Senior civil servant Garfield ‘Gary’ Wong was acquitted of a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol by the Summary Court on Thursday, 21 Oct.
The not guilty verdict was returned by Chief Magistrate Valdis Foldats after the Crown offered no evidence against Wong, who is now the deputy director of Customs and Border Control.
“My instructions are that the Crown will not be proceeding with this charge against the defendant and therefore no evidence will be offered against him,” said prosecutor Tetrina Rivers.
“At the 11th hour, the Crown has come to the place where I invited them to be several years ago,” said defence attorney Dennis Brady, who went on to outline the seven-year legal battle that bounced between Summary Court and Grand Court.
The DUI charge stems from a 2013 accident in which Wong’s Dodge Ram pickup truck and a BMW sedan collided. Both vehicles received significant damage; however, Wong was able to drive away from the scene, and was eventually pulled over by a police officer.
According to court documents, Wong was taken to the Bodden Town Police Station where blood alcohol results showed a reading of .184; the legal limit in Cayman is .100.
As a result of the accident, Wong was charged with careless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and DUI.
He was convicted of the first two charges, but acquitted of DUI by Magistrate Grace Donalds, who said she could not be sure whether the blood alcohol test was carried out in strict adherence of the Traffic Law (2011 Revision), and there was no other way to know whether Wong was over the legal limit.
The prosecution successfully appealed the magistrate’s verdict before the Grand Court in March 2020. Justice Marlene Carter ordered Wong to be retried on the DUI charge before the Summary Court.
However, the prosecution decided to abandon the case, but provided no reason for doing so.
Following the not guilty verdict by Foldats, Brady announced his intention to seek costs for the legal fees incurred by Wong.
“I am putting the court on notice that my client will seek to recoup his significant legal fees which he has spent over the course of these several years, while fighting to clear his name,” said Brady.
Amelia Fosuhene, who also represents Wong, told the Cayman Compass, “Mr. Wong is very relieved after what has been a lengthy and costly legal battle.”
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