DPP Loses Bid to Remove Judge From Haresh Singh Murder Case

The Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack has failed in an application to remove High Court Judge Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif from the murder proceedings involving three men accused of killing 17-year-old Haresh Singh in 2020. The judge rejected the State’s argument that her earlier decision to separate the trial of one accused from the proceedings involving the other three created an appearance of bias or amounted to prejudging the case.

The three men whose trial remains before the court are Joel Gittens, Charles Scott and Glaston Henry.

Singh was found bloodied in a rice field in the Number Two Village backdam, West Coast Berbice, on September 9, 2020. The murder generated widespread public concern and protests at the time. The case initially involved four accused, but the court subsequently ordered that one accused be tried separately.