Lall, charged with attempting to kill a light aircraft pilot and a passenger in mid-air, was yesterday granted bail by a judge.
She was Monday refused bail by Magistrate Oscar Parvattan when she appeared in court for the first time on two charges of attempted murder.
The prosecution did not oppose bail before the magistrate at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate's Court, West Coast Demerara.
When her lawyer yesterday applied to High Court Judge Oswell Legall for bail, Prosecutor Jo Ann Barlow was there and did not object to bail.
Justice Legall allowed Lall bail at $75,000 on each of the two charges.
Lall is due before Magistrate Parvattan again on Monday.
TV `talk show' host, Mark Benschop, who reportedly interviewed the Chronicle reporter after she was charged in last month's mid-air stabbing drama has been ordered to appear in court that day too.
As a result of the interview which was broadcast by Benschop, and other concerns, Lall was refused bail by the magistrate.
Lall, 22, was in hospital under police guard since her arrest but the magistrate Monday ordered her to be remanded at the East La Penitence Police Station in Georgetown until March 5.
Monday was her first appearance in court since she was charged with attempting to murder the pilot of the aircraft and a passenger in mid-air on January 29.
Lall's lawyer, Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, pleaded for bail at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate's Court and Police Prosecutor, Inspector Christopher Griffith said he had no objections to bail.
But Mr Parvattan said one of the grounds for refusing bail was that Lall permitted Benschop, host of the `Straight Up' show on NBTV Channel Nine to interview her.
He ordered the prosecutor to ensure that Benschop appears in court when the case comes up again Monday.
Parvattan also warned Lall, "in her best interest" not to give any more interviews to reporters since the case was sub judice.
Media, under law, are supposed to report on court cases only what take place in the courtroom and are prohibited from interviewing accused persons. Those who breach the rule can be found in contempt of court and may be fined/jailed.
When the magistrate questioned her pertaining to the interview, Lall said that Benschop went to her bedside in hospital and asked her if she was a vicious person, which she denied.
Her lawyer Ramjattan said his client did not even know that Benschop had a tape recorder when he spoke to her in hospital.
"Mark is a reporter and she is also a reporter; she thought he went as a friend", Ramjattan told the magistrate.
Lall said she was absent from court before because she is suffering from depression and a stomach ulcer.
Ramjattan had argued that remanding his client to prison was suicidal and suggested that the doctor treating her for depression, Dr Bhiro Harry, testify on the same day as to her stability.
Two medical certificates were produced in court by the lawyer but were not tendered because Ramjattan said he wanted to have copies of the documents.
The magistrate asked that Dr Harry appear in court on March 5.
Ramjattan said the incident arose out of severe depression the accused was suffering from, adding that if she was placed on bail the police could be allowed to make regular checks at her home.
Lall is accused of stabbing with intent to murder pilot Yacoob Mazaharally and Vidya Gooray, a passenger on the aircraft.
According to reports the accused, the pilot and Gooray and her nine-year-old daughter were in a Cessna four seat aircraft when the stabbing took place.
They had departed the Ogle airstrip, East Coast Demerara for Spring Gardens, Essequibo Coast and shortly after, Lall allegedly pulled a knife from a bag and stabbed Mazaharally several times in his shoulder and neck, police said.
Gooray was wounded when she reportedly tried to prevent Lall from harming the pilot who managed to land the plane safely back at the Ogle airstrip.
The case was first called up in Georgetown before Chief Magistrate Paul Fung-A-Fat and she was remanded to the Georgetown Hospital under police supervision.
 Follow the goings-on in Guyana  If you do not see the 'Guyana: Land of Six Peoples' drop-down menu on the left then please click here to enter through the front door which will give you additional options and information.
|