Army guard dismissed for soldier’s escape
By Kim Lucas
Stabroek News
November 17, 2002
A Guyana Defence Force Lance Corporal has been demoted to private and sacked from the army for allowing a detained soldier in his custody to escape while partying at a Ruimveldt nightspot.
It took a court martial and a summary trial over the last month to secure the marching orders for Rixon Peneux.
He was placed under close arrest two days after four soldiers who were under his guard went missing on September 4 from Base Camp Ayanganna. The court martial was launched at the beginning of October and the trial was last week Thursday.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Pompey told Stabroek News that Penuex was first tried by ordinary court martial on two charges - conduct to the prejudice of good order, proffered for the unauthorised release of soldiers under sentence and failing to perform military duties, since he had been rostered for the duty, but took himself away from Camp Ayanganna.
“[That] court martial concluded on November 7. However, he was acquitted of the two charges on a legal technicality. He was then charged and tried summarily under section 61 [of the Defence Act] for the unauthorised releasing of soldiers under sentence,” the officer stated.
Pompey explained that the first charge of the unauthorised releasing of soldiers under sentence was related to two of the four ranks who escaped. After that failed to gain a conviction, the army charged Penuex for the escape of a third rank and conducted a summary trial.
“That trial took place on November 8 and concluded the same day. He [Penuex] was reduced to the rank of a private and struck off strength. His service was no longer required.”
The allegations against the former soldier were that on the night of September 3, Penuex escorted the four soldiers out of the army’s headquarters, Base Camp Ayanganna, to “hang” at a nightspot in South Ruimveldt.
Each of the `detainees’ then asked for an excuse and escaped. Three of them subsequently returned and one of them has been dishonourably discharged.
Stabroek News understands that two of the ranks under guard were being detained for attempting to steal two high-powered weapons from the army, while the other two were in detention for previously being absent without leave.
The still missing rank is a suspect in the arms probe, and he was subsequently declared Absent Without Leave (AWOL).
The four soldiers were discovered missing on September 4, shortly after the 5:30 am flag raising ceremony. A search for them was launched immediately, and that very night, investigations revealed that the soldier who is still missing had gone home, packed a bag of clothing, and left. He has not been heard from since.
The other three were later taken back to the military base by relatives. The army had launched a probe early in August after an AK-47 was found in a black plastic bag under a bed at the Ruimveldt Coast Guard base in Georgetown.
Subsequent checks in the arms room revealed that another AK-47 and two M70 rifles were missing. Only one of the M70 rifles was recovered. The army then detained several ranks, three of whom, it said, were directly involved in the pilfering and selling of the weapons. Two soldiers subsequently admitted to stealing the guns and trying to organise their sale. One of them reportedly admitted stealing the missing AK-47 in late July while a team of soldiers was transporting weapons from Cove and John on the East Coast Demerara, to a Coast Guard base at Annandale.
After weeks of investigations, the soldiers offered to turn State’s evidence, and are expected to testify against the businessmen to whom they claim to have sold the missing guns. The army has not yet formally penalised the soldiers accused in the arms theft probe.
Sources told this newspaper that the accused ranks will remain under detention until they have completed testifying against the Berbice businessmen. Then the army will decide their fate. Among those charged since the uncovering of the scam were Salim Bacchus and Mohamed Shaharudin, both of Corentyne, Berbice. They were arrested together with Brazil and Suriname nationals, Amanda Sueli Dos Santos Vale and Yohan Soekha, respectively. The nationals were jailed and ordered deported upon completion of their sentence.
The two locals, along with Kitty businessman Rabindranauth Persaud, are on bail pending the outcome of their cases.
