Following the adjournment of the hearing for the bail application of Mehul Choksi, the Indian fugitive remains hospitalized at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital (DCFH). The billionaire diamond dealer has been at the Imray ward of the hospital for almost 10 days where he is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed condition.
He was pushed into court twice in a wheelchair, but he walked into court recently by himself, apparently stronger than when he first came into the country. He was in court for the hearing for his bail application, but High Court Judge Wynante Adrien-Roberts postponed the bail application hearing to June 11.
Represented by Justin Simon (QC), Julien Prevost, Wayne Norde, Wayne Benjamin Marsh and Cara Shillingford-Marsh, Choksi’s attorneys urged the court to grant the 62-year-old Indian/Antiguan citizen bail. But acting Director of Public Prosecution Sherma Dalrympe vehemently opposed the bail application on the basis that the fugitive is a flight risk and could jump bail.
Choksi’s lead attorney, Wayne Norde, argued that Choksi is not a flight risk given that the Interpol is on the lookout for him and he has pending court summons in India and even in Antigua. He also added that Choksi’s debilitating health would not encourage him to leave Dominica pending the finding determination of this case in the courts. Norde even urged the court to set Choksi’s bail at EC$10,000 even though the maximum penalty for the illegal entry charge levelled against the Indian is EC$5,000.
But Chief Magistrate Candia Carrette-George sided with the prosecution and denied bail to Choksi while his hearing for the bail is postponed to Friday, June 11.
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