A Berbice woman has been fined a total of $60,000 for wasting the court’s time after withdrawing an abuse case she had filed against her husband.
Joanna Ramoutar, of Lot 143, Number Two Village, East Canje, Berbice, was fined $20,000 on each of three charges by Magistrate Michelle Matthias.
In June 2025, Ramoutar made a public appeal on Facebook, claiming she had suffered six years of abuse at the hands of her husband, 25-year-old Karran Sukhan. Following her post, police in Region Five arrested Sukhan, who was later charged with assault causing actual bodily harm, using threatening language, and threatening behaviour.
Sukhan pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was initially remanded to custody but later granted pre-trial release after his attorney, Charlyn Artiga, successfully applied for bail—set at $50,000 for the assault charge and $30,000 for each of the other two offences.
When the matter was called again, Ramoutar informed the court that she no longer wished to testify and instead requested that Sukhan be warned, saying she would report him if he abused her again.
After confirming that she was not coerced into dropping the matter, Police Prosecutor Sergeant Sherry Williams requested that the court impose penalties for wasting judicial time.
Magistrate Matthias agreed and fined Ramoutar a total of $60,000—$20,000 for each of the three cases.
