A total of four men who admitted bribing an official at the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing avoided prison on Friday.
Justice Emma Peters gave all four, who admitted their guilt, community service orders instead of jail time.
In one hearing, the court heard that Shomar Bazil and Chetram Mangroo had earlier admitted bribing Marc Chin, then a Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing employee, to make sure they got pass marks in their driving theory test.
She sentenced Bazil, 29, to a 60-hour community service order and a payment of $500 towards court costs, and Mangroo, 30, to 40 hours of community service.
The court earlier heard Bazil, who had already failed the theory test, paid licensing officer Chin $150 in 2019 to guarantee he passed the test the second time.
Mangroo who had failed the theory test twice, paid the official $200 to guarantee a pass.
The court heard Chin, who earlier admitted a string of similar offences, is alleged to have acted with another man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to issue the driving and vehicle licences.
The prosecutions came as the result of a long-running probe carried out by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Defence counsel Amelia Fosuhene said Bazil, who was 23 at the time of the offence, was charged in 2022 and had the court case “hanging over his head” since then.
She said that Chin had approached Bazil, whom he knew through playing cricket, and offered to help him with the test in return for cash, and he had given in to temptation.
Fosuhene added, “But for that approach, it is doubtful that Mr. Bazil would be before this court.”
She added that Bazil, a Water Authority – Cayman employee, had led “an exemplary life” before and since the offence and was an ideal candidate for a community service sentence.
She added he had no previous convictions, except for a traffic court conviction for careless driving.
Fosuhene told the court that if Bazil was given a “significant sentence” his employer would “let him go”.
She added that Mangroo, who arrived from Guyana on a work permit in 2014, had been in limbo since his permit expired last October and had been unable to work.
She said that Mangroo, who had a driving licence from his homeland, “desperately wants to go home”.
Fosuhene said that the defendant had been talking about his failed attempts to get a Cayman licence at the gas station where he worked at the time and struck up a conversation with Chin, who offered to help in return for payment.
She added that Mangroo, who also had no previous convictions, had to pay for regular immigration department extensions of stay while he waited for his case to be dealt with, at $100 a time for periods ranging from a few weeks to a month or two.
Peters told the court, “Let’s be clear. These were both offences that struck at the heart of trust the people of these islands need to have in their public officials.”
She said she accepted that Chin had approached both men, but added, “You didn’t reject it. You grabbed it with both hands, pleased that this was a way to get through these tests.”
Peters added, “Perhaps it was for each of you a relatively small price to pay to get your theory test passed, but today you are going to pay a high price.”
She said, “It’s well recognised that the standard of driving in the Cayman Islands is not as good as it should be.”
Peters added that it was possible that was because people had been able to bribe civil servants to illegally obtain licences.
She noted Chin had operated “a well-established and well-oiled system of corruption” and the parts the two had played in it were relatively small.
But Peters said undermining “the proper function of government” and denting public confidence in institutions had to be punished.
Two other men sentenced
Peters, in a separate hearing, sentenced Jordan Cacho to 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered Corey Cato to perform 60 hours of community service.
The court heard that Cacho had admitted he twice paid Chin to fake vehicle inspection pass certificates for his car despite it having illegal dark tints on windows.
Cato earlier pleaded guilty to paying several hundred dollars to Chin to make sure his vehicle passed the mandatory inspection.
Fosuhene, who appeared for Cacho, emphasised that her client’s car was otherwise fit for the road, although the tints were illegal.
She added Cacho had been suspended from his job at the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority since he was charged with paying Chin $100 and $110 to pass his car on two occasions.
She added he feared he could lose his job as a result of the court case and that he had had to rent out his mortgaged home and move back in with his father and stepmother after he was suspended without pay.
Prathna Bodden, who appeared for Cato, said her client had a job with Caribbean Utilities Company and a family to support.
Peters warned Cacho, “The fact you did it twice is, I am afraid, going to be a factor I can’t ignore and will be relevant to the sentence you receive.”
Bodden earlier told the court that Cato had refused to apply for legal aid and had paid out of his own pocket for counsel.
Peters ordered him to pay $500 towards court costs, to be paid within three months, but Cacho was spared a contribution to costs as he had been unpaid while suspended and might lose his job.
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