A Haitian national is in prison after being found with a fake Trinidadian passport. 19-year-old Oliver Barckley Simake appeared in Magistrate's Court today to answer to charges of using a document he is not entitled to. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $1,000 to be paid forthwith. He was unable to pay and is to now serve 6 months in prison.
But his story is more interesting than that. On October 31st Simake arrived at the Philip Goldson International Airport with a fake Trinidadian passport but got through immigration.
The passport was not determined to be a fake until about a month after his arrival. This was about two weeks after police detained him on charges of common assault, possession of a counterfeit US$100 note and mutilation of currency. He was convicted of these offences and was being held at the prison while immigration officials investigated his passport.
After serving his sentence Simake is to be deported to his home country, Haiti, not Trinidad.
