Visitor freed after paying fine

Scottish national Ben Graham Ferguson is a free man.

After spending three nights at HMP Dodds the 29-year-old who breached this country’s quarantine laws paid in full the sum of $8,000 imposed on him avoiding at nine-month prison stay at the St Philip facility. The fine had to be paid in seven days.

“You are now a free man and you can take your flight and everything,” Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes said today.

On Saturday Ferguson who was staying at the Bougainvillea Hotel, Christ Church admitted before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court to contravening Paragraph (10) of the Emergency Management (COVID-19) Protocol (Special Curfew) No. 2 Directive 2021 when he failed to obey the directives of the Chief Medical Officer on January 14 and 15 while in quarantine at the hotel.

According to the information given to the court, the visitor jumped a fence in order to get Banks beer.

When Chief Magistrate Weekes imposed the fine on him three days ago he had no one locally to sign bail on his behalf and as such was remanded to St Ann’s Fort. However, when he appeared before the judicial officer on Monday he told the court he was not kept at the Barbados Defence Force facility because it was full. He was taken to Dodds Prison. While there he encountered some difficulty in facilitating the payment of the fine but that was rectified today.

The visitor was scheduled to leave Barbados this evening.