People who break the country’s quarantine laws are not likely to receive the same level of leniency as Skylar Mack and Vanjae Ramgeet, warned the Court of Appeal in a written judgment released today (14 Jan.).
The couple had their four-month prison sentence cut by half on appeal, but the reduction was done “with some hesitation”, according to the written judgment.
Mack and Ramgeet were the first persons to be sentenced under new, stricter COVID-19 suppression regulations, and at the time they were imprisoned there were no guidelines on the issue.
The judgment reads in part: “We concluded… the sentences should be reduced for the following and only reason.
“There is no sentencing guideline for breaching the requirements to quarantine under Regulation 3. This is the first case in which a higher court has considered what the appropriate sanction for the breach should be.
“We are prepared to accept that these Appellants may not have appreciated the seriousness with which the court would regard their conduct: what the possible outcome in terms of sentence might be.
“Given that, and with some hesitation, we concluded a further reduction of two months for the sentences imposed by the judge was appropriate.”
Mack, 18, a US visitor, removed a geo-fencing tracking bracelet required by Cayman’s quarantine-at-home programme and, after only two days, left the residence where she was staying to attend a jet-ski event. Her boyfriend, Ramgeet, 24, who was competing in the event, was convicted of aiding and abetting Mack.
The law requires that all inbound passengers must quarantine for two weeks and test negative for COVID-19 before being released from isolation.
In their written judgment, the appeal judges said the protection of the public was of “paramount importance” and that “imprisonment is proportionate to the gravity of the offences”. However, they said Grand Court Judge Roger Chapple was wrong to have considered public fury, disapproval, and concern when imposing the sentence.
“These were not relevant matters in deciding the appeal,” reads the judgment. “They should not have been taken into account.”
The judges also said Chapple was wrong to have excluded additional mitigating evidence.
The judgment reads, “In our view, the judge’s approach was mistaken… fresh evidence going to mitigation is frequently adduced. If the judge were right, it would mean ignoring, for example, a relevant medical report which had not been available to the Magistrate.”
Mack and Ramgeet, who were incarcerated 14 Dec., are due to be released from custody Friday, 15 Jan.
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All this is theoretical if we continue to have cases under indefinite investigation.
Still deathly quiet on that 19 year old who broke out of quarantine twice. From a government facility (how?) and then from his mother’s home.
The rumor is that this 19 year old had mental health issues. But that’s not an excuse for an adult, mentally competent enough to go to school overseas, endangering the public.