ENTERTAINER Buju Banton was yesterday fined $9,000 or 60 days for possession and cultivation of ganja.

However, the entertainer’s attorney, Christopher Dunkley, yesterday gave verbal notice to the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court of his intention to appeal the magistrate’s decision to record the conviction against his client’s name.

The entertainer, whose real name is Mark Myrie, was arrested by the Constant Spring police on December 3 last year when cops entered his Kingston recording studio and rooted up two fully grown ganja plants. He was subsequently charged him with possession of ganja.

However, a second charge of cultivating ganja was slapped on him when he appeared in court.

Banton, dressed in khaki jeans pants and green striped shirt, sat penitently in the docks yesterday as Resident Magistrate Kissock Laing impose the fine of $3,000 or 30 days for possession of ganja and $6,000 or 30 days for cultivation of the weed.

Banton was found guilty of the offence two weeks ago, but when he returned to court last Thursday for sentencing, his attorney applied to the court to postpone sentencing as he would be asking the court to exercise its discretion in not recording the ganja conviction against his client. He also submitted that he would be researching two pieces of legislation to determine whether the court had any discretion not to record the conviction.

Dunkley in his submission yesterday, referred the court to a recent conviction of popular entertainer Luciano, whose real name is Jepther McClymont, for possession of ganja. He pointed out that the court exercised its discretion and did not record the conviction against him and asked the court for the similar treatment for his client. Luciano, who was arrested and charged for having a spliff in his possession, pleaded guilty and was fined $300. His conviction was not recorded.

After listening to the submissions yesterday, Resident Magistrate Laing explained that under the Resident Magistrates Act, records must be kept of convicted persons, pointing out that Section 3 of the Fingerprint Act states that where a person is convicted, the fingerprints may be taken and kept. Noting that the situation was different in this case, the magistrate cited Section 4 of the Act which says that where a fingerprint order is made, if the defendant is convicted his fingerprints shall be recorded. “The court is of the opinion that this case is not a proper one to exercise this discretion,” Laing said before handing down sentence.

But the magistrate said he hoped that “it (conviction) will not do irreparable harm to him (Banton) but until the court and the country decide what will be done by legislation, (regarding ganja convictions and fingerprints) the court will have to go by the (present) laws.”

Dunkley told the Observer that although Banton accepted the courts verdict, the entertainer was nevertheless upset.

“He has accepted the verdict but he is upset about it as his plea is not guilty. He has given me instructions to appeal the matter because, despite his conviction, he maintains (that) he knows nothing of the cultivation of ganja.”