Magistrate Renita Singh is set to begin presiding over the Preliminary Inquiry into the charge of murder brought against Marcus Bisram come Monday, January 20, 2020, at the Whim Magistrate’s Court.
On Wednesday, acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus transferred the matter to Berbice although Bisram’s attorneys had requested that the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into their client’s case be held in Georgetown.
The attorneys Glen Hanoman, Sanjeev Datadin and Dexter Todd, had argued for the state prosecutor Prosecutor Stacy Goodings to be removed from the case, since she has a close relationship with Magistrate Singh and it might prejudicial to the defence case.
Nevertheless, the Acting Chief Magistrate transferred the matter to the Whim Magistrate’s Court where all parties involved will air their matters of concern on Monday.
Weeks ago, Senior Magistrate Alex Moore, who presided at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court, recused himself from hearing the case and the matter was transferred out of the jurisdiction to Georgetown.
The News Room had reported that Magistrate Moore, had recused himself based on the instructions of the Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Yonette Cummings – Edwards.
The Senior Magistrate received a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to recuse himself followed by a petition which said he was biased.
The petition detailed that on the December 2, 2019, at the Whim Magistrate’s Court, Moore was “openly prejudicial” and bias against the prosecution which is led by State Prosecutor Stacy Goodings.
The petition was filed by the family of Narinedatt.
Bisram is accused of orchestrating the brutal murder of 26-year-old carpenter Faiyaz Narinedatt between October 31 and November 1, 2016.
The Police’s claim is that at a party on the night of October 31, Bisram made sexual advances against Narinedatt, including touching his penis, and when Narinedatt refused, by slapping him, he told others to kill the carpenter.
