Court office refuses van man’s bag of coins as payment

A van operator who was fined in court for not having a conductor on board when transporting passengers, encountered another problem when he went to the Magistrate’s office on Thursday, July 4, 2024, to pay the fine. Fred France, who operates on the Georgetown/Kingstown route, was charged with the offence which occurred on February 17, 2023. He told SEARCHLIGHT that he used coins saved from his operations to pay the $800 fine, but the money was not accepted. France said he was saving the money to purchase a laptop for his daughter as a gift for her performance in the CPEA. He said there were 608 five-cents coins, 1009 ten-cent coins, and 2680 twenty five-cent coins, amounting to $801.30.

France, who trained as an accountant, said he was confused by their rejection of the money. He is required to pay the fine by July 7, 2024.

The van operator, with 21 years of experience on this route, related that his brush with the law came about as he was taking a member of his family to work, during which he also gave a ride to two persons from Georgetown who were travelling to the Stubbs Polyclinic.

His explanation that he was not operating commercially at the time, and therefore did not need a conductor, was rejected by the officer whom he encountered that morning in February, 2023, and he lost the battle in court. France said at the Magistrate’s office, he was requested to exchange his coins for paper money. He now has today, July 5, 2024 to pay the fine, the last working day the Magistrate’s office will be doing business until Wednesday, July 10.

The Magistrates Office declined to comment.