The 29-year-old “PH” taxi driver charged with sexual grooming of an 11-year-old girl was greeted by jeers from curious onlookers as he entered the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court yesterday. 

When Neil Bissessar, of Sankar Drive, Longdenville, was taken out of a marked police van just outside the court’s premises, the people who were gathered in the hot sun on the roadway noticed his right hand in a hard cast.

One man shouted: “You lucky. More of you should have been broken.” 

A woman chimed in: “You need more licks.”

It is alleged that Bissessar, on two occasions, sent several messages via telephone and social media to an 11-year-old girl, allegedly telling her to send pictures of herself and even asking to come over to her house. On Thursday night, he allegedly made his way to the girl’s house and was confronted by a group of villagers. He was subsequently beaten and strapped by villagers as they waited on the police.

Bissessar was eventually taken to the Longdenville Police Post and the Chaguanas Health Facility where he was treated for injuries he sustained. He was charged with the offence by PC Corey Williams of the Longdenville Police Post on Saturday and appeared in court at 1.42 pm yesterday.

When he was escorted into the First Court courtroom, Bissessar was seen looking at the people seated in the public gallery. His eyes then fixed on the girl’s mother, who was also seated in the courtroom waiting for the matter to be called.

Shortly before 2 pm, Bissessar was called before Magistrate Joanne O’Connor. His attorney, Taradath Singh, told the magistrate his client complained that he was beaten by people on Thursday night. Singh said as a result of the beating his client suffered a broken middle finger on the right hand, spinal injuries and bruises about the body.

Singh asked the magistrate to consider granting Bissessar bail, as his client had no previous convictions and was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses for several years.

But O’Connor said Bissessar was charged under the Children Act 2012 and did not call upon him to plead. She remanded him into custody pending tracing as confirmed by Court Prosecutor Sgt Ken Ali, who said they were awaiting results.

Speaking with reporters after his client’s appearance, Singh said on summary conviction, his client can face a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for ten years or on conviction on indictment, a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 20 years.

Bissessar is to reappear before O’Connor tomorrow.

Children Act 2012

Meeting a child following sexual grooming

25. (1) Where a person has on at least two earlier occasions, met or communicated with a child in Trinidad and Tobago or elsewhere, by any means, including the Internet, for the purpose of sexual grooming, and he meets, attempts to meet or travels for the purpose of meeting the child in Trinidad and Tobago or elsewhere with the intention of doing anything to or in respect of the child, during or after the meeting, which if done in Trinidad and Tobago would constitute the commission of an offence under Part V and this Part, the person commits an offence.

(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable–

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine of fifty thousand dollars and to imprisonment for ten years; or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of one hundred thousand dollars and to imprisonment for twenty years.

(3) For the purposes of this section, “sexual grooming” means gaining the trust of a child, or of a person who takes care of the child, for the purpose of sexual activity with the child.

What should have been a one-hour presentation by the Sandals Beaches and Resorts team to Tobago stakeholders, turned into a three-hour long conversation at the Coco Reef Resort and Spa yesterday. 

The Sandals group, led by Sandals CEO Adam Stewart, met with a team of Tobago stakeholders led by the minister with direct responsibility for the Sandals project in the Cabinet, Stuart Young, and THA Chief Secretary Orville London. 

Speaking to the media following the closed door meeting, Stewart said the discussions were still in the early stages but described them as fruitful.

“We were invited, we flew on the helicopter, we looked at a piece of land that blew us away. Tobago went down the list from being a Sandals priority to top of the list and we are exploring what could become a major economic catalyst in the island of Tobago, known as Sandals Beaches and Resorts,” he said

Stewart, who is the son of Sandals chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart, said the arrangement had come after a promise made by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley long before he became PM and he was happy Rowley had kept his word.

“We were in the middle of a major marketing thrust in the North American markets, he was insistent that we found the time, we did it quickly in between...been all over then we came here, we loved what we saw, the reception, the professionalism of the Government and we physically loved the property that we looked at, so it didn’t take long for us to come back,” he said

Also addressing the media, Young said the project was well received and would be beneficial to Trinidad and Tobago, especially with the diversification of the economy

“We want to stress and emphasise at this point that it is a conversation that is taking place. We have not gotten down in the details and the negotiations and nothing is written in stone. ... This is the beginning of the conversations that we intend to take to the people of Tobago and to the other stakeholders. At this stage, we are in the early stages but we are very, very positive about what can come out and we are very energised about all the good that can come to Tobago and by extension, Trinidad.”

But one of the stakeholders, Patricia Turpin, president of Environment Tobago, described the meeting as a ‘fantastic sales pitch’ by Sandals, since the relevant questions remained unanswered. She said a plan presented in the last ten minutes of the meeting resembled a previous application for a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) dating back to 2005.

She said since the announcement earlier this year by Rowley that Sandals was coming to Tobago, no one has ever met or consulted with Tobago environmentalists or any of the environmental groups on the island

“The transparency towards the project has been nil, so we have never had questions answered and we would like some answered and I believe it is not going to happen until we get that plan in hand,” she said.

A businessman who was attacked one month ago but survived was not so lucky the second time yesterday.

Police said Raul Joseph, 42, was killed one month and a day after a knife-wielding home invader took his wife’s life and left him paralysed. According to police, around 3 am yesterday a man entered through a window and stabbed and chopped Joseph, who lay on an adjustable bed at his Moya Trace, Upper Haig Street, Carenage, home. 

Police said the man entered the house, killed Joseph and left without taking anything or harming the victim’s mother, who was close by. The same thing happened on August 18 when a man entered the home around 2.10 am, attacked both Joseph and his wife, Andrea “Hannah” Edwards, who died at the scene, and left without injuring their teenaged daughter who was home at the time. In both cases, a man in dark clothing was seen fleeing. 

Police initially weighed the possibility that Edwards and Joseph attacked each other after they had an argument, but they are now reconsidering the idea following his murder. What has stumped officers is the ease with which the killer/killers entered and left the house, which they described as heavily “fortified” and with surveillance cameras. Joseph was a party boat owner while his wife was a cook. 

According to his autopsy, Joseph bled to death having suffered stab and chop injuries to the liver and lungs. He was stabbed at least 14 times and offered little resistance to his attacker, as he was paralysed from the waist down and could not move his right arm. The injuries sustained were described as “abnormal” for a knife or cutlass by pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov.

In an unrelated matter, the unidentified body of a man found at Sawmill Avenue, San Juan, last Tuesday was yesterday identified as Garvin Lawrence of Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain. Lawrence’s body was discovered after residents reported hearing gunshots and later found him dead. 

Rosemarie Sant

A private security unit set up by the late prime minister Patrick Manning, which provided security at the Prime Minister’s residence, Diplomatic Centre and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), is being disbanded and 72 officers attached to it are to be sent home.

Executive Security Services (ESS) was established in 2007 and officers attached to the unit were paid by the State.

But speaking to the T&T Guardian on condition of anonymity yesterday, officers attached to the unit said they had already been removed from duty at the PM’s residence and have been told police from the Guard and Emergency Branch will take over their duties.

The officers admitted that “there is no denying we were paid good salaries, but if they doing this as a cost-cutting measure, then how you could justify having to pay Guard and Emergency officers who will take over overtime?”

The guards feared for their futures, noting they will be virtually “unemployed when the move takes effect” and some of them have children in university and loans and mortgages to pay.

“We are not being told anything, all we heard is that the Chief Personnel Officer is working out a package for us,” the guards said.

Well-placed sources told the T&T Guardian that a decision was taken to disband the unit from the end of this month. The officers’ tenures come to an end in April next year and they are wondering whether their contracts will be bought out, or if they will get two years of gratuity owed to them, which is 20 per cent of their monthly salaries.

The T&T Guardian has been reliably informed that the officers have been invited to a meeting today at the Office of the Prime Minister. 

The ESS includes ex-police officers, former Special Branch officers, former soldiers and others who came from private security companies. While they are not more highly skilled or trained than other police and army personnel, they are specially trained in protocol.

Contacted yesterday, former National Security minister Gary Griffith said there was a budgetary allocation in the Office of the Prime Minister for the unit “because the officers are paid by the State since ESS is a State-registered company.” The unit was called the OPM Security Unit when the former administration took over.

Griffith said as National Security minister he did not renew the contracts of some officers, so the team was reduced by 40 per cent, “and I brought back in Special Branch and army to take control of security at the PM’s residence, the Diplomatic Centre and the Office of the Prime Minister.”

Griffith could not explain why the unit was created in the first place by Manning, saying “it was the first time that there was no army personnel at the residence and the Office of the Prime Minister. That affected the morale of the men and when I came in I brought back police and army, but not fully.”

But he said Manning may have been “ahead of his time,” because it is not unheard of that private security details protected the holders of office.

However, he said the unit here did “basic gate access in and out, so it was basically access control.” He said if the entire private team is removed, Griffith said about 80 officers would be needed to pick up the slack because you need “20 on a daily basis for rotation on three shifts.”

Cabinet note

The ESS was set up through a Cabinet note in 2007 and was retained when the People’s Partnership government came to power in 2010. But the T&T Guardian has been told that a Cabinet note has already been presented and approved by the Dr Keith Rowley-led Cabinet to disband the unit.

Apart from providing security at the PM’s residence, Diplomatic Centre and OPM, the unit also replaced Amalgamated Security Services Ltd at the St Michael’s Home for Boys, a decision taken after several break-outs by young men at the institution.

Contacted on the plan yesterday, the unit’s director, retired Army Sergeant Curtis Douglas, said he had heard talk but had not been informed officially. He referred all questions to the press secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Arlene George.

Contacted on the situation, T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association (TTPSWA) president, Inspector Michael Seales, said he was not aware the unit was being disbanded and that more police would be required to take up duties at the PM’s office.

For the period 2006 to 2015 there were 102 fatal accidents which occurred in the workplace and the construction industry was cited as having the highest number of fatalities as it recorded 33 fatal accidents for that period.

Saying that one death in the workplace was one too many, president of the Industrial Court Deborah Thomas-Felix, in delivering her remarks at the court’s opening yesterday, expressed concern that 102 workplace deaths occurred over nine years.

Mental, emotional and psychological stress in the workplace, she added, also contributed to a poor work environment.

The sector with the highest number of non-fatal accidents was the manufacturing sector with the lowest figure at 249 in 2014 and the highest 555 in 2008.

“These accidents and incidents in my view are to a large measure due to failures and deficiency in the policy and management of occupational health and safety in several businesses in this country,” Thomas-Felix said.

She said as a nation the concept of increased productivity and increased economic activity cannot be promoted without simultaneously insisting on effective policies for occupational safety and health in all business enterprises.

“Moreover, we cannot turn a blind eye to the growing number of diseases which have been debilitating and devastating to our citizens,” Thomas-Felix added.

She urged that it was the duty of each employer whether in the public or private sector to provide a safe and healthy environment for workers and to develop and promote a culture which supported health and safety at work.

“I urge employers in both public and private sectors to adopt and promote proper health and safety policies and programmes at work. I also strongly recommend that they create awareness among their workers of the various dimensions and short-term and long-term consequences of related accidents, injuries and diseases and place the health and safety of all workers as a priority,” Thomas-Felix said.

Challenges 

She said with the increasing number of disputes and matters engaging the court there was the need for increased staff and accommodation. 

In 2009 there were 692 new disputes filed and for the period 2013 to 2015, 2,384 disputes were filed.

The court, Thomas-Felix added, continued to experience challenges of space as judges and staff functioned daily in less than ideal conditions. 

“The shortage of staff particularly in the court reporting department continued to be a problem and, this year, we experienced budgetary cuts from the very beginning of the year. 

As a result stationery and basic equipment were scarce. 

“These challenges have stymied the smooth operation of the court. Many practitioners can attest to the fact that their several requests for verbatim notes of evidence from the court have not been met in a timely manner due to the lack of support staff to prepare these,” Thomas-Felix added.

Disputes filed 

From September 14, 2015, to September 9, 2016, some 1,171 new disputes were filed at the court which was 450 more than the number of disputes filed the previous year. The court disposed of 963 disputes this year which was significantly higher than the 702 disputes which were disposed of for the same period 2014-2015.

Thomas-Felix said the disposal rate for 2015 to 2016 was 82.2 per cent.

A breakdown of the total number of disputes disposed in 

2015 to 2016 is as follows:

• 258 were disposed by judgments

• 157 were settled bilaterally

• 111 were disposed by conciliation

• 30 were dismissed for want of prosecution 

• 407 were withdrawn by parties, mainly due to the conciliatory efforts of the court.

Struggling costume jewelry maker Ashmin Mohammed yesterday showered praises on the T&T Guardian for highlighting her plight, which received an overwhelming response from the public.

Mohammed, 43, said she was bombarded with telephone calls from members of the public, including two Americans, who offered to assist her financially.

She also received a call from the Ministry of Planning and Development who promised to help her with a grant to repair her rickety outhouse, which is on the verge of collapse.

In addition, scores of people also asked Mohammed if she would offer classes in jewelry making.

Touched by the outpouring of support, Mohammed, who sells her beaded jewelry in the congested Chaguanas Market, thanked the newspaper for publishing her plight, saying that there were still caring and compassionate people in the country.

“Thank you Guardian. I am truly grateful for all that you have done for me,” Mohammed said, choking with emotion.

Mohammed highlighted her story, where she sold costume jewelry to educate her 20-year-old son, Aaron Mohammed, a second year mechanical engineering student at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, campus.

As a single parent, she works 18 hours a day making anklets, broaches, earrings, necklaces, hand bands and bow clips, as well as cultivating crops in the back of her Longdenville home to ensure that Aaron obtains an education.

In 2014, Aaron captured the principal’s award as the most outstanding student at ASJA Boys’ College, Charlieville.

Having walked away with a trophy in Pure Mathematics, Aaron also obtained Grade 1 in all his science subjects in the Cape examinations.

Providing an education for Aaron has been an uphill battle for Mohammed, who was forced into an arranged marriage which lasted seven years, but she wants her son to get an education, which she was deprived of as a young girl.

“From early as 6 am people started calling me offering to assist. Others offered words of encouragement. I was totally blown away by those who came forward to help.”

Among those who promised to render assistance, Mohammed said, were two Americans who promised to send her money through Western Union and a 78-year-old pensioner.

“I even got a call from a woman at the ministry who stated that they would assist me with a grant in the next two weeks to help me repair my latrine,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed said what shocked her was that many of the callers asked if she offered classes in jewelry making since they wanted to learn.

“A lot of people expressed an interest in jewelry making. I don’t mind sharing my expertise free of charge, but I don’t have a place to conduct classes,” said Mohammed, who learnt to make jewelry four years ago by watching someone skilled in the trade.

The mother of one said she received calls from over a dozen mothers, many of whom were single parents, who encouraged her not to give up.

“They said that my story was positive and inspiring and to keep up the good work that I have been doing to raise my son. Honestly, I felt proud knowing that at least my hard work has not gone in vain,” she said.

Public Health Inspectors (PHI) attached to the ministries of Health and Local Government have so far issued 150 public health ordinance notices to property/land owners to rid their premises of potential breeding sites for the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Failure to comply with the stipulated seven day-grace period will result in them having to pay the increased fine of $3,500.

Warning that many more such notices would be issued in the coming weeks, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh explained that after the initial notice is issued to a home/property owner, PHI’s would return to the premises to conduct a re-inspection seven days later.

Following this, the property/land owner would be informed if they will have to pay the fine which was increased from $500 to $3,500.

Regulation 27 of the Public Health (Yellow Fever Regulations) 1979, made pursuant to Section 105(1) of the Public Health Ordinance, Chapter 12 No 4 was amended to increase the fine for unkempt properties or any harborage that may become a mosquito breeding ground from $500 to $3,500.

Deyalsingh said prior to the 150 notices which were handed out last week, he had received four requests for extensions.

These, he said, had been passed to the ministry’s Legal Department, “to see if they should be granted or not.”

Confirming that he had so far not granted any extensions, Deyalsingh warned people that a request for leniency was not an automatic exemption from having to pay the fine as this would defeat the purpose of the ordinance and law.

He admitted, “It has to be very extenuating circumstances where the extension will be granted.”

Claiming that there were 70 countries currently grappling with how to eradicate the mosquito population, the minister labelled home/property owners as the “weakest link in the chain” as they had become comfortable living with the pest.

He revealed that in T&T, there were 413 laboratory-confirmed Zika cases of which 230 were diagnosed in pregnant patients.

Deyalsingh said the Government had increased efforts to destroy mosquito breeding sites by focusing on errant home owners who refused to clean their premises as they continued to harbour one of the smallest but deadliest “assassins.”

Stating that the Aedes aegypti mosquito was responsible for spreading Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever and four types of dengue Fever—Deyalsingh added that it was now also believed to be responsible for the recent upsurge in the spread of the Congo Haemorrhagic Fever.

Estimating that Zika would affect one third of the world’s population or 2.2 billion people globally, the minister expressed concern as he said countries that had never before experienced such problems, were now forced to confront the threat.

He appealed to land/property owners that “If you ignore the warnings to clean up your surroundings, the law is there to protect others who should not be bitten by mosquitoes being harboured at your home and premises.”

Deyalsngh advised persons to contact their local government councillor or regional corporation to report errant owners.

A Penal mother has turned to the public for help to locate her son, Malcolm Shastri Dookie, who went missing last Thursday.

Cynthia Dookie, of Bhimull Trace, San Francique Road, Penal, said closed circuit television footage showed Dookie, 28, leaving his home, around 11 am on Thursday. 

She said she spoke to her son around 7 am as he was leaving for work at Jokhan’s Contractors and gave him a sandwich. She said she left home around 8 am and when she returned around 11.30 am, she noticed his garage gate was opened.

She said she called out to him and after getting no response, closed the door, went to her home and called him on his cellphone. 

However, she got no response to that call or several others she made over the next 24 hours. He never returned home that night.

Dookie said her son was not a person to stay out at nights. She became more suspicious when his supervisor called the next morning saying he had not turned up for work.

She said she later learnt that after arriving at work on Thursday, he returned to make a delivery in San Francique for his supervisor.

“Before he left to make the delivery for his boss, he told his co-workers he was going to make a delivery of a fridge and stove for someone in Morne Diablo.”

Dookie asks anyone with information regarding her son’s disappearance to contact the Penal police. 

Rosemarie Sant

Officers attached to the Special Security Unit at the Office of the Prime (OPM) Minister have been told they would be sent home in tranches once the Police Service has the manpower to replace them.

The officers were called to a meeting this week at the Prime Minister Office where they were told by recently appointed deputy permanent secretary in the office of the Prime Minister, Debra Parkinson, and the director of Legal Affairs in the OPM, Nisha Cardinez, that they were being replaced by police and army officers. 

But in the first instance 30 of them will be replaced and the remaining 42 will stay on the job pending an allocation of police officers to fill the void.

But there was no indication as to how soon the first batch of officers would be sent home.

Former army officer Curtis Douglas, who heads the unit, said discussions “went well” but he referred all questions to the Prime Minister’s press secretary, Arlene Gorin George. The T&T Guardian was unable to contact her.

Officers who attended the meeting said there was a suggestion from the floor that they be re-absorbed as SRPs to fill the roles of the police officers given the crime situation and the manpower issues in the Police Service.

However, the deputy PS and the director of Legal Affairs told them they had no authority to do what they were asking.

The officers were told the matter was still in the hands of the Chief Personnel Officer who would determine the package they would receive once they were sent home.

Officers had asked that they be paid gratuities based on the life of their contracts and they be paid for the remaining months of their contract but the T&T Guardian understands there is a clause in the contract which indicates that one month salary would be paid on termination. That we were told was being reviewed.

The special security unit was set up by the late prime minister Patrick Manning and members were employed at the Prime Minister’s residence, the Diplomatic Centre and the Office of the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, the UNC has expressed concern at the development. Rudy Indarsingh described the decision to send the officers home as “reckless, especially in a time of economic strife.”

Gunmen used a shotgun and two handguns to execute father of two, Naiym Muhammed, 17 hours after his friend was killed.

Muhammed was shot at least 12 times in the head.

Muhammed, originally from Carenage, was gunned down on Monday night, moments after he stopped in front of a driveway just outside an apartment building which he was renting. He lived there with his wife and two children, ages 13 and ten months. Muhammed was the cousin of Head of Digital Content at CNC3, Sampson Nanton.

According to a police report, at 8.10 pm Muhammed was slumped behind the steering wheel of his car. He was dressed in Muslim garb. 

The T&T Guardian was told by police investigators that Muhammed went to a mosque for evening prayers and then to the Chaguanas Police Station to sign, as he was currently before the courts on arms and ammunition charges. 

Officers, however, believe Muhammed’s execution was linked to Monday’s killing of Carenage businessman Raul Joseph, 42. 

Joseph was killed one month and a day after a knife-wielding home invader killed his wife, Andrea “Hannah” Edwards and left him paralysed. On Monday at 3 am, a man entered through a window and stabbed and chopped Joseph, who lay on an adjustable bed at his home at Moya Trace, Upper Haig Street, Carenage. Joseph, according to police, dealt in drugs, arms and ammunition.

Seventeen hours later, in what was believed to be another well-orchestrated killing, police said Joseph’s friend, Muhammed, was shot dead.

According to forensic pathologist Valery Alexandrov, three types of guns—two different types of handguns and a shotgun—were used to shoot Muhammed in the head. Alexandrov said the shots to Muhammed's head came from the left and right side, which meant that “possibly” two gunmen, one of whom is believed to have held the two handguns, stood on either side of Muhammed’s vehicle and opened fire on him.

When the T&T Guardian visited the area where Muhammed was killed yesterday, his neighbours admitted to seeing a “suspicious vehicle” about one hour before the murder.

One resident, who wished not to be identified for his safety, said the vehicle pulled up behind a parked dump truck on the roadway for a while before Muhammed actually came driving in.

“We know that there were men in the car because when they parked up, we noticed that they never came out and as soon as Naiym drove up and stopped in front the yard by him, the gunmen ran out and surrounded his vehicle.

“I only hear real gunshots after. I knew he had to be dead. There was no way he could have survived all those bullets,” the resident said.

Muhammed's cousin, Nanton, expressed his grief yesterday by posting a status on his Facebook wall, which read:

“Woke up this morning (yesterday) to the tragic news of my cousin’s killing last night, ambushed and shot multiple times. Goodbye cuz. I’m grateful for that little chat we had recently in the mall. Never thought it was going to be our last. God knows all things.”

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Nanton described his cousin as a “good family man.”

“He had always been a good family man. I have always known him as a friendly person. I met him three weeks ago in the mall and we spoke. 

“He did tell me of his intention of wanting to see my mom because he didn’t see her in a while. We had a very nice conversation and it was not the type of news I wanted to wake up to,” Nanton said.

Also contacted, another relative, who wished not to be identified, said although the police were linking Joseph and Muhammed’s murders, he believed it was hardly likely so. The relative said both men were “never really seen together regularly.”

“They would have been seen together once or twice, but I would not say that they were partners or associates. At least that is what we know of,” the relative said.

On May 30, 2008, Muhammed’s brother, Yuwiyl Muhammed, was shot dead at the corner of Smith Hill and Western Main Road, Carenage. Yuwiyl, who was 22 when he was killed, had an argument while at a fish vendor and when he turned to walk away, he was shot behind the head. On July 31, 2013, a 12-member jury in the Port-of-Spain Fifth Assizes found a close family friend, Anthony “Manzie” Cohen, of L’Anse Mitan Road, Carenage, guilty of Yuwiyl's murder.

Seven battered women have sought the assistance of a non-governmental organisation within the past two weeks after walking away from abusive situations.

Revealing they had been approached by victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse, to provide temporary shelter, president of the Organisation for Abused and Battered Individuals (OABI), Sherna Alexander-Benjamin, called for greater public and private sector partnership to assist such victims.

Disclosing the information during a cheque handing-over ceremony at One Woodbrook Place, St James, yesterday, Alexander-Benjamin explained that while they had been able to provide shelters for all of them, they were challenged to provide additional accommodations for their children as many of those places were only set up to cater for the adult victim.

She said that was one area in which they were seeking additional assistance in the form of apartments or housing which could facilitate a victim and her children.

Declaring that domestic violence was not a new situation but one which had become popularised due to the advent of social media, she said the OABI was founded in 2008 and launched in 2011 to help people like herself, as she boldly announced that she had been a childhood victim of sexual, emotional and psychological abuse.

As a result of her work in that area, she said serious gaps had been identified in the healing process as there was a serious lack of “safe spaces” for victims and there was the issue of “revictimisation” as the affected person was made to recount their tale of abuse continually to various authorities.

She said while the US and Europe could quantify the amount of money spent to assist victims of abuse, which was estimated to be around $800 billion, there was no such system in place in T&T.

According to the United Nations, one in every three women will experience some form of abuse during their lifetime.

Alexander-Benjamin said the OABI had launched its Zero in Three project to reduce this number to zero as they get set to roll out a series of events over the coming weeks as the world celebrates the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25.

Managing director of Fortress Security Services Ltd, Carlos Neptune, said the ten-year-old company had chosen to partner with the OABI and the Women's Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church as “it was an issue close to our hearts.”

Claiming that 55 per cent of its staff are women, Neptune said their commercial operations had resulted in hundreds of women seeking escape from abusive situations.

He said alarming statistics revealed that during the period August 2015 to July 2016, over 56,000 matters of domestic violence had been brought before the courts.

Reaffirming his company’s commitment to eliminating violence against women and children, Neptune said the company hosted its first run/walk on August 6 at the Queen’s Park Savannah, following which the proceeds, amounting to $10,287, were donated to the OABI to help assist victims of abuse.

Pedestrians have accounted for 32 per cent of road fatalities for the year to date.

So said Police Constable Brent Batson, former head of Arrive Alive and a co-ordinator at the Road Safety Council yesterday.

He said out of the 90 people killed on the roads for the year so far 29 were pedestrians.

For the same period last year there were 108 road deaths of which 37 were pedestrians.

Although this represented a 17 per cent decrease, Batson said one life lost was one too many, adding drivers were still failing to render assistance and to follow the road rules.

Batson added: “What is disturbing is that in two cases one driver failed to stop and render assistance and the other fled the scene. Those investigations are still taking place.” 

Four pedestrians were fatally struck over the last three days. The latest road death was a man who was knocked down as he attempted to cross the north bound lanes of the Solomon Hochoy Highway. 

Police reports are that around 5.50 pm yesterday, Alexander Phillips, of San Fernando, was seen swerving on the shoulder of the highway before darting eastward across two of the three lanes towards ANSA McAL building. 

On reaching the third lane he was struck by a blue Nissan Wingroad, landing on the far left lane, where he died. Police said Phillips appeared to be intoxicated as he reeked of alcohol. A bag belonging to him was left on the shoulder before he attempted to dash across the lanes. Central Division officers are continuing investigations. 

In another road death, Carl Andrews, an 82-year-old resident of Upper Valley Road, Belmont, who was attempting to cross the Western Main Road, Cocorite, near West Shore Medical Hospital at around 7.15 pm on Monday. He was struck by a silver Mitsubishi Lancer driven by a 37-year-old man.

This incident was preceded by another fatal road accident involving Joseph Sylvan, age 60, who died on Monday after being knocked off of his bicycle by a motor vehicle last Sunday along the Petersfield Main Road, Chaguanas.

Sylvan’s death is the first recorded cyclist death for 2016. Batson also urged pedestrians to exercise more caution when crossing road, especially at busy intersections and highways where the lanes, like the one in Diego Martin, extended to four lanes.

Drivers, Batson added, must also be more aware when using particular roads where there was no space for pedestrians to walk.

“In Rio Claro for instance there are some road spaces which must be shared because there is no pavement for people to walk on.

“We are urging motorists to be aware of this and pay particular attention. A lot of it still stems from drivers and other road users taking chances in crossing roadways,” Batson added. 

Over the weekend officers attached to the DUI Task force conducted road-blocks during which 23 motorists who were entering and exiting the Southern Main Road and Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway were caught in the police dragnet and arrested and charged for driving with a breath alcohol level in excess of the prescribed limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 milliliters of breath.

Three of these drivers were also charged for failure to produce a valid certificate of insurance. 

The exercise was led by ASP Harnarine Rampath, Inspector Anthony Harford, Sgt Damian Cadette and Cpl Ronald Mohammed.

Rosemarie Sant

There is silence from President’s House on new allegations which have surfaced on social media about questionable spending at President’s House and that a relative of Reema Carmona, wife of President Anthony Carmona, is employed at President’s House.

Social media has been abuzz following blogs by political commentator Rhoda Bharath that millions of dollars have allegedly been spent on wine and jewelry. 

The Guardian attempted to speak with head of the household Esther Liverpool. When a call was first made through the PBX to the President’s House someone said there were problems with the phone system and the call could not be transferred. 

Another attempt was made and when the call was transferred and a request was made to speak with Liverpool someone said she had stepped out. A Miss Hackett advised, however, that all questions be referred to the President’s communications advisor Theron Boodan.

Attempts to contact Boodan were also unsuccessful. Calls to his phone were also unanswered and voice messages were not returned. He had issued a brief comment the day before describing the allegations as “baseless.”

Attempts were also made to contact one Savitri Singh named in Bharath’s blog as a relative of Reema Carmona but the T&T Guardian was told that she had left for the day.

Bharath first posted the blog on Sunday in which she spoke of wine being bought in Italy and relabelled with the official seal of the President’s House and labelled Presidential House sparkling wine. There are images of the wine bottle on Facebook.

In her blog, Bharath pointed to a $2 million discrepancy in spending at President’s House contained in the Auditor General’s report.

The report, which is available online under the heading Individual Areas of Concern, speaks to expenditure control at President’s House.

It said, “There were 85 instances of incorrect classification of expenditure totalling $2,685,236.90 in contravention of financial regulation 65 which stipulates that a vote may not be applied to a purpose for which it was not intended.”

A memorandum was subsequently sent to the Head of Expenditure at President’s House on March 15, 2016, with a request for a response to the matters raised to be submitted within three weeks of the date of issue of the memorandum. But up to April 15 of this year when the report was laid in Parliament, there was no indication that a response had been forthcoming.

The Auditor General’s report said that “meaningful response to audit issues raised is a crucial step towards resolving irregularities and internal control weaknesses. It also reflects management’s commitment to improving fiscal responsibility and achieving good governance.”

The report further stated that “accounting officers are required by financial regulation 8 (l) to “reply promptly and fully to any queries…” of the Auditor General. 

Memoranda outlining findings and recommendations have been issued to the ministries and departments audited. 

There was no response from President’s House on whether the information requested had since been submitted.

Meantime, the T&T Guardian was able to confirm that one of the people named in the online blog, Prematee Nagee, is no longer employed at President’s House. A well-placed source at President’s House said Nagee was once Reema Carmona’s stylist. 

President Carmona is in Guyana where he delivered the keynote address to the international judicial conference, the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association, a London-based organisation, in collaboration with the Supreme Court of Guyana.

Last night, CNC3 News spoke to Carmona in Guyana but he said he was busy attending a conference and would be willing to speak when he returns to the country tomorrow.

Stakeholders who attended a presentation/discussion by Sandals International Resorts on a concept for the development of a hotel in Tobago are calling on the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and the Government to come clean on the billion-dollar project. 

Yesterday, the stakeholders queried if Sandals Resorts were now interested in constructing a 1,000-room hotel at the Buccoo/Golden Grove Estate when it was previously announced as 750 rooms, following a presentation on Monday at the Coco Reef Resort by Sandals deputy chairman and CEO Adam Stewart.

Clico owns Golden Grove Estate which partially surrounds the Bon Accord Lagoon and includes a strip of pristine white-sand beach called No Man’s Land.

The presentation was attended by THA officials, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young and stakeholders. 

Patricia Turpin, president of Environment Tobago, said while the presentation was a concept of the hotel, it did not deal with issues.

“We certainly did not all agree on the presentation. Sandals, the Government and THA did not come clean. We are planning a meeting next month to deal with facts and scientific data for this project, which we would submit to the Government.”

Turpin said the stakeholders left disappointed and dissatisfied because answers were not forthcoming.

While everything has not been cast in stone, Turpin said they would not allow the hotel to be forced down their throats.

“There are some people who do not want it at all. It is becoming a political football,” Turpin said.

In June, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced that Tobago was earmarked for a 750-room Sandals Resort.

Turpin said she was surprised that the conceptual design showed two buildings, a 720-room hotel to the right with a 320-room hotel on the left of the proposed site.

“It’s over 1,000 rooms now. Every minute the rooms are increasing. We are not quite sure. We will oppose anything that does not follow the rule of law.”

Yesterday, Secretary of Tourism and Transportation in the THA Tracy Davidson-Celestine described the presentation as highly productive.

“The stakeholders got a taste of what Sandals has to offer and some of the product offerings across the Caribbean.”

Davidson-Celestine said it was too early to say whether a 1,000- or a 750-room hotel would be built.

“We don’t have that level of detail as yet. At this stage it was just Sandals coming to take a look at Tobago, indicating to the Government and THA that we like what we see and these are the possibilities...and we want to engage you the Government and the people to talk further.”

Asked if No Man’s Land would be touched, Davidson-Celestine said, “As it was indicated in the meeting, we are talking about the Buccoo Estate. No Man’s Land is just one piece of the Buccoo Estate. There was really no discussion surrounding No Man’s Land, but we are looking to see the possibilities of Buccoo Estate,” Davidson-Celestine said.

Tobago hotelier Allan Clovis said the presentation was at its conceptual stage and needed to be worked out, but he felt that the hotel would bring a lot of benefits to Tobago and its economy.

Lecturer Dedan Daniel said he was perplexed with the varying number of hotel rooms.

Trinidadian poet Vahni Capildeo has won the 2016 Forward prize for best poetry collection, making it three years in a row that a Caribbean poet has won one of the most prestigious poetry awards in the UK and Ireland, says the Guardian UK. 

A prize for first collection was also awarded to a Caribbean writer, Tiphanie Yanique, who was born in the Virgin Islands. 

Capildeo’s collection, Measures of Expatriation, explores ideas of belonging and home. Her award follows two Jamaican-born poets, Kei Miller and Claudia Rankine, who took the main prize respectively in 2014 and 2015.

Capildeo received the £15,000 prize at a ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Tuesday night. A professor at the University of Glasgow, Capildeo previously worked as an OED lexicographer and has an Oxford DPhil in Old Norse. She comes from a well-known Trinidadian family of politicians and writers, including her distant cousin VS Naipaul.

A Rio Claro gardener who allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl was denied bail when he appeared in court yesterday morning.

Davion Ragbir, 25, who was barefoot, appeared before Magistrate Gloria Jasmath in the Rio Claro Magistrates Court charged with the offence.

The suspect who had been in custody for almost two weeks was charged by WPC Farrier.

The charge, laid under the Children’s Act, alleged that on September 9 at Eccesville, Rio Claro, he committed an act of sexual penetration on the girl.

Ragbir did not have an attorney.

He told the magistrate his age and occupation.

Asked if his relatives were in court, Ragbir said his brother was present but his parents were at home. 

In answer to the magistrate, prosecutor Sgt Gadar said the victim was secure.

Gadar asked for an opportunity to have the accused traced to determine if he had any previous convictions or pending matters. Ragbir denied he had any other matters in court.

The magistrate told him a warrant was issued for his arrest because he failed to attend court on a traffic matter. Ragbir said he forgot his court date.

She then remanded him in custody to reappear tomorrow when she would consider bail.

Samples from various species of fish from the South and northwest peninsula are being sent to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) laboratory for testing on toxins, the Planning Ministry has confirmed.

This followed a meeting of stakeholders on Monday at the ministry.

Concerns have been raised about the quality of fish and recent Gulf of Paria fish kill which washed up close to shore in southern areas since July. 

Fishermen and Friends of the Sea head, Gary Aboud, claimed fish carried dangerous levels of toxins and were tainted by the corexit chemical used by Petrotrin to clean oil spills in the last two years. Fishermen disputed Aboud’s claims, accusing him of having an ulterior motive and fear mongering.

The Institute of Marine Affairs and the Environmental Agency stated the fish was dumped by fishermen since they carried marks of netting. 

Fishermen also admitted to dumping. However fishermen have lost sales and have been feeling a financial “pinch” from the situation since there has been a fall off in fish purchases by the public since the issue arose.

In recent weeks the Government has been paying compensation—from a $1 million fund—to such fishermen whose livelihood has been affected and who have registered with the ministry to seek assistance.

Last month Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis sanctioned the testing of fish samples at an internationally recognised laboratory.

This action includes testing of various species of fish taken from 12 geographic areas where landing sites are located. These areas are La Brea, Carenage, Cedros, Icacos, King’s Wharf, Mayaro, Maracas/Las Cuevas, Carli Bay, Claxton Bay, Otaheite. Samples will also be taken from two fishing sites in Tobago.

He’ll be remembered for serving T&T presidents over several decades—starting from the time of Ellis Clarke—and probably seeing more world leaders up close than the average citizen would have had the opportunity to.

Choy Richardson, who had been the butler at President’s House for decades, died on Monday night of a reported heart attack. He was in his late 50s. He lived at east Trinidad, near Arima, sources added.

Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards, wife of former president George Maxwell Ricards, said she was saddened by his death. Both she and her daughter Maxine said Richardson had been a butler at President’s House since the days of late president Ellis Clarke. He had also worked during the tenure of former head of State Noor Hassanali and Arthur NR Robinson, as well as serving during her husband’s term.

Ramjohn-Richards recalled learning that Richardson had come to President’s House as a teenager and trained to become a butler.

“I always asked him, ‘Choy, why don’t you do some other course or so, and he’d say, no he wanted to be a butler. And he was a very good butler. Very hard-working and efficient. So much so that people used to call him to do private work also. He was a very nice, amiable person,” she added.

“I understand he was on the job up to Monday night and then we heard he’d died suddenly—it is very sad. I was very shocked. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife and family, and his friends. We all remember him very fondly.”

Maxine Richards added, “He introduced me to mint frappes as I recall.

“My best memory of him is, he was always attentive to guests to whom he was always very courteous. He was also very attentive to the family.

“I remember he was always in a jacket. He’d have seen many leaders who came to President’s House as guests— Queen Elizabeth II who was here for the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government conference and many others who came to CHOGM and other events in T&T where receptions were held at President’s House.

“Unlike other butlers, he didn’t come from the Defence Force. From what I learned, he’d just applied for the job and got it. He’ll be missed. We all send condolences to his family and friends.”

Former chief of protocol at President’s House, Lenore Dorset, said, “I remember him as a very respectful person, very dedicated to his job, a team player and a very discreet and jovial person. He knew his job and served well.”

Efforts to contact his wife were unsuccessful as she was not at work. President’s House officials said they couldn’t give out information on him. 

ROSEMARIE SANT

President Anthony Carmona is being advised to hold a news conference on his return to the country from Guyana to address allegations of questionable spending at President’s House raised in the Auditor General’s report.

The report has raised queries about a $2 million discrepancy in spending at President’s House. The report, which is available online under the heading Individual Areas of Concern, stated:

“There were 85 instances of incorrect classification of expenditure, totalling $2,685,236.90, in contravention of financial regulation 65 which stipulates that a vote may not be applied to a purpose for which it was not intended.”

But other allegations about spending on wine and jewelry have also surfaced online and has led to heated debate.

Adviser to the President, Napier Pillai, yesterday told the T&T Guardian while he had not been in contact with Carmona since he left the country, he would advise that “His Excellency should call a news conference and deal with the allegations.”

Pillai has served three presidents — ANR Robinson, George Maxwell Richards and now Carmona. However, he said he did not handle any matter relating to the President’s household and could not speak to the issues now in the public domain.

Sources close to the President said he had been keeping abreast of what was being reported and intended to deal with the matter on his return from Guyana where he has been attending the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association Conference which ends today.

Sources close to the President said the allegations which have been in the public domain were “serious allegations and his Excellency will want to address them.”

However, his communications adviser, Theron Boodan, told the T&T Guardian the allegations were “baseless and there is distortion,” but he refused to respond to further questions, saying it is a matter for the President to address.

Political analyst Dr Winford James yesterday said: “Discrepancies in the Auditor General’s report can be clarified. It may be an accounting error.” However, he said the country needed to get “a better sense of the facts” and it was incumbent on the President to speak with some urgency on the issue.

Without the information and the facts, he said the country should be careful because these were “such allegations of such magnitude, are these things true?”

Speaking on CNC3’s Morning Brew yesterday, political scientist Dr Hamid Ghany also said the country should wait for Carmona’s return to hear what he had to say.

It was a view also shared by former Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal, who acted as President on occasion. She said: “I would wait to see what the President has to say before making any judgment.”

The President’s Office, like the Parliament, reports to the Auditor General. Financial reports are submitted which are contained in the Auditor General’s report. Efforts to speak to the head of the President’s household, Esther Liverpool, were unsuccessful yesterday as she was said to be not in office for the day.

Neil Bissessar, the 29-year-old “PH” taxi driver who was charged with sexual grooming of an 11-year-old girl, was yesterday granted $50,000 bail when he reappeared before Chaguanas magistrate Joanne O’Connor.

Court prosecutor Sgt Ken Ali produced a document to O’Connor which she then spoke out loud saying Bissessar had a court matter for possession of marijuana.

However, his attorney, Taradath Singh, informed the court he was the representing attorney for Bissessar’s possession case last year and added that the case was dismissed. The magistrate then granted bail and instructed Bissessar to stay away from the child victim.

However, that did not go well with the parents of the child. Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, the child’s mother said she thought the court prosecutor would have objected to bail.

Bissessar’s mother was seated in the court and was briefed by Singh after his appearance with regards to the procedure to secure her son’s bail.

Police claimed that text messages were sent to an 11-year-old girl allegedly telling her to send pictures of herself and even asking to come over to her house.

Investigations were conducted by the police and Bissessar, of Sankar Drive, Longdenville, was arrested and charged by PC Corey Williams of the Longdenville Police Post. His first appearance in court was on Monday afternoon. The matter was adjourned to October 19.