‘Flawed’ breathalyzer procedure sees DUI charge being dismissed against driver in fatal accident.

The court has dismissed a charge for the offence of driving under the influence, against Roberto Narine, the civil engineer who is presently on trial for causing the death of squash athlete, 27-year-old Ian Mekdeci.

This has been confirmed by Narine’s attorney Siand Dhurjon.

The charge brought by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) was represented by special prosecutor Attorney-at-Law Latchmie Rahamat was thrown out, after Magistrate Clive Nurse upheld the no-case submission made by Dhurjon on Narine’s behalf on April 24.

According to Dhurjon, the police led evidence of video footage of Narine being breathalyzed and being shown the instrument’s reading of being over the legal limit of alcohol. The Police, counsel noted and argued that Narine’s breathalyzer test result was .162 microgrammes.

The legal limit is .35 microgrammes in every 100ml of breath, Dhurjon said.

However, the lawyer said that the court agreed with his submissions that there was no evidence that the specific breathalyzer instrument was approved for such use by the Minister as required by the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act.  

“Furthermore, there was no certificate adduced by the prosecutor to prove that Officer Haynes who conducted the breathalyzer analysis was authorised to do such breath tests,” the lawyer pointed out.

In light of these shortcomings, Dhurjon argued that an unauthorized officer conducted a “flawed breathalyzer procedure” on his client using a device unapproved for the said purpose.

A statement from Dhurjon read, “The magistrate went on to rule on Wednesday that the prosecution itself had introduced into evidence information to show that the breathalyzer device was not in proper working condition as the witnesses admitted when Mr. Dhurjon cross-examined them that the apparatus was incapable of printing the result receipts.”

Under cross-examination, he pointed out that Officer Haynes admitted that while he was trained to print and use the receipts, the court was deprived of certain facts because the machine could not print receipts.  According to Narine’s lawyer, the magistrate noted that there was an absence of any evidence of the machine being recently calibrated, self-checked, or purged.

“Magistrate Clive Nurse ruled that all of the shortcomings of the evidence as led by the prosecution rendered the breathalyzer results insufficiently reliable. Magistrate Nurse remarked that the prosecution ‘failed to prove the statutory requirements’ and the elements of their case.”

The charge of causing death by dangerous driving against Narine is currently ongoing before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. He is on $200,000 bail.

Dead – Ian Mekdeci

The accident occurred at the intersection of Sandy Babb Street, Georgetown and Vlissengen Road, Georgetown in the vicinity of Camp Ayanganna at about 02:00h on May 1, 2022.

Police in a statement had said 37-year-old Narine of Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was driving motor Jeep #PTT 4136 along when he failed to stop at the intersection.

As a result, he collided with motor car #PXX 4592 which is owned and was at the time being driven by Sheik Baksh of Kitty, Georgetown with Mekdeci of Subryanville, Georgetown in the passenger seat.

Mekdeci and Baksh received injuries and were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC)  by ambulance in an unconscious condition. Mekdeci later died while Baksh sustained a broken left arm, lacerations to the head, and a punctured left lung.

Police Headquarters had reported that a  breathalyzer test conducted on Narine showed readings of  162% and 151% micrograms respectively, which is way above the legal limit.

In investigating the fatal accident, Police retrieved CCTV footage from the area. Narine was also charged with driving an unlicensed motor vehicle; however, he pleaded guilty at his initial court appearance on May 4, 2022, and was fined $20,000 by Magistrate Clive Nurse.