“Braffy” Sentenced to 10 Years for Fatally Stabbing Fellow Villager
November 22 2024 – Ramesh Ramdeen, a 25-year-old fisherman from Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara
(WCD), has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the 2019 fatal stabbing of his fellow villager, 27-year-old Noel Singh.
Initially charged with the capital offence of murder, Ramdeen, otherwise known as “Braffy”, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, admitting to stabbing Singh during a heated altercation.
Dead: Noel Singh
The incident occurred on October 20, 2019, outside Singh’s residence, where the confrontation escalated after Singh attacked Ramdeen with a cutlass.
Ramdeen retaliated by disarming Singh of a knife and stabbing him to the chest. The victim’s cause of death was confirmed as perforation of the heart due to stab wounds.
On Thursday, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, presiding in the Demerara High Court, ordered that the time Ramdeen spent on remand since October 28, 2019 be deducted from his sentence.
She emphasised the court’s consideration of mitigating factors, including Ramdeen’s youth, remorse, cooperation with authorities, and a positive probation report.
However, the judge also highlighted aggravating factors such as the severity of the crime, the use of a sharp weapon, and the societal trend of resorting to violence to resolve disputes.
The court established an 18-year starting point for sentencing, reducing it to 15 years after accounting for mitigating factors. A further five-year reduction was granted for Ramdeen’s early guilty plea, bringing the final sentence to 10 years.
