“Together we aspire, together we build, together we advance.” This was the message from Fr Clyde Harvey as he was yesterday ordained the 5th Bishop of the Diocese of St George’s in Grenada.

“I will work faithfully for the welfare of the people of Grenada, seeking the common good with them and for them. I offer in word and deed the social teaching of our church as light and yeast for the further development of Grenada,” Harvey said.

“Together we aspire, together we build, together we advance as one people, one family under God. God bless Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique now and forever,” Harvey said.

Harvey said he, a “senior and a sinner”, was selected for the position.

The ordination did not take place at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral which serves as the seat of the Catholic Diocese of St George but instead was held before a packed auditorium at the Spice Basket Theatre in Beaulieu, St George.

The Ordinations Preparation Committee decided that the Spice Basket’s auditorium would be the most appropriate venue for the Episcopal Ordination Ceremony.

Other sacred events were held there in the past including the Pentecost Rally. “If anybody ever told you it could not be holy tell them they lie,” Harvey said.

Harvey, 68, was born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

He entered the Seminary of St John Vianney and the Uganda Martyrs in 1967. He was ordained by Archbishop Anthony Pantin on 27 June 1967, a Diocesan priest for the service of the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain.

Harvey was ordained along with Christian Pereira and Carlos Roberts and the three priests chose as their motto, “To Make Known to Caribbean People the loving-kindness of the Heart of our God”. In 2011 Harvey was awarded the T&T national award the Humming Bird Medal Gold for Religion and Community Service.

On June 12 Harvey was robbed at gunpoint as he prayed at the St Martin de Porres Church, Gonzales, Port-of-Spain. His appointment as Bishop of St George’s in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, was published in L’Osservatore Romano of 23 June, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Harvey’s episcopal motto will continue the motto he shared with Pereira and Roberts “To Make Known to Grenada and the world the loving kindness of the heart of our God”. It is abbreviated on his Episcopal crest to simply read “Loving kindness”.

Archbishop of Port-of-Spain Joseph Harris, Papal Nuncio Nicola Girasoli and, Vicar General of the Archdiocese Pereira were among those present yesterday.

The Clico Policyholders’ Group is questioning why the Samaan Grove Development was excluded from the Government’s valuation of the Buccoo Estate in Tobago, popularly known as No Man’s Land.

Speaking at a press conference at Valpark Chinese Restaurant in Valsayn yesterday, the group’s chairman Peter Permell produced a valuation report for the controversial property, which was commissioned from GA Farrell and Associated Limited by Clico’s board on the instructions of the Central Bank.

The report, produced in June last year, valued the 398.42 acres of land, which was eventually transferred to the Government in March this year, at $174, 806,775.

The controversial property is earmarked to be developed by regional hotel company Sandals Resorts.

Permell admitted yesterday that the figure corresponded to the valuation of the 100 per cent of the common stock of Occidental Investments Ltd and Oceanic Properties Ltd, subsidiaries of Clico, which owned the properties. Both companies were acquired by the Government in order to transfer the land.

But he questioned why the valuation specifically excluded the upscale Samaan Grove Development which was originally part of the estate before being developed by Clico.

“I don’t know why you would want to exclude the Samaan Grove, which is the most valuable portion of the estate,” Permell said.

Asked if the development could have been excluded by Government because it had already been developed and sold into leasehold properties and was not transferred in the sale, Permell said he did not know.

“That is a question that you have to ask those in charge. I do not have the information. I am just asking important questions,” Permell said.

Permell also pointed out that notwithstanding the Government’s independent valuation of the land and the holding companies, Clico’s parent company CL Financial had valued both at $187 million in its estimated financial reports for last year. He explained that CL Financial’s valuation represented the book value or cost price of the land and did not consider appreciation.

“However you slice or dice it, $10 per square foot does not sound right. I don’t think that there is anywhere in T&T where you can purchase land at that rate,” Permell said as he called on Government to reverse the sale and revalue the property.

He also noted that in its proposal to Government earlier this year, titled Project Rebirth, international auditing firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) valued the estate at close to $867 million.

The report, which suggested that CLF shareholders retake control of the company and restructure its repayment plan with Government, was eventually rejected by the Ministry of Finance due to questions over its viability.

The refusal was the basis of a move by the shareholders to call an extraordinary meeting earlier this month to retake control of the company’s board, which was under the majority control of the Government since its bailout of Clico in 2009.

The move was the catalyst of Government’s ongoing petition to wind up the company as it seeks to recoup the remaining $15 billion it had invested in the bailout.

The shareholder’s bid was abandoned after the Court of Appeal agreed to appoint the provisional liquidators last week. The provisional liquidators have been mandated to asses and ensure the company’s assets are not disposed of pending the outcome of the petition.

The winding up petition, which comes up for hearing before Justice Kevin Ramcharan in September, does not affect the sale of the estate to Government, as the property was held by its subsidiary Clico and was legally transferred under the authorisation of the Central Bank, which took control of the insurance giant after the bail-out.

Commenting on the issue at the weekly post-Cabinet press conference, last week, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley defended the move by Government.

Rowley said: “But it was said that the lands we took in Tobago in lieu of the debt and set off against the debt might have been improperly done and the value might not have been established properly. Let me today put that to rest,” he said.

He went on: “The Government, quite properly, through the relevant authority in all of this, the board set off the monies owed for the value of those land. And the value was established by reputable independent valuators in Trinidad and Tobago. And that is the value at which the Government’s debt was reduced by virtue of the value of this land.”

Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein plans to investigate another report of corrupt activity taking place at a regional corporation starting today.

Hosein made the comment after he launched the Volunteer Network of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation at the borough’s Cumberbatch Street headquarters on Saturday.

He said too much abuse was taking place regarding the use of vehicles at regional bodies and he intends to put a stop to this activity.

“They told me about a certain official in a corporation who is using the ministry’s vehicle, the corporation’s vehicle, Sunday to Sunday and taking it home. So far it’s an allegation and I am going to deal with it on Monday morning,” Hosein said.

Hosein later told Guardian Media that he was not at liberty to name the corporation involved until he completes his investigation.

He also slammed drivers and officials who use high maintenance vehicles, such as a Toyota Prado, to drop off letters. He said this could be done instead with a motorbike. He added that it was not in the interest of the taxpaying public to have to pay overtime to a driver who has nothing to do.

Hosein admitted he has been bombarded with complaints of corruption daily.

“I do not stand for any corruption. There will be no corruption under me in the ministry and I know there is a lot of corruption in the corporations because I get text messages every day, I get letters written to me,” he said.

Hosein says he will be visiting the statutory meetings at all corporations to get feedback.

He said he has also put systems in place to ensure relief comes after a natural disaster, adding the public ridicule he suffered after the passage Tropical Storm Bret, when emergency shelters were inaccessible, was too much.

He said, “We had no access to any shelters, the ODPM said the corporations were responsible for the shelters. When I went down there I saw a family marooned in the waters, a pregnant woman with about seven children, and not only her, a lot of people were marooned there and they couldn’t get access to the shelters. But some good person decided to blame me for not opening the shelters. I didn’t have the keys for the shelters and that was the responsibility for the corporation.”

Hosein said he has appointed an individual to run the Disaster Management Unit of all 14 corporations to ensure that this fiasco does not happen again.

Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan meanwhile called on big business organisations to get more involved with community-based organisations.

In 2006 when businessman Bertram Dookeran found out that a plot was being hatched to kidnap his 22-year-old son, he took the tough decision and sent him to the United States for safe keeping.

Eleven years later, Runcie Kiran Dookeran, the nephew of former Congress of the People leader Winston Dookeran, is now flying the T&T flag having recently been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps commendation medal from the Department of the Navy for his leadership qualities, commitment to duty, dedication and loyalty to the United States government.

Contacted by the T&T Guardian, the elder Dookeran, a father of three, spoke in glowing terms of his 33-year-old son, who has not only made him proud but also his country.

Earlier this month, the award was presented to Kiran by the Navy’s Lt Commander Lopez in San Antonio for upholding the highest traditions of the US naval service.

While basking in the glory of his last son’s accomplishments, Bertram wished his son’s mother, Leela Dookeran, could have celebrated with him. Leela died in 2008.

Bertram, 71, recalled that after enrolling Kiran at the University of The West Indies’ St Augustine campus to pursue linguistics, he had to pull him out of school because he could not remain focused.

“He kept ducking classes and would go to the river with his friends and cook and lime. I told him he was wasting time and brought him into my stock piling business in Mt Hope to manage my accounting books,” Dookeran recalled.

But after a few months on the job, Dookeran said he got wind that there was a plot to kidnap Kiran, which terrified his family.

“I didn’t want to take any chances with Kiran’s life so I decided to send him away,” Dookeran said, as he broke down in tears last Wednesday, stating that it was one of the toughest decisions he had to make in his life.

He said at that time there had been an upsurge of kidnappings for ransoms in the country and he had to protect Kiran from harm or death.

Dookeran said when Kiran migrated his heart shattered to pieces and his family life changed.

“Life was not the same. But eleven years later I can smile and feel proud knowing that all was not lost. Out of evil cometh good,” Dookeran said.

He said when Kiran settled in the US he began pursuing pharmaceuticals and to his surprise, his son began excelling.

Academic prowess

Kiran’s academic prowess did not go unnoticed. The Navy saw his potential and encouraged him to join. Kiran was enrolled as a petty officer and was assigned to the Osbourne Branch Dental Clinic, where he topped his class. By 2009, Kiran was posted to Iraq as a dental assistant, where he earned his first US Navy and Marine Corps commendation medal for going beyond the call of duty.

“Then the Navy sent him to work as a dental instructor at the San Antonio Hospital and this is where he was recognised for his accomplishments,” Dookeran said.

During an interview on Skype, Kiran, who recently graduated with an associate degree in Applied Science at the Thomas Edison State University, said his motivation to succeed came from his dad, who taught him the values of hard work, honesty and integrity.

“Some people take the easy street to get things quickly. I have never seen that in my dad. I have always known him to be honest, a hard worker and someone with integrity.”

Kiran said he lives by these three qualities as he tries to walk in his father’s shoes.

“I wasted time at UWI. It was only when I came to the US I realised how important education was and how far it can take me,” said Kiran, a former St Mary’s College student.

But had it not been for self-motivation and time management, Kiran said he still would not made it this far.

“When I got this award I was overwhelmed with joy because even though I am not in Trinidad, I have been trying to be a positive representative for my country,” Kiran said.

“Sometimes you hear negative things about Trinidadians being deported from the US for drugs or guns and it always paints a bad picture for external citizens. I just want to promote that not all Trinidadians are bad.

“We do make accomplishments because of the school we attend, the community we grow up in and the teachings from our family.”

He observed that T&T was losing its community spirit.

Asked if he had any regrets about the path he took, Kiran said no.

“I don’t live my life with regrets. I believe everything happens in due timing. But I am saddened that I could not live my life in Trinidad and Tobago to contribute to society.”

He opted not to talk about his tour and experiences in Iraq.

“I came back safely compared to a lot of other guys. A lot of guys come back with post-traumatic stress disorder. I consider myself very blessed because I prepared myself before going there being in the medical field. I would like to leave those situations there.”

Kiran, whose allegiance lies with US government, said he hopes to serve the full 20 years in the navy.

Former independent senator, Rev Daniel Teelucksingh, says there are too many schemers and scamps posing as religious men and women in today’s T&T.

Speaking at the 127th anniversary of the St Charles Presbyterian Church, Chaguanas, Teelucksingh said it was one of the disappointments in his 50-year career as a reverend.

He said religion was an important component in creating a social order in T&T in which justice and peace can flourish. He said while Christianity, Islam and Hinduism all promote moral and ethical values for its members, the holy texts and songs are not being translated into everyday living.

“Who are they that pollute and lead young impressionable minds with the venom of hate and anger and spite with all these churches and temples and sacred places?

“You go down the road and suddenly you see downstairs somebody’s house, a church is open,” he said.

“I don’t know where they get the name to give to the new churches. They’re springing up almost every week. They are places of worship, but we have become, in spite of all the religion and all the prayers and all the worship and all the activities that are religious, we have become a society of too many scamps and schemers.

“And that is my problem, that is my disappointment with religion.”

Teelucksingh said even the parliamentarians, who citizens often times justifiably criticise, belong to religions, yet scandals such as the CLICO fiasco will continue. He said he would pray that more men and women in the homes, schools, businesses, industry and the public service live as the embodiment of the spirit of their places of worship and their holy books wherever they go.

Teelucksingh, who has worked in 48 churches in his career, received a token of appreciation for dedicated service throughout the years from the church members. He said if he had to relive the choice of being a reverend again, he would definitely follow the same life path.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of two cousins convicted of murdering their cousin in 2003. The two were challenging their convictions based on their mild learning disabilities.

Delivering a 43-page judgment on Friday, almost five years after the case was referred to it by the Privy Council, Chief Justice Ivor Archie and Appellate Judges Rajendra Narine and Prakash Moosai ruled that Deenish Benjamin and Deochan Ganga were fit to stand trial for the murder of their cousin Sunil Ganga.

While the court refused to quash their conviction and order a retrial, it commuted their mandatory death sentences, as it would be considered cruel and unusual punishment for them to be executed after spending over a decade in prison while awaiting the outcome of their appeals. They will now serve life sentences with a minimum term of 30 years and may be potentially due for release in 2033 as they have already spent 14 years in prison.

“We have considered the fact that both appellants were young men at the time of the commission of the crime and are still relatively young. We are therefore minded to leave open the possibility of release,” Moosai, who wrote the judgment, said.

In the appeal, the court was asked to consider whether Benjamin, 36, and Ganga, 35, had the mental capacity to participate in a trial and to give police confessions to the crime, which were instrumental in convicting them.

During the hearing of their appeal in February 2014, British mental health experts Drs Tim Green and Richard Latham were called as defence witnesses and claimed that the duo should not have been put on trial due to their learning disabilities.

Moosai also criticised the experts, as he noted that their evaluations only centred around the two men and did not factor the opinions and observations of their friends and family.

“Notwithstanding an undisputed finding of mild learning disability, a legitimate criticism that can be levelled against the experts is their failure or omission to interview Benjamin’s family/or friends (and Ganga’s for that matter) to provide objective verification for a significant component of their diagnosis,” Moosai said.

The cousins were represented by Keith Scotland, Daniel Khan and Asha Watkins-Montserin.

History of the Case

Deenish Benjamin and Deochan Ganga were convicted and sentenced to death on December 4, 2006, for the murder of their cousin Sunil Ganga. Sunil died on July 12, 2003, after being beaten and hung from a rafter in a shed behind his Penal home, next to Benjamin and Ganga’s home.

During the trial, Sunil’s wife, Roseanne, testified she saw both men entering the shed before her husband’s death. It was the State’s case that both men confessed while under interrogation from police, but they both denied that while on trial, as they claimed that they were mistakenly identified by Roseanne.

The murder toll has risen to 284 with the shooting death of a Laventille man on Saturday night at Plaisance Terrace in John John.

Hakimel Kallicharan, of Block Eight, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the body, police said.

According to a police report, around 11.15 pm officers of the Inter-agency Task Force responded to a report of a shooting and when they arrived at the scene they discovered Kallicharan lying on the ground with gunshot wounds.

He was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Up until late yesterday no suspects had been apprehended in connection with his death.

An autopsy will be conducted at the Forensic Science Centre in Federation Park today.

2 couples in court for theft at temple

Two San Fernando couples are expected to appear before a San Fernando magistrate today, charged with the sacrilege and robbery of a Diamond Village temple last month.

According to a police report, Frank Deonarine told police that he locked the Shiv Mandir DLS in Picton Settlement around 1.30 pm on June 15 and left.

Deonarine said when he returned around 10.30 am on June 21, he found that the mandir had been broken into by someone who pried open the back door.

On checking, he realised that five speakers, two Lasko fans and a box containing an unknown amount of cash was missing.

After weeks of investigations, Cpl Khan, PC Andre and PC Ragoonath gathered information and recovered the speakers and a Lasko fan. The couples, a 23-year-old mechanic and his 20-year-old wife and their next door neighbours, a 27-year-old tradesman and his 23-year-old wife, were arrested.

PC Andre laid the charges.

Man held for Tunapuna killing still in custody

A Beetham man is being questioned by the police in connection with the murder of El Dorado, Tunapuna resident Akino Thomas.

Thomas was shot and beaten by two assailants at Pentecostal Road in Tunapuna on Thursday night.

His attack was videotaped and posted on social media hours later and soon went viral.

In the video, Thomas was seen running from a man dressed in a white vest and knee length pants before falling into a drain at the side of the road. His attacker appears to shoot several times at Thomas, but the gun then appears to have jammed.

At that point, another man then comes into the image, jumps into the drain and repeatedly stamps and kicks Thomas in the head.

Thomas was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, for treatment where he died early Friday morning.

Homicide officers conducted inquiries and held the suspect.

Investigators said yesterday they were still holding the man for questioning since the hope to make another arrest shortly.

Where were CL Financial’s audited financial statements? That was the call from former People’s National Movement (PNM) minister of finance Mariano Browne, as he spoke on the CLF issue yesterday.

Browne raised the query among others he said need to be answered on the CLF matter—especially following statements by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on the issue last Thursday.

Rowley spoke after Government won its appeal against CLF majority shareholders, obtaining the right to have provisional liquidators at CLF. Shareholders’ attorneys will be filing an appeal on this at Privy Council level today, United Shareholders Ltd’s Carlton Reis said yesterday.

Browne, on another aspect, responded to last Friday’s criticism by the Finance Ministry on some of the statements he made on the CLF matter on radio last week.

Browne said, “I’ve noted the ministry’s media release indicating the time line I provided wasn’t accurate. The release states that the last extension to the shareholders’ agreement expired on August 31, 2016 and the so-called ‘plan’, Project Rebirth, was only submitted by the shareholders on January 6, 2017, over four months later.

“Therefore, the shareholders didn’t refuse to extend the agreement because the Government refused to respond to a plan from the shareholders for repayment of money owed by CL Financial.”

He added: “I thank the ministry for their prompt response and correction. For the benefit taxpayers and for informed public discussion on the CLF matter, I’d be grateful if the ministry would, with the same promptness, inform the national public of several other aspects which require answers.”

Some aspects arise from the Prime Minister’s complaint last week that there had been “great difficulty” in getting information about CLF’s financial position and there were “no audited statements” of companies.

But Browne said the Memorandum of Understanding agreement between shareholders and Government—on the 2009 bailout following the collapse of CLF’s CLICO subsidiary—had required CLF’s board to submit audited financial statements .

“And the board under the bailout agreement was —after the agreement—controlled by Government,” he added.

“So the Government needs to tell taxpayers why CLF’s board, which it controlled, didn’t provide audited financial statements for eight years as it was required to provide under the MOU with shareholders.”

Currently, Government’s four directors on CLF’s board are Dr Rolph Balgobin (chairman), Kirby Anthony Hosam, Terrence Bharath and Ingrid Lashley. Shareholders’ interests are represented by Albert Tom Yew, Fredrick Gilkes and Trevor Marshall.

Browne added, “Government also needs to explain whether shareholders gave the Government and any of its appointees on the CLF board, reasons for refusing to extend the shareholder’s agreement. If so—what were those reasons?

“Taxpayers need to know as well, whether the CLF debt has been agreed or disputed by the shareholders and how long did the Government take to respond to the Project Rebirth Plan submitted by shareholders?”

He said the Finance Ministry also needed confirm whether it has spent $3.46 billion on professional advisory fees on the CLICO matter, as has been claimed,and how this expenditure is made up.

“For accountability, taxpayers must be told who the fees were paid to, whether any adviser to Central Bank or otherwise was paid any fees, how much recipients were paid, for how long—and what was the benefit of these fees to taxpayers,” Browne said.

“I trust the ministry would promptly provide the relevant information in the public domain to ensure taxpayers are informed and that facts on this matter aren’t misrepresented by any Government minister, present or past.”

Members of public will be given the opportunity to name the two new zebra additions at the Emperor Valley Zoo.

The two young zebras, a male and female, will be named by the end of August and visitors to the zoo or members of the public can go online and give them names.

In an interview at the zoo yesterday, Zoological Society president Gupte Lutchmedial said the zebras were still under quarantine.

“They came in Friday and they are still under quarantine and would stay in quarantine for 30 days. They were born last year and had handlers at the ranch so they could be conditioned,” he said.

Lutchmedial opted not to disclose the cost of the bringing of the zebras to T&T.

“They have adapted quite well and we spent the entire night with them. So we observed them. They have minor bruises from the transport,” he said.

He said the animals came on Friday night by plane from Miami, Florida.

However, yesterday’s inclement weather did not stop the scores of visitors who lined up to catch a glimpse of the animals.

Ariel Fletcher, 10, of Chaguanas, who spoke in a quiet voice, said it was her second visit at the zoo.

“We came to see the zebras and the lions,” she said.

Christian Fletcher, seven, was only too proud to announce that he came to see the alligators, lions, fish, zebras, monkeys and the parrots.

Dian Ragonanan, from Couva, said it had been some time since her family had last visited the zoo.

“We saw the zebras on TV last night and on Facebook. They (family) love it,” she said.

Visitors also spent a lot of time visiting the other attractions at the zoo.

Melman and Mandela, the two giraffes, were visited by a crowd who bought “giraffe biscuits” to feed them.

Other spectators gathered to see Kimberly Howai, the education officer at the zoo, feeding two two-month baby otters Chase and Charlie.

Howai said the orphaned pups had to be trained to swim and took them for a bath in two inches of water where they “splashed around.”

Two members of the T&T Defence Force (TTDF) are now under arrest at the TTDF’s headquarters in Chaguaramas, as investigations continue into the defrauding of almost $2 million in payments.

The privates and a civilian worker attached to the T&T Defence Force’s (TTDF) payroll department were questioned over the weekend.

However, the T&T Guardian was told by sources within the TTDF that a very senior official in the TTDF is said to be the main “brain” behind the operation to siphon money from the organisation over the years. It is believed that three other soldiers close to the senior officer are also involved.

According to the TTDF source, the “defrauding operation” is not new in the TTDF.

“This has been going on for years and years. Soldiers have been getting as much as $20,000 and $30,000 added to their normal salaries over the years, but now it look like they get too greedy because that figure went to $100,000 in some cases,” the TTDF source said.

“All this has been discovered in the paperwork, which of course confirmed the talk going around with this one saying he get so much and so much in his account from the bank and he could see about house or car.

“So the talk keep spreading until it reach the ear of the person who began digging up.”

It is also suspected that years ago there was an “accidental” death of a private in the TTDF camp linked to the same defrauding operation.

“It was said after that soldier got information and names of those involved in defrauding large sums of money back then and when he vowed to expose all he was suddenly killed, which of course they labelled as an accidental shooting,” the TTDF source said

In a media release issued yesterday, the TTDF’s Public Affairs Officer, Flight Lieutenant Monique Sprott, confirmed the situation, saying instructions for the investigations came from acting Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Captain Hayden Pritchard.

Pritchard has been engaged in an investigation into the reports of overpayments.

Sprott said the matter has also been reported to the police, who are currently engaged in an independent investigation into the matter.

She said the investigation was the result of the improved auditing functions in the TTDF, which ultimately led to a discovery of significant and unusual overpayments to members of the TTDF who have been specifically identified.

“The TTDF commends its internal auditors on the work undertaken in this matter to date and reconfirms its commitment to driving the continued improvement of the organisation whilst being ever mindful of the need for care and caution in due process,” Sprott said.

The T&T Guardian understands that the two members of the payroll department and a civilian worker, who is on sick leave, have been fingered in the investigation.

It was alleged that a replacement for the ill worker found the discrepancy and reported it to his supervisor.

A 56-year-old man, who admitted to attempting to murder his ex-girlfriend after she left him in 2010, has been sentenced to life in prison.

Concerned at the lack of remorse shown by Vernon James for the attack, the third on the victim for which he has been convicted, High Court Judge Carla Brown-Antoine gave him the maximum penalty when she sentenced him yesterday.

Brown-Antoine said: “The court is of the view that if this prisoner is released, he may once again harm the virtual complainant. His intention at the time of the incident was to kill her. He did not achieve his aim but the court fears that if released he will bring it to pass.”

As James only decided to plead guilty to the charge after State prosecutors completed their evidence in his trial in May, Brown-Antoine waived the one third discount on sentences afforded to accused who plead guilty to crimes.

“The plea did not prevent the victim and the other eyewitnesses for the State from the trauma of testifying and reliving this horrific incident,” Brown-Antoine said, as she also noted his delayed response in changing his plea had wasted judicial time.

As part of the sentence, Brown-Antoine also did not deduct the seven years he spent on remand awaiting trial and ordered that he not be considered for release until he has served 20 years.

Brown-Antoine said the harsh sentence should be a deterrent to potential domestic abuse offenders.

“Persons in relationships that have ended must be deterred from thinking that they must punish their partners for ending the relationship,” Brown-Antoine said.

James’ victim, who Brown-Antoine ordered the media not to identify, was present in court for the hearing and sat behind him in the public gallery during the sentencing.

While James did not make eye contact with the victim during the hearing and as he was being led away by police, she starred directly at him throughout.

In James’ absence, the victim later briefly thanked the court for the outcome.

“Thank you (Brown-Antoine) and everybody involved for justice,” the sobbing victim said.

According to the evidence in the case, the attack took place at the victim’s home at Saddle Road, San Juan, on February 18, 2010.

The victim testified that she had received threats from James after their relationship ended in May 2009, including on the morning of the incident. The victim was getting ready to leave home to report the threats to police, when James arrived.

Armed with a cutlass, James dragged her from her porch and into the yard, where he chopped her several times before disposing of the weapon by throwing it over the wall. By the time the victim’s daughter and son-in-law heard her screams and rushed to her assistance, James had already fled the scene. Her injuries included chops wounds to her hands, arms and legs, as well as a severed finger, which were all deemed non-life threatening.

James was arrested later that evening. When confronted by police over the attack, James said: “Boss, ah real love that woman.”

The victim was hospitalised for three weeks and was forced to quit her job in the Fire Service upon her release as she was deemed disabled. She has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

While James accepted her version of the events when he offered to plead guilty during his trial, he gave a completely different account to a prison officer who produced a bio-social report for his sentencing. James claimed the relationship continued past May 2009 and on the day of the incident he went to the victim’s home and caught her performing oral sex on a man. James claimed he attacked the man with the cutlass and the victim was injured in the process.

Due to the varying accounts, Brown-Antoine held a hearing before the sentencing, in which she called on both James and the victim to testify before her. Brown-Antoine held that James’ story was implausible and filled with inconsistencies, while she ruled that the medical evidence corroborated the victim’s version.

James was represented by Rudyard Davidson, while Nigel Pilgrim and Giselle Heller prosecuted.

A jilted husband and his friend were sentenced to death by hanging yesterday, for soliciting and contracting a hitman to murder the man’s ex-wife and her lover for $30,000 some 11 years ago.

Basdeo “Bas” Ramlochan and Siewkumar “Bobby” Chankapersad remained stone faced yesterday when Justice Malcolm Holdip twice sentenced them to death, but their relatives broke down in tears in the San Fernando First Assizes. Their sobs, however, escalated into piercing screams as they stepped out of the courtroom.

It took the 12-member jury less than an hour to return guilty verdicts against both men, who went on trial in May for the murders of Sunita “Michelle Ramlochan, 29, and her common-law husband Rahim “Bam” Abraham, 46, a car dealer.

The State’s case was not that Ramlochan and his friend Chankapersad pulled the trigger, but that they sought out and hired a hitman to do the killings. The actual killers, who shot the couple in the bedroom of their Fyzabad home on the night of October 15, 2006, are still at large.

The evidence was that Sunita, Abraham and her 11-year-old daughter, who is also Ramlochan’s child, returned to their Kuldip Trace, St John’s Village, Avocat home around 11 pm after visiting the Divali Nagar site. They lived in a downstairs apartment at Sunita’s father’s home. Sunita’s father, who lived upstairs, told the police that five minutes after they got home he heard a bang and Sunita bawl “Oh God.”

The father then heard Abraham ask: “What you doing here?” followed by four to five explosions. The father started walking down the step, he said, when he saw two people going to the back of the house.

State attorneys Stacy Laloo-Chong and Anslem Alexander led evidence from police officers that Chankarpersad confessed to soliciting and paying a hitman, on behalf of his co-accused, to murder the couple. He gave the police an account of the role he played in the slayings.

The State also led evidence from a civilian witness (whose name has been withheld to protect him) that he was approached by Ramlochan on six occasions between 2004 and 2006 to help him find someone to carry out the murders. The witness, a security guard, testified that Ramlochan complained that he was having marital problems and his wife wanted to take his money, house and child. The State led evidence that Ramlochan and Sunita eventually separated and got a divorce. Another civilian witness testified that in 2006 Ramlochan complained to him about his marital problems and told him he paid a man he called fatman $90,000 to carry out the murders, but nothing happened. The man also testified that Ramlochan told him that Chankapersad arranged a meeting with a hitman and he (Ramlochan) took the hitman to where his ex-wife was living. He further testified that in October 2016, he was at Ramlochan’s home when he (Ramlochan) threw a bag containing $30,000 on a table, saying, “You think is joke I does be making.”

Ramlochan, who was represented by attorney Rekha Ramjit, did not give evidence, but Chankapersad opted to testify. He admitted to soliciting a man named Strong from Marabella to do the killings for $30,000 and arranging for him to meet Ramlochan.

Both accused were arrested and charged by detective Peter Ramdeen in December 2006. Chankapersad was represented by attorneys Bindra Dolsingh. The State called 21 witnesses and read and admitted into evidence the statements of seven other witnesses, including Sunita’s deceased father. Sunita’s mother, Elsie Beharry, also shed tears yesterday, but they were tears of joy that she finally got justice.

“My daughter was my happiness. This is all I wanted,” she said.

The independent investigation of the alleged swindling of $2 million from the payroll department of the T&T Defence Force (TTDF) has been placed in the hands of the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau (ACIB).

According to a TTDF source who wished anonymity, the investigations into the defrauding of almost $2 million in payments was moving swiftly, with investigators preparing to question several TTDF members whose accounts would have shown large sums of money being deposited into their bank accounts via their salary disbursements.

“The investigation is a very sensitive one, as it also involves high ranking members and also given the fact that it is believed that this has been happening for over a decade,” the TTDF source said.

“As far as I am being told, the seniors remain tight-lipped over this and members are being sworn to secrecy.”

In a release on Sunday, the TTDF said two privates and a civilian worker attached to the payroll department were questioned over the weekend and the matter was reported to the police. The TTDF has also launched its own investigation.

The T&T Guardian understands that the two members of the payroll department and a civilian worker, who is on sick leave, have been fingered in the investigation. It was alleged that a replacement for the ill worker found the discrepancy and reported it to his supervisor.

Meanwhile, Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon is said to be awaiting a comprehensive report on the matter from acting Chief of Defence Staff Captain Hayden Pritchard.

Dillon is also said to have expressed disappointment in the TTDF, as it is known to be a well disciplined organisation and added that any kind of fraud in the organisation was a cause for concern.

Although Lincoln Boodoo’s lifeless body bore no marks of violence when he was found yesterday, his family remains confused as to how he died.

Boodoo, 64, was last seen at his Victoria Village, San Fernando home around 5 pm on Saturday. His body was found inside his white AD wagon on Pitmoon Street, Ste Madeline around noon on Monday. Thieves stripped the car of its tyres and headlights.

In an interview yesterday, his daughter, Natasha Boodoo said her father was accustomed to driving around on evenings. Lincoln was a father of four and grandfather of three.

“That was sort of his hobby, he would bathe and get dressed in the evening and go for drives,” Natasha said.

“So when he went Saturday evening no one thought anything of it until he failed to come back home.”

A report was made to the Ste Madeleine Police Station and Natasha said relatives launched their own search party as well.

“We reported him missing on Sunday because we knew he wouldn’t just go and don’t come back.”

It was Lincoln’s son, Sherwin, who found his body.

“It was my brother who find the car between 12 and one o’clock, when he find it, there were no lights and tyres on the car. Right now we don’t know what is going on because the entire situation is just so strange.”

Up to late yesterday evening officers of the Ste Madeleine Police Station were on the scene.

Officers from several special units of the T&T Police Service (TTPS) raided two Central-based car dealerships yesterday, where $100,000 in cash, one vehicle and forged documents were seized.

The T&T Guardian understands that one of the owners was still in custody last night assisting police in their investigations.

It is understood that officers from the Stolen Vehicles, Organised Crime and Narcotics, Criminal Investigations Department and the Fraud Squad conducted the raids from about 9 am. There were also officials from the Licensing and Customs and Excise Divisions. The operation was spearheaded by DCP Harold Phillip and ACP (Crime) Irwin Hackshaw.

When contacted yesterday for comment, Hackshaw described the operation, which ended shortly before 6 pm, as a success. He, however, noted that the case was still an active one. He said they seized a BMW which was reported stolen while among the forged and fraudulent documents seized were forms for vehicle transfers.

T&T Guardian was told that after months of surveillance and intelligence gathering on the two establishments, investigating officers believe that illegal operations have been taking place at the businesses.

Investigations are continuing.

Residents of Mahogany Drive, North Eastern Settlement in Sangre Grande were thrown into mourning on Sunday night, after one of their female neighbours was shot and killed by an unidentified man as she attempted to open the front door to her home.

Theodora Ayers, 49, of Mahogany Drive, North Eastern Settlement, was shot in her chest and hand and died while undergoing emergency surgery at the Sangre Grande District Hospital.

Ayers was a registered nurse who last worked at the St James Hospital and was the sister of Snr Supt Pamela Morgan-Hinds, who is attached to the Administrative Branch of the TTPS.

Police reports state that around 8.15 pm on Sunday, Ayers and her husband Glen, an electrical contractor, had returned home after attending a harvest at Tamana. Ayers came out their Nissan Almera and went to open the gate for her husband, but was approached by a masked man who whipped out a gun and opened fire. Ayers fell to the ground and her husband ran out the vehicle and ran to assist her.

Ayers’ husband and neighbours put her in a vehicle and rushed to the hospital where she died around 8.37 pm.

Neighbours yesterday told T&T Guardian she was a very friendly person and being a nurse, always assisted the children of the area and advised parents on the importance of healthy lifestyles.

“Ayers was very respectful and as nurse she was caring to all. Why would someone want to kill a loving nurse and individual?” neighbours asked.

Her husband was said to be traumatised by the killing.

The Ayers are the parents of one girl, who was said to have been stricken with grief at the hospital on learning her mother had died.

Police were said to have had a suspect in custody last night, but had no motive for the killing.

Visiting the scene were DCP Harold Phillip, ACP Blake Clarke, Snr Supt James (Homicide), Snr Sup Garth Nelson, Sgt Harper, PC Sankar and WPC John.

Insp Christopher Fuentes, of Homicide Bureau, Region 11, Arouca is continuing investigation.

Ayers’ killing brings the toll for the year to 285.

RALPH BANWARIE

Finance Minister Colm Imbert intends to “comprehensively” address issues concerning the sale of Buccoo Estate in Tobago, popularly known as No Man’s Land, later this week.

Imbert made the statement in response to a list of questions sent by the T&T Guardian yesterday, in the wake of issues raised by Clico Policyholders’ Group chairman Peter Permell over the exclusion of the Samaan Grove Development from Government’s valuation of the Buccoo Estate.

Imbert said “the relevance of these alleged ‘concerns’ needs to be examined since the Farrell valuation of the lands in question was procured in 2016 by the Central Bank in accordance with Section 44D of the Central Bank Act, and not by the Government.”

Permell made the call during a press conference on Sunday, as he produced a June 8, 2016 valuation report for the property, which was commissioned from GA Farrell and Associates Ltd by Clico’s board on instructions from the Central Bank.

At a press conference last Thursday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley provided a valuation report of Buccoo Estate valued at $174.8 million, which he said the Government had purchased at market value. The 398.42-acre property, which is listed as one of CLF’s assets, was sold earlier this year. Each acre was valued US$65,000, bringing the total value to US$25,897,300. Rowley said the valuation was based on an analysis of 100 per cent of the common stock of Occidental Investments Ltd and Oceanic Properties, owned by Clico.

The property, which sits on prime real estate land, is earmarked to be developed by regional company Sandals Resorts.

Yesterday, Permell said there were four valuations for the land. He said Clico, in its estimated financial report last year, had valued the property at $187 million, Farrell’s report placed the value at $170 million, while the documents provided by Rowley tagged it at $174.8 million. But in its proposal to Government this year, titled Project Rebirth, international auditing firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers valued the estate at $867 million, Permell said.

He said CLF’s valuation represented the book value or cost price of the land and did not consider appreciation.

Saying there were clearly four varying valuations, he asked: “So what is the real figure of the land? The Central Bank has a lot of questions to answer and so too does the Government because they are the recipients of the assets.”

He said before any asset is disposed of, the Central Bank has to do a valuation via approval of Clico’s board.

“Remember the Government appointed the Clico board. Did the Central Bank, on its own volition, give instructions to the Clico board to do the valuation for the lands to be transferred? It is one thing for Central Bank to come up with a valuation that was bogus, but it’s another thing if they got instructions to transfer the lands to the Government.”

Permell said Samaan Grove Estate constituted 12.6 acres of prime land which had been previously valued at around $245 million.

On page 4 of the Farrell valuation report under the heading “Site,” it stated that “based on information provided by the client (Clico), the subject properties comprises four contiguous parcels of land, Golden Grove Estate 1 and 2 and Shirvan Estates 3 and 4, totalling 429.82 acres.

“This area, however, includes the Samaan Grove Estate Development of 31.23 acres which do not form part of this exercise and therefore has to be excluded,” the report stated.

The area of land that was valued, Permell said, was 382.33 acres according to the report.

Permell said for each square foot of land sold in the deal the Government got, it paid a mere $10.

“When we worked out the figure given by Project Rebirth it came up to $49 a square foot, which sounds to me like a more reasonable figure. Something is not right,” Permell said.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is urging citizens they should never underestimate or forget the sacrifices and hard-won freedom of the enslaved African ancestors.

This was the message Rowley delivered to the nation in a press release issued yesterday by the Office of the Prime Minister in celebration of Emancipation Day.

Rowley said our enslaved African ancestors, who for more than three centuries were forcibly uprooted and transported from their homes in Africa to what was designated the New World of the West Indies and the Americas.

“While it may be argued that the scars of slavery are still evident in the economic underdevelopment of Caribbean territories and the psychological trauma experienced by descendants of the former slaves, it also cannot be denied that persons of African descent have achieved success in all areas of human endeavour despite the scourge of slavery.”

In T&T, Rowley said Afro-Trinbagonians continue to excel in academia, science, sport, and culture.

“Today we commemorate the struggle for emancipation and equality made by our African ancestors who knew that the road to freedom and dignity demanded persistently, and unyielding focus and clarity of purpose. We acknowledge the accomplishments and impact of persons of African descent on the continued development of our nation.”

Rowley said we should also remember that we cannot achieve greatness as a nation if we remain in the comfort of our “own space.”

The PM said we have to draw on each other’s talents, skills, and strengths.

“We cannot yield under the whip of internal and external challenges. Instead, we will be better able to weather the yoke of economic uncertainty through collaborative effort.”

He said learning from our history, we must create for each citizen a system of support and protection without regard for lines of separation based on class, colour, gender, economic status or religion.

“Let us all declare Emancipation Day 2017 the day we as citizens commit to honouring the memory of our African ancestors by creating a society free from brutality and based on justice, mutual respect and equality,” Rowley said.

Four people accused of breaking into a temple and stealing $24, 530 worth of cash and other items appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates Court yesterday.

Veronica Mohammed, 20, her husband Jason Balliram,23, Lakshmi Mahadeo, 23, and her husband Nicholas Hosein, 26, all of Diamond Village, San Fernando, appeared before Senior Magistrate Cherril-Anne Antoine in the First Court.

Mohammed and her husband requested a maximum sentence indication, but the magistrate explained that the charge was strictly indictable which meant they could not enter a plea in the magistrates court.

“When people are prepared to go into a house of worship and steal. It is a very serious offence,” the magistrate said.

Under the Larceny Act, the offence carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

The charge alleged that during the period June 15 and June 21 they broke into the Shiv Mandir Divine Life Society at Diamond Village and stole five speakers, five speaker stands, two fans and a box containing $3,000.

The items belonged to the devotees of the temple. Prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said the police recovered some of the items, minus the money and a fan.

They were charged by PC Andre. Asking for bail on behalf of Mohammed and Balliram, attorney Charlene Kalloo said the couple was unemployed and the parents of an 18-month-old boy.

She said Mohammed had never been charged before, but her husband had one previous conviction. Mahadeo’s attorney Chantal Paul said her client had a clean record, had two children, ages three and four, with Hosein and she is a housewife.

Attorney Frank Gittens, who held for Hosein’s attorney Ainsley Lucky, said he works in the transport business, was the sole breadwinner in the family and had two traffic-related offences for failing to produce his driver’s permit and driving under the influence. The prosecutor did not object to bail, but asked for reporting conditions.

The magistrate granted the women $25,000 bail each with a relative standing as their surety while the men were each granted $50,000 bail with the clerk of the peace approval. The men were also granted a cash bail alternative of $15,000.

They were all ordered to report to the San Fernando Police Station once per week.

Family members of bank employee Nikisha Winter-Roach are becoming increasingly worried as there has been no word on her whereabouts five days after she went missing.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, a family member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that they are fearful that something terrible has gone wrong with Winter-Roach.

“She disappeared without a trace. Not a phone call from her and what is even more strange for us is how she was last seen very early in the morning and the time of day that the missing report was made which was just a few hours after she was last seen,” the relative said.

It was reported that Winter-Roach was last seen last Wednesday at about 5.20 am at her home at Edinburgh 500, Chaguanas.

A missing person report was made at about 4.30 pm that same day by close male friend of hers.

Winter-Roach worked at the Glencoe branch of Republic Bank.

Her manager, Michelle Palmer-Keizer told the T&T Guardian that she last reported for work the day before, on July 25.

“The bank is lending its support to both the police and Winter-Roach’s family, in the hope for her safe and speedy return.

“We shall continue to work along with the police as needed, and provide the necessary support to her family during this time,” Palmer-Keizer said.

Winter-Roach is of African descent and wears glasses.

She is five feet five inches tall, slim build, with a brown complexion and long blonde and brown hair.

She was last seen wearing a yellow top and a pair of long jeans.

• Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 800-TIPS or contact the police at 555, 999, 911 or any police station.