Magistrate Steven Conteh of Court no.1 is to correct irregularities in the matter of the 11 poachers who were fined US$ 50,000 each instead of US$100,000 each.
These poachers who were Taiwanese, Vietnamese and Korean were charged with three counts of Illegal fishing in the country’s waters, illegal entry in Sierra Leone and using an unlicensed foreign vessel.
However according to a Senior Officer of the Court the Magistrate is alleged to have not properly interpreted the Act for Fishing Management and Development of 1994 of which section 21(6) of the Act states “where any foreign fishing vessel is used in contravention of 2, 3, 4 or 5 the owner, chatterer and master of that vessel each commit an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not more than the Leone equivalent of One Hundred Thousand United States Dollars”.
Accordingly the Director of Public Prosecution O.V. Robin-Mason called up the matter again after the said fine had been paid stating that the accused persons are not in the dock for no fresh charge but because of some administrative indiscretion.
Defence Counsels S.K Koroma, J Fonnah Sesay, S.A Jamiru headed by C.F Edwards stated that the magistrate is not supposed to handle administrative matters but judicial one highlighting that these persons in the dock are not accused persons anymore because they had paid their fine and that they should be released.
C.F Edwards disclosed that justice must prevail in the judiciary and that the arraigning of the accused again in court after they had paid the fines levied against them by the court is a novel practice. The Defence Counsels bitterly argued that the alleged accused persons should not be taken to Pademba Road Prison because they are no longer accused.
The matter was adjourned to 14th September for ruling and the accused were carried away to Pademba Road again.
By Emmanuella Kallon
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