Jet Ski couple beg Cayman’s forgiveness
(CNS): Skylar Mack and her boyfriend, Vanjae Ramgeet, who were convicted last week for breaching quarantine, have begged forgiveness for putting people at risk. Last month Mack broke the COVID-19 isolation rules with Ramgeet’s help, when she took off her iMsafe wristband just days after arriving here to attend the Jet Ski event in which Ramgeet was a participant. But despite their pleas, forgiveness may be some time coming as government has appealed their sentences.
The couple are now due to appear in court at lunchtime today for the appeal against their sentence, which has been seen by the authorities as unduly light.
Last week, after they pleaded guilty to failure to comply with isolation regulations, they were both ordered to complete 40 hours of community service and pay $2,600 each for the cost of placing them in isolation. Mack was busted at the event and Ramgeet, who had assisted her, were both taken to a secure government facility to sit out the remainder of the quarantine.
The court has also recommended that Mack, who is expected to leave the Cayman Islands on 22 December, should be barred from returning here until after the quarantine restrictions are lifted.
But lawmakers recently increased the maximum fine under the Public Health Law for COVID-19 quarantine breaches from $1,000 to $10,000, as well as jail time of up to two years, and have emphasised the need to prosecute breachers to the full extent to send an important message of deterrence. Manderson told Parliament last week that the prosecutors’ office had been asked to appeal the community service sentence.
In their letters to the Cayman people they both said they had been stupid and were deeply sorry.
“If there was any way I could go back and fix it, I would. My hope is that the people of the Cayman Islands will forgive me,” Mack (18) said in her letter, which was handed to the court. “I made the biggest mistake of my life so far… I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest apologies to both the government and the community of the Cayman Islands, I feel terrible about my mistake and I hope that the nation will be able to forgive me,” she added.
Caymanian Jet Ski champion Ramgeet wrote that he was not only deeply sorry but embarrassed.
“I should have known better than to put our community at risk as I did,” he said. “I made a decision without thinking about the long-term effects it would have on our community; words cannot express how truly sorry I am for the anxiety, frustration, and inconvenience that you all have experienced. This is especially saddening, and I would go back and change it all if I could.”
See both letters in full in the CNS Library
No! You are both adults, and I assume in your life and decisions you make you want to be treated as adults. So man up and put your big panties on and as we Caymanians say “take ya lick”.
No forgiveness from me. Idiots. They also need a MUCH higher fine. And no return to Cayman.
Actually there fine was $0. 40 hours community service. The payment was for government quarantine
I have little sympathy for this pair. They risked the health of our people and the economy of our country. All you have to do is look at how things have gone rapidly downhill in Bermuda once Covid is allowed in because of inadequate quarantine. That is true irrespective of whether a government sets a quarantine period of less than 14 days, or people who are supposed to be quarantining break the law and endanger others for their own selfish reasons. Once Covid is loose it is hard to stop without shutting down totally.
You mean Bermuda which the General Manager from the Ritz Carlton was moaning and complaining that we should follow?
It’s people like him why Locals fear foreigners becoming eligible to run for elections and holding high office.
Dude was willing to reintroduce community spread to kill off the rest of the highly functioning economy.
Pass?
Mistake? This was no mistake. She and Ramjeet can take their half assed apologies and shove it. I hope the appeal is won and they are punished to the fullest extend for their flagrant disrespect and disobedience.
These public apologies were made to influence the CIG Appeal.
Plain and simple!
Yep. Sources inside the quarantine facility say all shes done during quarantine is whine on the phone about how ridiculous the community service, the quarantine and the law is. They have no regrets and would do it again. This apology is simply to play the system.
Sorry that their no good asses were caught.
This is complete BS. Now they suddenly “care”.
HA, only when they realize they could actually be fined and jailed if the appeal goes through.They knew what they were doing was wrong but still went ahead. Furthermore, she has been a complete troll to everyone who has had to deal with her.
Fine her the full amount, deport her, and ban her from EVER coming back to these islands. Fine her man and send his ass to jail.
They believe that Covid is only for pathetic idiots who actually believe that the virus is real. That is why they agreed to leave kwaranteen.
Who do they think they are? A film crew
Personal trainers?
They should have asked the big boy for an exemption as an essential utility service. I mean we all need a blonde bombshell and a small town jet ski racer in the middle of the crisis in order to survive.
Cayman Islands will NEVER open up again, the flu ain’t going nowhere. Hope yall will be happy.
18 years old men and women have died in Wars and you two want us to believe your children. We guess all those kisses you exchanged were stupid too?
That was then this is now.
Found a snowflake.
Ask yourselves this: would they be begging for forgiveness if they hadn’t been caught? Of course not!
Mack’s didn’t make “a mistake”. She knew what she was doing and decided the risk was worth taking and to flip a finger at the rest of us.
I suspect that this is less a wholehearted apology than an attempt to mitigate her punishment. As I said, she’s only “apologized” because she got caught.
Thanks for the apologies, but not really feeling very forgiving in this instance.
We are so lucky to live as we do here and to have it jeopardized by people who were so disrespectful to the people of Cayman is a hard pill to swallow.
Whether or not you believe this to be a serious situation, the laws are very clear, and your intention to break it was clearly decided well ahead of your arrival. This was NOT a bad decision at the spur of the moment. It was planned!
shouldn’t she be deported like the doctor was?
She needs to finish quarantine first, and test negative upon completion before being sent off. Otherwise she would put us all in jeopardy.
What about the community service? What did she do, when and who signed off on it?
“Without thinking about the long term effects,” You knew good and well what the long term effects could be or why in the hell else would you be in isolation…….?????
More like they are sorry they got caught. Everyone is sorry for their actions when facing real life consequences.
And yet, still no answer from philosophers about what you’re supposed to do when a choice has a certainty of benefit/success, but runs a very small risk of a punishment that would make the risk not worth running at all. In one scenario, you would regret not taking the tiny risk for the certain benefit. In the other where the risk has materialised, it was so obvious in hindsight that you should never have run it that you can’t believe what you did. It’s the same calculus behind driving drunk: I’ll get more benefit out of doing this before they catch me to make up for the punishment, and that’s if they even catch me. Once they catch you, it’s ‘why did I ever do this, I was certain to get caught one day if I kept doing it’. Such is life. As you say, everyone is sorry when facing consequences.
Either a short jail term or $10k fine should be the minimum. Community Service is something that a regular citizen already should do and shouldn’t be seen as “punishment’” in any sense of the word.
Yes, let’s just keep paying people to do something someone with a dui should do as punishment.
You mean expats?
Clearly they don’t understand law and order. What they should have done was put her on a flight back home and not allow her to return at all. We were locked down for months and these people can’t handle 14 days.
I agree with you she should receive ‘Persona Non-Grata’ in her passport but outside a fine & some community service, you do more damage to a young woman by a jail term for such an offence .She has her life ahead of her at this age and a conviction would cause her some serious obstacles back in the U.S. once it gets registered in the criminal justice system. The same for Mr. Ramjeet locally , as he must remain in the community & hopefully prosper.
Although I understand what you are saying, they knew the risks and what punishment was in place if they broke the rules, as such should pay the price.
3:09 who cares? She broke the law and should pay for it. Sod the rest of her life. Some hard life lessons is what this girl evidently needs. She is an utter spoiled brat.
It’s amazing what people see. A cute blonde Caucasian crying for mercy vs a Jamaican construction worker crying for mercy.
Is it because we believe in the inherent goodness and need for redemption and forgiveness of one that we consider her circumstances and future needs?
She did something evil and selfish that had the potential to take away people’s livelihoods, shut businesses down, close schools and kill the elderly if this creates community spread.
The full length and letter of the law should be extended to her and her boyfriend. Even 1 week in prison would set her straight and those behind her.
Except the film crew. 🙂
The only reason that they are apologizing is because they got caught. They both knew exactly what they were doing. This was a pre meditated decision on both of their parts.
Well those are good letters, they both pleaded guilty and they are young…sooo I’m kind of thinking well maybe just this once.
They don’t deserve jail, it’s a financial burden on us. Make them complete 100 hours of community service to make the island prettier and fine then max.
Ramjeet , I feel your regret but as your guest she also becomes your responsibility , when you did realize there were no way to coordinate all the required timings right , you could have it called it off and plan for ulterior dates.
Many of us in Cayman made those sacrifices to keep the community safe ! A large part of the community needs to travel and not only for personal purposes !
You expect forgiveness from the wrong crowd especially since so many put safety before conveniences . This comes out so wrong as such a large part of the community wouldn’t even consider such a clear flaunting of the required safety protocols that were clearly in place.
Getting a clear , informed picture of the situation was your responsibility , you had a LOT of information available to make your decisions and despite that you threw it all to the wind !
There were more than a few instances where lockdown rules were flaunted and not respected by elected officials and there were major reactions within the community and you were expecting different results ???
The decision leading solely community service came as another slap across the face of face of all the community that made the tough calls to keep the island living in relative freedom regarding the rest of the world!
Her letter reads like a non-apology, and his is not much better. She is sorry for herself and she is sorry she got caught.
Deport her. Permanently.
Six months in Northward for him.
6 months? Na, make it the two years. Bet his uppity backside would settle down and truly apologize.
Huge fine and lock them up !
We don’t care about their ‘sincere’ apologies. They are adults, they knew what they were doing, they knew the rules and they thought they were so special and important that the rules didn’t apply to them. They potentially put lives at risk without giving a damn about anyone else. It’s oh-so easy to be ‘sorry’ after you’ve been caught. Sorry they were caught I think, rather than sorry they broke the law.
Make an example of them as a deterrent to others. Its the only way.
I agree that they should be forgiven by the Cayman community, but not until after they have been sufficiently punished and have paid their debt to society. That’s how it works folks. You break the law, you pay the price. If you show remorse, make restitution and reform, by all means you should be forgiven and welcomed back into society. But far too often misdeeds go unpunished/under punished. If there are no consequences, then what will prevent you and others from breaking the law? Make the punishment fit the crime, let them pay their debt, then they can be forgiven.
Apologies accepted, but no lifting of their punishment, please!
If we forgave every crime, justice would never be served. Serve your time and once you’ve paid your debt to society, we can move on.
Meanwhile big Mac on video at the airport greeting a planeload of Colombians, shaking hands and playing the big man with his mask half off.
What an ass!
They are only sorry that they got caught. Throw the book at them!
Awwww..do they need a shovel and bag to scoop up their BULLSHIT apology?
CHARGE THEM under the full extent of the law. She should be banned for life! Privilege is real. Yes, they are young and “dumb” but they put an entire country at risk.
Charge them both 10 K and put them both in jail for the FULL 2 years.
These are people lives they are playing with.
While I do feel we should not hold this against them for ever, they do need to be severely punished. If someone who smokes a joint can get arrested and they are only affecting themselves why should these two who could have affected thousands not be jailed
They did not apologise before now, now that the sentence is being reviewed.
#lockthemup
@12:15pm and others I wished you were so passionate about the speaker Of The Parliament beating a woman. I guess that’s ok right? Were you at protest saying lock him up? I don’t think so! Myself and a lot others were there. Covid is real but there is no vaccine for abuse!!
Jean
Who are you to know that I don’t hold similar views on Mac’s sentencing?
#LockThemUp
They did not make a mistake. They deliberately and consciously made decisions that put the community at risk. They need to accept that they will need to atone for their actions.
We are dealing with a highly transmissible virus where many of the infected are asymptomatic. The elderly and those with comorbidities are more likely to experience negative outcomes so the actions of these individuals can’t go unpunished.
People make mistakes but this is hard to forgive. Flouting the rules and risking a 2nd lockdown. I’m sure she was negative and no real harm was done but it wasn’t your decision to make. If you are quarantined, stay in quarantine until you are allowed out of it.
She was only negative on the entry test, for all she knew, she could have become positive in the few days before breaking the rules, that is why the rules are there.
Crocodile tears
Sorry don’t cut it. Had she had it and expose those hundred odd people and they went home / supermarket etc and exposed others we would be heading straight to lockdown again. Now we have another 19 year doing it again. Set an example cause these people have no regard for human life so hit them hard where it HURTS !!!!
A little too late for apologies..Ignorance of the law is no excuse..not abiding by the law when you know better is even worse.
The courts needs to set an example. Here we have a Caymanian and an Expat so I don’t want to hear any of that crap or the white skin, dark skin foolishness as we can clearly see that doesn’t apply here either.
LOCK THEM UP!!!
Mack is 18. Eighteen!!!! And here with her, brand new, boyfriend for an event.
Perhaps, we should be looking at the government body that processed her application and allowed her entry, and putting the onus on them.
What do people think is going to happen?
Do the odds. Poor thing got caught up in Caymans game and will be used as the pawn to show the naysayers the CIG cares and isn’t turning a blind eye to the breeches.
By your reasoning an 18 year old shoplifter should not be prosecuted because the store knew the risk of letting an 18 year old on the premises. Or an 18 year old who drinks and drives should not be prosecuted….instead we should blame the bar for allowing them to drink, or the drivers licensing people for giving them a license.
The fact of the matter is that by 18 you should have developed the ability to know what is right and what is wrong, and if you do something wrong you have to take responsibility for your actions.
And how can you blame the government? What should they be doing? Maybe you would prefer them to set an age limit for travel? 21 or over? Or 25? Or perhaps you would prefer the government to let in the partners of residents only if they have been together for at least 6 months? Or a year maybe?
And this is not a game. It only takes one person to start a new round of spread in the community. We all have a lot to lose here. More than almost anywhere in the world. This is very real.
Skylar Mack knew she was breaking the law. She just did not care. And she now has to deal with the consequences.
11:53…..I agree on looking into how she even got approval! Whomever approved her visit should be fired! She did not fit into a single category of approved visitors!
In this case, sorry doesn’t reverse the effects of sneezing in the same way sorry doesn’t put the bullets back into the gun.
All you had to do is sit ya ass down in a room.
That’s not what she came here to do. She came here for the express purpose of breaking required isolation to attend an event. It’s not like some temporary madness overcame her. This was planned and executed. The only part of the plan that went wrong was getting caught.
What would Jesus do?
Pass?
blah, blah, blah, please feel sorry for me, blah blah, blah, I feel bad.
Not once did she say I take responsibility for my actions.
But the TV crew us ok?
I don’t agree that the TV crew should be exempt, however at least they have reached out beforehand and protocols are being set up to ensure they are kept away from the community
They asked permission and there is an economic rationale for making the exceptions for them, given that they think they can put in place sufficient precautions and it’s just one small group. The TV crew is probably scouting Cayman because they need somewhere without restrictions to film in, so this trip would be a prologue to even more people coming here to actually shoot something and that would offer all kinds of benefits, provided they get the risks down as low as they can possibly be. Eventually we have to take some.
It’s the Cayman way – easier to ask for forgiveness. They are no better than the developers who destroy mangroves and then ask for forgiveness.
Because they got caught, and now worried they may be going to prison.
Oh please sorry my ass two selfish entitled little brats…. I say make them pay and suffer like we all would have if COVID returned to community transmission….
Do the right thing for once and lock them up!!
Only after Speaker is locked up.
Different argument, different case.
#lockthemup
I’m not saying that what these kids did was not wrong. They are young and stupid and should rightfully be punished. But why didn’t the government appeal the conviction of the Canadian couple who broke quarantine numerous times to go swimming and go to the liquor store? They were rude, showed no remorse and were allowed to leave the island with a measley $1,000 fine each. But yet, the caymanian is being used to set the example. Such injustice!
KIDS????? ARE YOU A FOOL?
Not quite sure of your logic in thinking that “they” (although it seems to be that you don’t really care about her since she is an expat) are being made an example off and the expat got a slap on the wrist.
The Canadian Doctor was fined the maximum that was allowed at the time and was deported off the Island.
These “adults” (and I use the term incredibly loosely) broke the Law after the amendment that increased the penalties had passed and were still only given community service initially. This is literally the opposite of being made an example off!
I for one am glad that the DPP is appealing the woefully inadequate sentence that was originally handed down.
Because the Canadians did get the maximum punishment that applied to the facts of their case. The law was only changed to increase the fine and introduce jail time after the Canadians’ had committed their offence. Government had been too busy getting excited about important things like arguing over Gay Marriage to get round to increasing the penalties in a timely manner.
Their lawyer’s advice to issue groveling apologies cannot be allowed to avoid the consequences of their crime.
Everyone is always sorry when they are caught. Next time anyone is found guilty, all they’ll have to do is say how sorry they are.. !
but let the expat doctor off with a slap on the wrist and a ticket out?