DPP Chambers suggests police delaying advice in Westford’s alleged larceny probe

Last Updated on Thursday, 14 January 2016, 12:01 by Denis Chabrol

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers Thursday appeared to lay the blame squarely at the feet of police investigators for the delay in advising whether or not former Public Service Minister, Dr. Jennifer Westford should be charged for alleged theft.

The Chambers said  all 24 files on the probe were returned to the  Guyana Police Force Thursday 14^th January, 2015 “with legal advice given to the police for them to complete their investigations.”

“The DPP’s Office wishes to note that this is the third occasion that these 24 files are being returned to the GPF with specific instructions for them to comply with previous legal advice given pertaining to the clarification of issues and the conduct of further investigations,” the Chambers said in a statement.

For several months now, police have been probing “larceny by public officer”  allegedly committed by then Public Service Minister Dr. Jennifer Westford and her then Principal Personnel Officer, Margaret Cummings.

The DPP’s Chambers says the 24 police files on the probe were received from the Guyana Police Force on the 9th, 23rd,28th and 30th December, 2015.

The Head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Senior Superintendent Wendell Blanhum has already attributed the delay to the need for investigators to travel to several of Guyana’s 10 administrative regions to take additional statements from persons who have been previously interviewed.

The law states that anyone found guilty of larceny by a public officer could be imprisoned for 14 years.

Westford and Cummings are already before the court in connection with their alleged roles in the disposal of several state-owned vehicles to a number of persons.

The vehicles have since been returned to the Guyana government.