Jamaica international dancehall artiste Beenie Man was fined J$150,000 after he pleaded guilty to breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA).
The deejay, whose real name is Moses Davis, had pleaded guilty to the offense on April 19 and appeared in the St Elizabeth Parish Court where the fine or three months in jail was imposed.
An additional charge of breaching the Noise Abatement Act was thrown out during the deejay’s last court appearance.
“Beenie Man pleaded guilty because he wanted to take a responsible approach given that he is an elder of the global music community,” his attorney Roderick Gordon had said in April.
The 47-year-old entertainer had been charged by police last December after hosting an illegal party at a location in Shrewsbury district, St Elizabeth, on November 29, 2020. The Black River police turned up at the event and dispersed the crowd, and Beenie was warned for prosecution.
The artiste’s promotion of a New Year’s Eve party in December further earned the ire of the police in St Elizabeth, and he was summoned to a police station there on January 1 and charged with breaching DRMA protocols with the staging of the November 29 party.
Mass gatherings and parties of any kind are currently prohibited in Jamaica due to COVID-19.
