A Corentyne River chainsaw operator who spent more than seven months before the courts on a charge of unlawful possession of ammunition has been discharged after a magistrate ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Rajiv Singh, called “Issac”, 36, of Orealla Village, Corentyne River, Berbice, was on Thursday discharged by Magistrate Tuanna Hardy at the conclusion of a trial into an allegation that he unlawfully possessed 25 live 12-gauge cartridges without holding a firearm licence.

In delivering her ruling, Magistrate Hardy found that the prosecution had failed to establish the offence beyond a reasonable doubt and dismissed the charge. The decision followed a trial that was conducted over several hearings between June 23 and July 9, during which the prosecution called six witnesses before closing its case. Both the prosecution and the defence subsequently made oral submissions before the magistrate reserved and later delivered her decision. During his closing submissions, Defence Attorney Vinay Punwasi mounted a number of challenges to the prosecution’s case, arguing that the evidence presented was insufficient to sustain a conviction.

Punwasi objected to the prosecution’s reliance on an alleged oral statement said to have been made by Singh. The attorney also challenged the admissibility of aspects of the prosecution’s evidence, arguing that there had been a failure to establish the proper legal foundation for its admission. Punwasi further submitted that ranks from the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) involved in the operation were not equipped with body-worn cameras, leaving no independent electronic record to corroborate the circumstances surrounding the alleged oral statement.