David West, Head of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), this morning, disclosed that the man in the social video, who identified himself as a police officer hiding out in Canada because of death threats he received in T&T, did not lodge any complaints/reports at the PCA.

“I do not know where it is that he lodged the complaints but it certainly is not with us (PCA). He did mention, the Police Service Complaints Authority, but we do not know where that is,” West said.

THE PCA however, is looking into the matter.

In the video, which went viral yesterday (Tuesday), the man, who identifies himself as Allan Gillman, said he allegedly received threats on his life from several police officers, including high-ranking officers.

The male voice in the six minute-57 second video shows a ransacked room with documents scattered all over the floor and bed.

The man claims he has been a police officer for the past 19 years and even shows what appears to be an authentic police badge.

The man claims because of an incident (which he did not mention in further details) he was forced to run for his life to Canada. He added that there was an order to execute him and several officers in the police service were behind it.

According to the man, they include officers assigned to the North Eastern Task Force and the High Performance Team, a unit which operates out of the North Eastern Division.

The man said he was forced to flee to Canada on September 22, 2012.

 “It took plenty courage to come out now and make these videos. I don’t want to do it but I consulted with a lawyer in Canada. This is the state of my bedroom, there are TTPS documents of events. I don’t want to reveal as it is sensitive and national security oriented,” the male voice was heard saying in the video.

He added that it was his first video after four-and-a-half years “of hiding in Canada from the officers mentioned.”

“I made complaints against these officers and that I am fearful for my life since 2009 to 2012 when I left T&T in a rush to my safety in Canada,” he said.

The man called on Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to look into the matter and “have it fixed before he goes public.”

 “I hope this reach you guys and you understand the seriousness in my voice,” the man said.

President of the TTPS Social and Welfare Association, Michael Seales, told the T&T Guardian that some of the officers who were named had already contacted him on it.

However, he added that he was yet to meet with them to discuss it further.

Garbage collection is million-dollar business in T&T. Rural Development Minister Kazim Hosein yesterday confirmed $277.8 million was spent in 2016 on garbage collection for the 14 regional corporations.

Hosein gave the information in response to Opposition questions in Parliament.

The total annual expenditure for garbage collection for the 14 corporations was $277,721,515, he said.

The highest sums were spent for collection in the Tunapuna and San Juan Regional Corporations - $62.8m and $52.7m respectively.

Hosein detailed collection expenditure for the various regional/borough corporations. (See Sidebar)

Public Utilities Minister Fitzgerald Hind also detailed the level of garbage tonnage dumped at various landfills between January 1 to December 2016.

Hinds said the Forres Park landfill received 223,216 tonnes of garbage, the Beetham landfill 291,760 tonnes and the Guanapo landfill received 80,650 tonnes.

Hinds couldn’t say how many tonnes the Guapo/Point Fortin land fill received, since he said this landfill was under the Rural Development Ministry.

Culture Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, replying to queries regarding Carnival 2017, said the National Carnival Commission had collected $2.3m from Panorama semi-finals gate receipts and $1.2m from the finals. Pan Trinbago, she said, collected $4.6m from Panorama events. Gadsby-Dolly said $389,900 was collected from ticket sales for the Dimanche Gras competition and Government also collected $113,100 from booth rentals around the Queen’s Park Savannah, which had 97 per cent booth occupancy. (GA)

• Port-of-Spain - $21.3m

• San Fernando - $9.6m

• Arima - $5.2m.

• Chaguanas - $20.8m

• Diego Martin - $30.5m

• San Juan - $52.7m

• Tunapuna - $62.8m

• Sangre Grande - $1.5m

• Couva - $15.1m

• Mayaro - $9.2m

• Siparia - $12.9m

• Penal - $7.76m

• Princes Town - $9.5m.

Culprits using the proposed Plea Bargaining system will be able to bargain against trial if they provide links to T&T’s “Big Fish” and “Mr Big,” says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Stuart Young.

Speaking during yesterday’s Parliament debate on the legislation, Young said it can also be used retroactively by those in remand custody who wouldn’t have to wait years behind bars for their matters to be heard.

Young said there is no magic pill to fix crime, but improvement of the criminal justice system via the legislation is a central element in addressing the problem.

The legislation is a particularly big part of the fight against white collar crime “...Corruption and Mr Big,” Young added.

“It’s part of the fight against the Big Fish. Below them are the small fish who’re critical to doing the crime, they frequently leave finger or ‘footprints’ so when they’re held and presented with evidence against them, they can have discussions and give up the big fish.”

“The accused can say ‘I’m willing to give up Mr Big who’s importing narcotics’. So this (legislation) is a big part of the fight against corruption: narcotics, and illegal drugs and firearms.”

Young said the legislation also allows the innocent to go free when drugs or weapons are found in cars or houses and everyone in the location— innocent and guilty—would usually be held for the crime.

He said the owner of the drugs or guns would be able to come forward, accept responsibility and have discussions with the prosecutor to seek a plea, while the others in the vehicle or house would not be prosecuted.

The legislation also allows victims—including children, businesses or entities— to give statements on emotional or other harm or financial losses the accused caused them.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who made suggestions regarding the legislation, said these could be discussed in committee stage.

T&T’s lobbyists in the US, The Group, DC LLC, has already been paid US$300,000 to date out of the US$2.4million contract price.

Acting Prime Minister Minister Colm Imbert confirmed the situation replying to Opposition questions in Parliament yesterday. Government recently confirmed the firm was hired for three years to promote T&T’s interests in the US.

Imbert said the decision to hire was taken on December 23, 2015 by the Cabinet. Procurement was sole selective process.

On terms of reference or scope of works the firm would do, Imbert said the contract is available on the US Justice Department’s website.

He repeated several times when Opposition MP Roodal Moonilal pressed for details. Imbert said if the information is publicly available, under Parliament’s regulations: “There’s no need to repeat it.”

Moonilal later called for the deputy House Speaker to write a “stern letter” to the Energy Minister (Franklin Khan) for tardiness in answering a question on the agenda which was previously deferred for two weeks and was deferred again yesterday.

Khan, however, only returned to work this week. Imbert was acting Energy Minister in his absence when the question was at issue.

Speaker Edmond Forde said the matter would be dealt with.

In light of billions being unaccounted for and no internal auditor for the periods 2013 to 2015, a forensic audit is taking place in some units of  the Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd (EMBD).

Parliament’s Public Accounts Enterprise Committee  (PAEC), which examined the audited financial statements of the EMBD for the years 2008 to 2010, also heard that in some cases contracts started off at millions but eventually ran into billions of dollars which  the management of the company could not explain.

In one instance a $9 million contract escalated to $1.183 billion. That matter is currently before the court, the committee heard.

Financial audited reports for 2011 to 2015 were also not presented  resulting in the committee’s chairman, Wade Mark, to admonished the EMBD members  for its “unacceptable” behaviour in not submitting the reports.

Member Shamfa Cudjoe, who was vociferous in her concerns, said her challenge with the EMBD over the past nine years was that it had a “strong record of mismanagement,” adding that there were reports where a contract stared off at $67 million rose to $334 million.

“The practice in the EMBD is like so many other State enterprises....it is chronic. It is like a cancer. I read in the Hansad asking about the financial audits for 2013 and here we are in 2017 with a couple more years added to the same years we were asking about.

“So are we really a committee interrogating and looking out for the best interest of the country or are we playing committee?  Sometimes it feels as if we are just meeting as a formality because if we meet three years after asking the same questions then this is a waste of time and public funds,” Cudjoe said.

Asked what oversight measures were in place to ensure transparency permanent secretary in the Agriculture Ministry, Angela Siew, said any additional monies due to variations to contracts must be Cabinet approved.

Pressed whether there was a Cabinet note permitting increases to these contracts Siew said, “No. I am saying this is what should have happened.”

She said variations would  have to go through the budget division which would not approve of such increases without proper approvals.

But Cudjoe, who seemed unimpressed said, “Nobody in the whole line picked up that something was wrong. And if that is happening then what is happening now?” 

Siew reiterated that variations must be Cabinet approved adding, “In any event even if we were trying to slip that in to go to finance ministry they would not accept it because there are no proper approvals.”

Regarding the failure to submit financial reports Siew said some were audited.

The company’s chairman, Shameer Mohammed, also the chairman of Caribbean Airlines Ltd, almost 90 percent of the work was completed on some of those reports.

Committee member, David Small, chastised the company and the Ministry of Agriculture for not having frequent meetings so as to determine the best way forward for the entity, as it was revealed that since its inception in 2002 the company had moved to three different ministries  and was operating without a strategic plan.

There was only a “draft plan”  which was never finalised.

A San Juan father of one has initiated a novel lawsuit challenging this country’s child custody laws, which precludes parents of children born out of wedlock from seeking joint custody.

In his lawsuit filed late last month, the man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his 13-year-old daughter, is claiming that the Family Law (Guardianship of Minors, Domicile and Maintenance) Act contravenes his constitutional rights as it does not apply to couples in common-law relationships, who have children.

In addition to declarations that his rights were infringed, the father is asking the court to strike down the legislation as unconstitutional.

According to his statement of case, the man and the child’s mother were in a common-law relationship when she was born in 2003.

The relationship ended two years later, but the mother and child continued to live at the man’s home with him paying for the child’s maintenance.

In 2009, the mother moved out of the house with the child, forcing him to apply to the Family Court for access.

However, while the case was still ongoing the mother applied to the High Court for sole custody.

“Had (name withheld) parents been married and that had that marriage irretrievably broke down resulting in divorce, it would have been open for the court considering the petition to make an order for joint custody,” the statement of case stated.

Because the child was born out of wedlock, under the legislation, the mother is granted sole custody unless the father is able to prove that she is unfit to hold custody due to mental or lifestyle factors. He may only apply for access such as visitation rights.

“The father does not seek full custody of (name withheld) to the exclusion of her mother,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit is yet to be assigned by the Judiciary to a High Court Judge, who will then set a date for the first hearing.

The man’s application for access to the child is expected to come up for hearing in the Family Court today, during which his attorneys are expected to apply for a stay of the proceedings pending the outcome of the constitutional motion lawsuit. The T&T Guardian understands that the man’s attorneys are also expected to make an application asking that the Single Fathers’ Association of T&T be named as an interested party in the case.

The Health Ministry is examining why the CT scanners at both the Port- of- Spain General Hospital and San Fernando General Hospital “coincidentally” went down at the same time, says Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh.

Deyalsingh revealed this in Parliament yesterday after Opposition MP Dr Fuad Khan asked if there has been any evidence of sabotage of the machines.

Public health institutions in North, East and South had been experiencing problems with CT scanners in recent weeks causing concerns among patients.

Yesterday Deyalsingh noted CT machines at both the North and South institutions “coincidentally “(sic) went down simultaneously. He said the ministry is looking at all angles in the matter.

“ But I have no definite report to say it was due to A or B or C, “ he added.

Deyalsingh said the 16 slice CT scanner at the San Fernando General Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department wasn’t working still since a tube was ordered many weeks ago , but the Siemens company overseas had shipped the wrong tube.

He said the correct part has been obtained and the scannner should be functional by tomorrow (FRI).

While Deyalsingh couldn’t give the exact time patients have had to wait for scanner use, he said there’s been no “exacerbated waiting time” since the Ministry continues using private sector CT services - as it did previously - to provide emergency scans. Non-emergency cases are dealt with at Mt Hope hospital.

Opposition MP Dr Lackram Bodoe asked if one company was responsible for servicing all public health sector CT scanners. Deyalsingh asked him to file the query for reply later on.

Deyalsingh confirmed the Internet access to Children’s Life Fund application forms is down. He couldn’t say when it would return to service. Instead, relatives can obtain forms from the Wendy Fitzwilliam Children’s Hospital, Mt Hope or write to the Fund seeking to have forms sent to their health office.

Although bans have been lifted in Jamaica and Barbados, a temporary restriction on imports and retail sales of meat products from Brazil will stays in T&T, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said yesterday.

Talks are continuing with the Brazilian government about its food-safety standards and a decision to lift the ban will be made only when the ministry is fully satisfied that the affected products—corned beef, chicken patties and chicken nuggets—pose no risk to local consumers.

Rambharat has sought assurances from the Brazilian authorities via Dr Amery Browne, T&T’s Ambassador in Brazil, about the safety of corned beef, chicken patties and chicken nuggets made in that country.

In a statement, he said: “Ambassador Browne has held meetings and exchanged correspondence with officials of Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Farming to fully understand the actions being taken by the South American country to restore confidence in its meat-producing sector.

“Additionally, following discussions with our own Ministry of Health, the Chemistry, Food and Drug Division undertook pathogen testing of Brazil-made corned beef, chicken patties and chicken nuggets to rule out contamination and ensure these products meet health standards.

The full results of these tests will be revealed once pathogen testing is complete.”

This week, the governments of Barbados and Jamaica lifted bans on imports of Brazilian corned beef.

Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries stopped issuing import permits for meat products from Brazil and advised the Chemistry, Food and Drug Division of the Ministry of Health to immediately recall from supermarkets and other retail outlets, corned beef, chicken patties and chicken nuggets originating from Brazil.

This action followed an investigation by Brazilian authorities that uncovered major meat-processing plants in the country sold rotten beef and poultry for years, while bribing health officials to issue fraudulent inspection reports.

Rambharat and officials from the Ministries of Health and Trade subsequently met with Supermarket Association president Dr Yunus Ibrahim and other association members, and local importers of corned beef and chicken products from Brazil. The meeting was called to give importers and distributors the opportunity to discuss the recall and have concerns relating to its implementation addressed.

Over the last 10 years, some 1,793 Trinidad and Tobago nationals were deported from the United States back to T&T, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon confirmed yesterday.

Dillon gave the figure in Parliament while replying to queries from Opposition Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh on the issue.

Gopeesingh had sought the deportee levels from 2007 to 2016.

According to Dillon’s figures, the highest level of nationals deported from the US over the ten-year period was in 2008, when 325 were sent back.

The lowest figure was 2015 when 77 returned.

Dillon listed the following deportee levels.

• 2007 - 260

• 2008 - 325

• 2009 - 264

• 2010 - 227

• 2011 - 157

• 2012 - 148

• 2013 - 125

• 2014 - 114

• 2015 - 77

• 2016 - 96

Dillon said returnees are placed in different categories according to the reasons/crimes they were deported.

Police and Special Branch follow up cases accordingly, he said.

The most serious category of deportees are those concerning murder and terrorist activities, who are monitored on return by TT intelligence forces and police, he added.

On another query, Dillon said acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams is now actively considering use of non-lethal weapons for police. Dillon had been asked by Opposition MP Dr Lackram Bodoe if he was satisfied with the recent reported shooting of a mentally ill patient within the precincts of Point Fortin hospital.

Dillon couldn’t say if he was satisfied, since he said the matter is under police probe and he didn’t have the facts.

He also said over 2015 and 2016, there had been an approximately 350 per cent increase in interdiction exercises by the T&T Defence Force.

This was due to seizure of over $18m worth of drugs in 2015 and $65m worth in 2016.

Listing system improvements responsible for this, he noted six new Defence Force vessels plus heightened aerial and radar surveillance denying smugglers freedom of action.

Coastal land patrols had also been increased, including in Los Iros, Cedros and similar areas.

Dillon also cited strengthened collaboration with foreign agencies and authorities, including the US, Venezuela and the UK.

Principal of the Mayaro Government Primary School Andy Paul has not been suspended from duty.

The Ministry Education said in a statement yesterday that Paul had been instructed by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to “cease to report for duties while an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the injury suffered by the student, is being investigated.”

This is in accordance with provisions of Regulation 88 of the Public Service Commission Regulations Chapter 1:0.

The T&T Guardian was told that on the basis of a report by a school supervisor, Paul was written to by the TSC and told to proceed on immediate leave pending an investigation.

This followed a bullying incident at the school on February 1 in which a Standard One student suffered a broken arm.

The ministry said it has no authority to “make appointments or promotions and transfer, neither to confirm appointments, or to remove and exercise disciplinary actions over members of the teaching service.”

The statement continued: “This responsibility has been reserved to the Teaching Service Commission according to Section 125 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.”

The ministry further explained: “Suspension is a form of disciplinary action that is taken against an officer who has been found guilty of misconduct.”

Paul will be given every opportunity to state his position on the incident at the school and at this time no guilt has been attributed to him, the ministry added

Sources said there is a concern that the TSC acted hastily and there should have been a thorough investigation.”

Primary school principals are wearing black in support of Paul.

The grandmother of a man murdered in Mr D’or, Champ Fleurs, yesterday, was left questioning why her grandchild had to return to the country only to become a murder statistic.

Eileen De Gannes, who arrived at First Private Road, Mt’ Dor, after seeing Isaiah Neptune’s body on social media, said the young man recently returned to Trinidad to care for a house his deceased father had left him. De Gannes said her grandchild lived at Cunupia and Valsayn.

“Look how Droopy lying down on the ground like a dog nah! What he doing up here, why he come up here? Why he come back here to get killed? He was in the States, why he come back?” De Gannes lamented.

Neptune, 30, was found around 10.30 am after residents reported hearing gunshots in the relatively quiet neighbourhood. He was found without his shoes and a school bag found a short distance from his body is believed to be his.

A male relative said Neptune, of Dyette Street, Cunupia, was “always in the latest brands” and said he believed his killer may have stolen his Air Jordan sneakers. Police said Neptune, who also had a house in Valsayn, may have been killed after visiting a female companion in the area.

In an unrelated incident, Kendall Trim, a well known Chaguanas “PH” taxi driver, was hijacked, shot and left for dead on Tuesday night.

Police said Trim, 27, of Dass Trace, Enterprise, was hired by three men to take them to Santa Flora while plying his Nissan B14 along his usual Old Southern Main Road, Chase Village route shortly after 9 pm.

Police said when the men reached Santa Flora they shot Trim several times in the upper body, threw him out the vehicle and escaped with his vehicle.

Residents assisted Trim and called the Santa Flora Police Station, where an all-points bulletin was subsequently issued. Police said Trim was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital, where he died while undergoing medical treatment.

South Western Division Task Force and Highway Patrol officers responded and spotted the vehicle heading north along the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway. They later intercepted the car near Couva, but the suspects ran out the vehicle and began shooting. Police responded and one of the suspects was shot in the knee. The wounded suspect was arrested while one of his accomplices was also subdued and arrested. A third suspect managed to escape but police said an arrest is imminent.

The two suspects, aged 19 and 25 , are said to be from the Springvale, Claxton Bay area. 

A major question surrounds what happened in a car minutes before Melissa Mohammed-Ramkissoon, 33, of Cedar Hill, Claxton Bay, was shot in the head and driven to the Chaguanas Police Station by a close male relative on Tuesday night.

The investigation got a little more complicated for the police involved in the case last evening, after a distant male relative of Mohammed-Ramkissoon, who they were looking for in connection with the shooting, surrendered to the police at the Freeport Police Station.

The T&T Guardian was told that police were left with three different stories on what occurred after the distant male relative told them Mohammed-Ramkissoon was shot by her close male relative during a heated argument and he (distant relative) ran out the car and fled for his own life after witnessing the brazen attack.

But in an initial report Chaguanas Police Station officers, Mohammed-Ramkissoon’s close male relative, aged 35, said he and his wife picked up the distant male relative and were on their way to Felicity, Chaguanas, when an argument broke out among the three. He told police that he heard a gunshot and when he looked at Mohammed-Ramkissoon she was slumped in the front passenger seat. The man told police before he could move to hold the distant male relative, he had already opened the door and run out of the car.

The close male relative said when he realised Mohammed-Ramkissoon was not responding and he noticed she was bleeding from the right side of the head, he panicked and drove straight to the Chaguanas station for help. The incident, police said, happened near the cemetery.

Police officers said when they checked the close relative’s silver Tiida car which Mohammed-Ramkissoon was reportedly shot dead in, they found a .38 revolver on the floor.

Close relatives and friends who went to the Chaguanas station on Tuesday night said they were shocked to see the police had removed the vehicle and Mohammed-Ramkissoon’s body so quickly from the scene. However, Mohammed-Ramkissoon’s close male relative was immediately held for questioning.

Yesterday at Mohammed-Ramkissoon’s Cedar Hill Road, Claxton Bay home, the T&T Guardian met a locked house. Relatives who live nearby said she had lived there with her husband for the past 10 years.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a relative told the T&T Guardian Mohammed-Ramkissoon was last seen at about 7 pm walking along the Cedar Hill main road heading towards her house.

“We don’t know where she was coming from, if she had gone to meet anyone and was returning home, we don’t know. We are clueless as to what happened to her and who was in the vehicle with her and where she was going,” the relative said.

Another relative, a female cousin to Mohammed-Ramkissoon, who also wished not to give her name, added: “We are hearing all kinds of things with this. We really don’t know what’s the truth.”

Asked if she knew what relationship Mohammed-Ramkissoon shared with the distant male relative and if it was a norm for her to hang out and go places together with the toe men, the cousin said: “I really don’t know. I don’t know if they were all friends or what.”

Mohammed-Ramkissoon’s cousin described her as a “bubbly” person.

“At one time we were very close but then the family pulled apart and we didn’t know much about her after that. All we know was that she was always a happy girl. Her mother and her other close relatives live in New York and are expected to come to Trinidad very soon.”

Relatives of the distant male relative said they too were in the dark over what happened.

“We really would like to know what happened, but the police haven’t gotten all the information yet and we are waiting on them to tell us something. Right now, the boy’s (distant male relative) parents and wife are at the police station and we are waiting on word. All we know is that Melissa was killed, but we do not know why and by who,” an uncle of one of the male relatives said.

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan held late evening crisis talks yesterday as he moved with more urgency to resolve the inter-island cargo ferry situation, after being given a Monday deadline ultimatum by Tobago stakeholders.

Contacted in his office after 6 pm, Sinanan told the T&T Guardian: “I am meeting with Inter-Continental, the port management, the Permanent Secretary and others. I am working on this thing very seriously because I know this is the lifeline for Tobago.”

Sinanan said he had told the Port management “they have to work day and night until they solve this problem.”

Inter-Continental Shipping Limited managing director John Powell had earlier told the T&T Guardian he wrote Sinanan indicating he had sourced a replacement vessel for the Super Fast Galicia on the Tobago sea bridge. That vessel, he said, can arrive here by the middle of May.

Addressing this possibility later on, Sinanan said he was willing “to consider all options.” But he said they wanted to get a “clearer picture from Inter-Continental what is the vessel that they are offering.” He said there was a tender process taking place and they “were looking at all the options out there.”

Desperate to find a solution before the Galicia departs on April 18, Sinanan announced at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing that he was looking at the option of using two military vessels owned by the Ministry of National Security to transport cargo between Trinidad and Tobago. A suggestion by Sinanan for a barge to transport goods to Tobago was shot down on Wednesday by the Tobago Chamber and other stakeholders at a meeting in Tobago.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Powell said he wrote to Sinanan and the Port Authority of T&T (PATT) telling them of the latest development, “so the worst case scenario is that we will be three to four weeks without a cargo vessel.” Acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert said the military supply vessels will be manned by military personnel, adding these vessels were normally used to transport supplies.

Powell said at a meeting with Sinanan in January, he had told the minister “we will buy the Galicia and flag it under the Trinidad and Tobago flag, the proposed name was the Super Fast Tobago, but it was rejected.”

The Jamaican-born businessman, who has been operating in T&T for the past 18 years, said “there had been no complaints about the Galicia, whenever an issue arose we dealt with it quickly.” He said he also could not understand why Sinanan was making an issue of a request for a three-year contract for the vessel.

“We have been operating on a month-to-month contract, he refused to give the Galicia a three-year contract, but the tender they have out now looking for a new vessel is offering a three-year contract,” Powell said.

Despite this, he said there are now 13 international brokers “looking for a vessel, but that did not include Inter-Continental.”

Sinanan had said Inter-Continental asked for a contract for five years — three years initially and then two one-year contracts. It was on that basis he said he returned to Cabinet and they agreed to “buy a new vessel and build one specific to the requirements of the country.”

Sinanan is adamant the country must never find itself in this position again. He said “whatever sacrifice we have to make I am going after the Cabinet to get a new cargo vessel owned by Trinidad and Tobago and a new fast ferry for the inter-island run, If I could achieve that I would be satisfied with what I have done for the country. But this must never happen again.”

But yesterday, Powell said when he asked for the three-year contract followed by two years, it meant after three years Government could have negotiated for another one-year contract.

Tobago Chamber of Commerce president Demi John Cruikshank says the island is “in crisis mode right now” and the Minister needs to do something about the sea bridge.

He said Inter-Continental “had been reliable, they kept their end of the bargain, the minister say they have brokers looking for a vessel, but Inter-Continental is a local company which knows the need of Tobago.”

Saying “the Chamber is aware that Inter-Continental had sourced another vessel,” John Cruikshank said when they met with Sinanan in Tobago on Wednesday, they told him “go back to Inter-Continental, work with them, get them to keep the Galicia for another two months until the vessel they have sourced arrives.” He said stakeholders in Tobago also made it clear to the minister they do not want a barge.

“It is in his court to find a vessel,” he said.

Asked what Sinanan’s response was to the Chamber’s ultimatum, Cruikshank said: “We see them juxtaposing, this has nothing to do with egos, this is about people’s lives.”

He said the minister cannot “abdicate any responsibility for the situation which we have found ourselves in. He took up office in November, six months later we in a situation where people’ lives are at stake.

“If businesses have no goods and we can’t sell, we can’t pay instalments to the banks, we will have to send people home and close shop.”

Minority leader in the Tobago House of Assembly, Watson Duke, also said he stood behind the stakeholders and the Tobago Chamber’s position. He said the Galicia had served the route well, “but someone has an ulterior motive. Is this about jobs for the boys?”

Duke said: “What we have demanded is that he re-engage the current provider with the Super Fast Galicia. The agent said they can get another ship within three weeks. So definitely there are options.”

He said the stakeholders are “totally against a barge and the vessel from Guyana the Atlantic Provider,” which he said has a “chequered past and a colourful history, it was arrested in 2015.”

As to the minister’s suggestion of using Coast Guard vessels, Duke said,“That is an insane thought. When they use Coast Guard vessels to transport goods, that is an interceptor boat, how many other vessels would be left to monitor the borders?”

Duke added, “The Galicia can take 200 cars, it has the capacity for more than 100 passengers, and an infirmary. It has speed and is reliable. The staff is proficient and efficient. Tobagonians have had no problems at all with the vessel.”

Merlyn Pierre, a resident of La Sieva Road, Vega De Oropouche, Sangre Grande, is now surprised by the size of rough skin lemon she is reaping from the she planted at the back of her home three years ago.

She is amazed and believes one of the lemons she picked yesterday was the biggest for sure in T&T. The lemon weighs 3.2 kilograms and has a circumference of 54 centimetres.

Pierre said they got the seed from a friend in Manzanilla. The friend was also shocked to see the size of lemons Pierre’s tree has been producing, as his trees produce ordinary sized lemons.

Pierre yesterday cut the lemon to show its inside to T&T Guardian and only found that it has more core than juice.

At the back of a house where the tree was planted, Pierre showed the amount of lemons on the tree. One the other lemons was the same size as the one she reaped. However, Pierre said she is leaving that one to see if it will get bigger. —Ralph Banwarie

Both a video and a voice note clip featuring a man claiming to be a T&T police officer now hiding out in Canada because of threats on his life by colleagues, have now been sent to Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon.

However, up to last evening there was no official comment from Dillon on the issue and whether or not the man, who has identified himself as Allan Gilmann, was a legitimate member of the T&T Police Service and whether the allegations he made will be investigated extensively.

Gilmann has so far released two statements alleging he fled the country due to a hit put on his life by colleagues because he had information of their corrupt practices. He released a voice note on Wednesday and a video clip two days prior, both of which went viral on social media.

In the latest audio clip, the man identifying himself as Gilmann claims he escaped death in 2009 when about 30 officers assigned to a specialist unit stormed his Morvant apartment and allegedly tormented him for almost 90 minutes.

“I thought it was my last. I lost money and other things. To date I have the photos of the event and the state of my apartment when they left. I don’t know if they had any warrant but since then the threat levels have rise,” the man said.

The man said he has evidence showing the police officers’ corrupt involvement in cases from murder to lesser offences from 1998 to 2012. He said this evidence might set prisoners free if made public and threatened to take his info to the international media.

The man said he was now moving all over Canada with his daughter after receiving a letter from a top police official, leading him to believe his previous location had been compromised. He again reiterated a call he made in his earlier video for Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley or Dillon to intervene and investigate his claims.

In the earlier six minute-57 second video which went viral on Tuesday, the man said he fled to Canada after 19 years in the service after authorities failed to act on his complaints and even showed what appeared to be an authentic police badge.

Head of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) David West told the T&T Guardian they are looking into the matter, but said they had so far found no complaints/reports lodged by the man with the authority.

“I do not know where it is that he lodged the complaints but it certainly is not with us (PCA). He did mention the Police Service Complaints Authority, but we do not know where that is,” West said.

A source at the T&T Police Service’s (TTPS) Administration Building said checks were being made to verify whether the man joined the service in 1998 as he claimed, what’s his current status in the TTPS if he is legitimate and his current location.

“We may also have to collaborate with the Ministry of National Security, Immigration Division, to see whether or not he did leave the country to Canada,” the source said. 

The Cedar Hill, Claxton Bay homes of two relatives of Melissa Mohammed-Ramkissoon were searched yesterday, as police continued their investigations into the circumstances surrounding her death and who may have killed her.

Investigating officers were still having a hard time ascertaining what happened on Tuesday night before Mohammed-Ramkissoon’s murder.

She was fatally shot in the head while in a car with a close male relative and her distant cousin. Her body was driven to the Chaguanas Police Station by the close male relative at about 8 pm. The close male relative initially told police he was driving along Waterloo Road in Carapichaima when someone opened fire on his vehicle. But police said when they pressed further they were then told there was an argument between the three when a gunshot rang out and the male relative saw Mohammed-Ramkissoon slumped over in the front seat bleeding from the head. The man said the other occupant then jumped out of the car and ran away.

However, the cousin, who surrendered to the police at the Freeport Police Station on Wednesday, told police it was the driver who allegedly sot Mohammed-Ramkissoon in the head.

Investigating officers yesterday told the T&T Guardian that whilst their investigations were hanging in the balance, they were leaning towards the incident being a domestic-related one surrounding a possible love triangle gone sour.

A team of officers went to the Abdool Trace home of the cousin yesterday, where they conducted additional interviews and searches to add to their case file. At about 1.30 pm, the officers went to the close male relative’s home and carried out an extensive search.

Both men remained in police custody last night and other relatives were making attempts to retain attorneys for them.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, a relative who wished not to be identified said Mohammed-Ramkissoon’s mother and other relatives were due to arrive into the country from New York last night. While funeral arrangements are not yet finalised, the possibility exists that it may be held today.

Asked whether relatives had any clue as to what occurred, the relative said: “No, we still are very much confused. All we know that there is a blame game going on which is preventing the truth from coming out. We believe that there is a lot to hide from both parties.”

Investigations are continuing.

Students from the law faculty at the University of the West Indies St Augustine Campus said they have no objections to relocating to the Debe Campus, following a tour of the facility yesterday.

However, there were conditions attached to the move, foremost among them the quality of education, security and housing.

Among those giving a thumbs up to the relocation, once certain conditions are met, was Jadia Jn Pierre, a St Lucian first year law student

“I was led to believe that I was coming to a part of the island that was not developed. I was led to believe that UWI planned on sending students to a place where we would have been lost , where there would be no means of communications, where perhaps, we would be isolated from the rest of the world, Jn Pierre said in an interview.

“So I am very happy to see that we are in a part of the country where there is development, in a part of the country where there is access to the basic amenities.”

With regards to the campus itself and the state of preparedness, she said she had no objections moving once she had the assurance her security needs would be met and the quality of education received would not be compromised.

“I am not prepared to move into a facility that is incomplete. I an not prepared to move into a place that is not being prepared to facilitate students.”

She said once the university could give those assurance, “as a regional student , I have no objection whatsoever to moving.”

The visit comes three weeks after students protested their unexpected relocation to the unfinished Debe campus, following an announcement by Education Minister Anthony Garcia that the south campus will be relocating in January 2018 and confirmation in a letter sent to students and staff by Law Faculty dean Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine.

Jeron Paul, incoming PRO of the Law Society executive, made it clear, “the protest action by students was never that we did not want to move to South. It is just that we were not moving here until certain things were put in place.”

 Paul was the only person allowed to go and look inside the classroom during the tour and took photographs which he said he would share with the rest of the faculty. He said he was surprised to see that the classrooms were in a more advanced state than what he was initially led to believe.

He said it appears as if there would be an intake of students very soon. However, he expressed some concerns that while the classrooms were fully furnished, the library was scheduled for completion in Phase 11 of the project. Given the expanse of the land on which the campus is located, he said he also had security concerns 

Meshac Thornhill, representing the International Affairs Committee, expressed disappointment that neither principal Brian Copeland, the dean of the faculty, or any senior member of the administration accompanied them on the tour.

Thornhill said he was pleased with the structure itself but was concerned about security and housing accommodation. 

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a senior public servant, who was bypassed for promotion four times in the space of two years. was unfairly treated by the Public Service Commission (PSC).

In a 51-page judgement delivered yesterday, Appeal Court judge Prakash Moosai ruled that Audine Mootoo was entitled to damages for loss of earnings, distress and inconvenience as her constitutional rights to equality of treatment from the PSC was breached.

Moosai did not decide the compensation she should receive as it is to be determined by a High Court Master. The court was unable to order the PSC to reconsider Mootoo’s applications for promotions as she is now approaching retirement after waiting almost a decade for the case to be determined.

In his judgement, Moosai ruled that the PSC’s treatment of Mootoo had a cumulative discriminatory effect as it was not related to a single post but a series of acting appointments she applied for between August 2004 and March 2006.

“Its effect thereof smacks of unfairness and arbitrariness and constitutes prima facie evidence of unequal treatment contrary to section 4(d) of the Constitution. “Even more startling is the fact that she was bypassed for consideration for the post in her own area of expertise (horticulture),” Moosai noted. He also stated that the PSC had failed to sufficiently justify its handling of Mootoo’s case.

“It is manifest that at every turn when the vacancies arose, Mootoo clamoured for transparent, equitable and consistent treatment. Regrettably, the cumulative effect of the treatment meted out to her was arbitrary, inconsistent and discriminatory and necessitated resort to litigation to obtain relief,” Moosai said. Appellate Judges Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Rajendra Narin also sat on the appeal and agreed with Moosai’s reasoning.

In 2007, Mootoo, who worked at the Ministry of Agriculture for her entire career, filed the lawsuits after she was bypassed for promotions for four management posts.

The four positions are Deputy Director, Extension Training and Information Services; Technical Officer (Horticulture) in the same ministry; Deputy Director, Agricultural Services Division (Crop Production); and Acting Director Horticultural Services in the Ministry of Public Utilities.

Mootoo, who was a Biochemist II in the Ministry of Agriculture, when the lawsuit was filed, claimed that in one of the positions full consideration was given to another officer while in another the PSC wrongly held that she was ineligible for promotion despite her seniority. She also said that on the two other occasions she was told that PSC failed to consider her as it never received her applications.

Mootoo’s lawsuit was initially dismissed by a High Court Judge, forcing her to appeal.

Mootoo was represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, and Gerald Ramdeen, while Russell Martineau, SC, represented the PSC. The Office of the Attorney General was represented by Neal Byam.

As the Office of the Attorney General moves swiftly to ensure Intellectual Property (IP) rights are protected, modules have already been approved to beef-up training for police and custom officers in this area.

Law students are also expected to be schooled in similar courses as a project is being pursued by the Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO) to develop a holistic approach to raise the level of understanding of IP among citizens, businesses and institutions via the establishment of an Intellectual Property Academy.

This is being done through the IPO with assistance from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Academy.

So said acting permanent secretary in the Office of the Attorney General, Ingrid Seerattan, while speaking at a workshop titled How to make a living from music. It was hosted by the T&T Music Company Ltd (MusicTT) in collaboration with the AG’s office and the WIPO held at the Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s yesterday.

“One of the modules approved by the WIPO Academy is the IP Clinic for second year law students at the Sir Hugh Wooding Law School taught at the IPO for the last seven years. Other modules agreed to in principle include training for police and customs officers,” Seerattan said.

She said there was a PSIP project on “Building Respect” for IP which was put forward in fiscal 2015/2016 aimed at sustainable public education.

A draft IP strategy was also currently before the AG’s office which would take cognisance of intellectual assets that may be languishing within the public sector or “sub-optimally” exploited Seerattan said, adding that the strategy was currently being reviewed by the economic advisory board.

Saying this country has one of the most robust IP systems in the entire Caribbean, Seerattan said however, in most cases, excellent creative effort was given away or simply placed into the public domain for others to profit from.

“There are many pockets of creativity operating in need of some cohesion and appreciation of how intellectual property can greatly enhance the value-added that can be extracted,” she said.

She said it was no secret that the music and creative industries have tremendous potential to diversify T&T’s economy and propel this country toward utilising its innate talent to achieve economic prosperity.

A study done in 2014 by WIPO, found that the copyright industry and all the economic activity that hinged on the economic rights supported by copyright and related rights lone contributed roughly under five per cent of this country’s GDP, Seerattan said.

Permanent secretary of Ministry of Trade and Industry, Frances Seignoret, who also spoke, described the creative industry as the bedrock of innovation particularly music.

“We are cognisant of the projections of PriceWaterhouse Coopers that revenue from the global music industry is expected to grow from US$42.93 billion in 2015 to over US$47.7 billion in 2020. The opportunities for success and sustainability are palpable with the tools, information and dedication of the music businessperson,” Seignoret said.

She said the Ministry of Trade was mandated to develop globally competitive businesses and expand exports, particularly in the non-energy sector.

IPO was also considered a net generator of revenue having earned $18.7 million in gross revenue from 1995 to 2005 and from 2006 to 2015 it generated $48.8 million in gross revenue, Seignoret said.

A 76-year-old attorney was yesterday granted $75,000 bail after appearing in court charged with defrauding a client.

Wilston Campbell, of Fyzabad, was not called upon to plead to the charge when he stood before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning.

Campbell is charged with fraudulently converting $132,153, which represents the part proceeds of a land deal.

He is accused of accepting the money from a client for the purchase of a property, but failing to conduct the transaction and repaying the money.

The offence allegedly occurred between August 18, 2014 and April last year.

Dressed in the same shirt and trousers he had on when he was arrested by Fraud Squad detectives at his chambers in San Fernando on Tuesday, Campbell stood silently for the duration of the brief hearing and spoke through his attorney Ian Brooks.

Police prosecutor Insp Winston Dillon did not object to bail for Campbell, but noted that investigators were yet to obtain his criminal record tracing—usually a prerequisite for bail.

Brooks responded by admitting his client had a pending retrial for perverting the course of justice, by attempting to bribe a police officer to assist in having a case against two students caught cheating in CXC examinations in 1995 dismissed.

In 1996, Campbell was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Disciplinary Committee of the Law Association.

The complaint against him was filed in 1987 by a man who had given Campbell $29,500 for the purchase of two pieces of land in Sangre Grande.

Campbell appealed but was rejected by both the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council, who ordered him to repay the money to the client’s estate, as he died while the appeals were still pending.

After granting Campbell bail, Ayers-Caesar adjourned and transferred the case to the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court.

Campbell will reappear in court next Wednesday.