A prison officer with 19 years service was on Saturday night detained for questioning for having marijuana in his possession.

According to a police report, at about 10 pm the officer, who work on the C-Batch, was on duty at the Port-of-Spain State Prison, Frederick Street when he was allegedly found with 11 packets of marijuana in his possession. The officer was said to be on “rest” and in the dormitory.

The officer was taken to the Belmont Police Station where he was questioned, however, the T&T Guardian understands that the officer was released last evening pending further investigations.

Police are yet to make a dent in the criminal gang targeting financial institutions and making off with millions by cutting holes in the walls and roofs of buildings.

The most recent incident, which took place sometime over the weekend, was detected yesterday morning.

Police said around 7 am bank employees of First Citizens arrived at the Arima branch and noticed the building broken into. No cash was stolen according to a media release issued by the bank. The bank did warn the public to be vigilant and stated that it has noted with concern the apparent increase in incidents of robbery affecting banks other businesses.

The branch is expected to reopen today.

The burglars in this incident cut a hole in the roof of the bank but left empty handed as the automated teller machines they were targeting had no cash.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi says the executive will not be getting involved in the latest issue involving Chief Justice Ivor Archie, although it prompted High Court judges to write to the CJ seeking a meeting to discuss allegations against him—a request which Archie has declined.

“There are clear constitutional guidelines on the involvement between the executive and the Judiciary under Section 137 of the Constitution which deals with judges,” Al-Rawi told the T&T Guardian yesterday.

In fact, he said despite what has been reported in the media, there is “nothing at this point in time which should occupy the executive’s attention in this matter.”

Archie has been accused of attempting to persuade judges to change their state-provided security in favour of a private company where one of his friends works. Although he has declined to meet with the judges, the CJ said his door is “always open for discussions of legitimate concerns to my colleagues who are truly interested in the welfare of the Judiciary and the country.”

In response, Justice Carol Gobin has sent an email to her colleagues on the bench expressing concern about the CJ’s continued silence. She said he was “oblivious it seems to the effect of this scandalous state of affairs on the Judiciary.”

“The mess, the stench of it is everywhere. It is his responsibility to begin to clean it up if he can,” she said.

Gobin added that the CJ has to “recognise that he is accountable to the institution and the country.”

Commenting on the ongoing controversy yesterday, political analyst Dr Bishnu Ragoonath, head of the Political Science Department at The University of the West Indies, said it appears no one has any oversight over what is happening in the Judiciary. He said it is hard to understand why the CJ is refusing to meet with the judges.

Ragoonath said if text messages between the CJ and a friend who is part owner of a security company suggest some sort of collusion, there might be grounds for impeachment for misbehaviour in public office. He also warned the situation could undermine the credibility of the Judiciary.

Retired Public Service Commission chairman Kenneth Lalla, who once served as a member of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC), was also concerned about the impact the controversy was having.

“The Judiciary is the pillar of our democracy and any lack of confidence in its integrity would be a blow to this institution.”

Lalla expressed regret that the Judiciary appears to be in a state of “utter chaos” as a result of the alleged acts of impropriety or misconduct on the part of the CJ. He said while there is no proof of the allegations, there appears to be “a strong perception” that the CJ should resign.

But Lalla noted that any action against the CJ must come from the Prime Minister under Section 137 of the Constitution, which states that “where the Prime Minister represents to the President that the question of removing the Chief Justice ought to be investigated, the President shall appoint a tribunal which shall inquire into the matter and report on the facts to the President.”

He said unless and until a tribunal is appointed to inquire into the allegations against the CJ, public confidence in the Judiciary might “remain in limbo and continue to diminish.”

A solider was among three men who appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering a businessman from Aranguez earlier this month.

Yasin Rasheed-Gill, a soldier in the T&T Regiment, his 22-year-old cousin Kendell Gill and Augustus Patrick, 23, all of Chaguanas, appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon charged with killing Saisnarine Ningwah on November 12.

The trio were also charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition. They were not called upon to plead to the charges and were remanded into custody. They ordered to reappear in court in January.

Ningwah, 43, was at his Nanan Street West, Aranguez, home when a group of armed intruders invaded and robbed him of a quantity of cash. Ningwah reportedly struggled with one of the intruders and was shot twice. He died on the scene.

The trio was charged by PC Noel Wren of the Region One Homicide Bureau.

Ex-convict Quincy Noel yesterday appeared in court charged with the murder of prison officer Richard Sandy.

Noel, 33, who was arrested by police at house in Claxton Bay last Tuesday, appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court on a total of four charges arising out of the incident in October. Sandy, a father of five, was liming with another prison officer at a Gasparillo bar when a man, known to both officers, approached, spoke to them and then shot Sandy.

Sandy, 46, who was attached at the Ration Room at the Port-of-Spain prison, had 22 years’ service.

Noel is charged with the October 8 murder of Sandy. The other charges alleged at the same place on October 7, he unlawfully committed an act of common assault on Adrian Jackson and he had in his possession a firearm and ammunition.

Noel was unrepresented when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Cherril-Anne Antoine in the First Court, but he declined to apply for a legal aid attorney. Noel said he was a pipe fitter and had a common-law wife and four children.

Court prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said a state attorney will have to be appointed for the matter.

Noel was remanded into custody to reappear in Court on December 18.

On the heels of police moving in at the Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) Clifton Towers to evict illegal occupants, legal tenants are now urging HDC officials to relocate them because of the trauma and undue stress their children and families are under.

Three frustrated parents—a couple and a mother of two—yesterday protested outside the HDC’s Port-of-Spain head office in an attempt to get quick redress by HDC officials following last Thursday’s fiasco.

Residents claimed they have been bullied out of their apartments by “gang members” for the past two years and added that they had now reached the point of frustration. They appealed to the relevant authorities to post T&T Defence Force (TTDF) members at the site on a 24/7 basis so that law and order can be restored. The development consists of four towers—two of which are nine stories and two with seven stories.

Resident for the past seven years, Desrie Slinger-Griffith claimed after the police moved in and arrested illegal occupants at the towers last week she was badly beaten and blamed for being an informant.

“I have been living there for the past seven years…I am no informant but what I can say is that HDC have a list of all the legal occupants of the towers and also have a list of the illegal occupants who were evicted…I was beaten and scrambled by my neck on Thursday for being an informant and told to ride out, imagine that eh, to ride out of my legal apartment,” Slinger-Griffith said.

She added that since “thugs” moved into the towers, she has being having serious problems with her two children. Her 19-month-old baby constantly screams out in his sleep, while the attitude of her seven-year-old has changed drastically.

“My bigger son is not performing well at school since he left pre-school and it’s because of the unstable and disruptive environment he is in now. All this thuggery and loud music going on with profanities…it is having a negative effect on the children and nobody seems to care.”

Slinger-Griffith said her HDC contract had promised her that she would “live in comfort.”

“This is not what is happening. These people do not even respect the police and it is only the soldiers that can come in here and deal with them because they are afraid of the soldiers, not the police.”

Arnott Daniel and his wife, Natasha, said their only son, who is 12 years, is now being seen and treated by a psychiatrist.

“I must give Jack his jacket and the HDC. When I went to them about concerns about my son and how the environment has been affecting him with all the gunshots and thuggers, they assisted me in sending him to a psychiatrist. Now, the report from the psychiatrist was sent to HDC, but it seems as though there is a delay in a sign-off by Mr Lyons,” Daniel said.

“My son started to have palpitations of the heart and his mood changed from cool to disruptive. We found this very strange and the HDC assisted us in getting help for him, but with all these gunshots and bacchanal we want a relocation to somewhere peaceful soon.”

On Friday during an address to the nation, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley confirmed that some home owners were being chased out of their homes while others faced home invasion by people who had no respect for law and order at Clifton Towers.

Questions sent to HDC managing director Brent Lyons went unanswered up to last evening.

A 20-year-old former Fatima College student was murdered while on his way home from a birthday party at River Estate, Diego Martin, yesterday.

Police said Abraham Simpson, of Gopaul Avenue, Diego Martin, died at the scene after gunmen shot at two cars, including Simpson’s Nissan Almera, in the community around 3 am. Simpson’s friend, Shadrach Joseph, remained hospitalised last night.

Police said the birthday party took place at a basketball court and was getting out of control so they shut it down. As the officers left the scene, the gunmen sprung their attack, wounding Joseph, Trevon Piango and Anthony Francis, who were in a white Kia Cerato close to Simpson’s car. Police suspect Piango and Francis, who are not from Diego Martin, may have been the gunmen’s targets.

Piango’s father and step mother Andrea “Hannah” Edwards, 37 and Raul Joseph, 42, were shot at their Haig Street, Carenage home in August last year. Edwards died while Joseph was left partially paralysed by the attack. Joseph was again attacked by a knife-wielding intruder at his home on September 19 and died in that attack.

Friends of Simpson took to social media to say he was a “cool fella” who was into sports and other outdoor activities and questioned why he was murdered. His relatives were too distraught to speak with the media at the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James, yesterday. Simpson was an only child.

In an unrelated killing on Saturday, Hakim Bartholomew, 24, was killed after visiting the home of his child’s mother. Police said the SWAT security officer was shot while seated in a car at Mt D’or, Champs Fleurs, around 10 pm and was pronounced dead at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. He lived at Sixth Avenue, Malick, Barataria.

In another murder on Friday night, 53-year-old Garth Williams was found murdered near his Blondell Avenue, Laventille home. Police said around 10 pm residents heard gunshots and later found him unresponsive. The murder toll for the year currently stands at 439.

On Thursday, Plastikeep founder Rosanna Farmer will remove 70 public recycled bins from 26 sites spanning from Morvant to Chaguaramas due to lack of funding and a clear direction from the Green Fund.

A few of the bins which were installed in the constituencies of MPs Colm Imbert, Darryl Smith, Stuart Young and Dr Keith Rowley will be no more.

Farmer said the termination of the service would reflect badly on the Government’s image and the significant quantity of plastic materials diverted on a weekly basis to landfills would end up being indiscriminately dumped.

When the metal bins were in operation in 2015, Farmer said as much as 250,000 pounds of plastic were collected a year.

She said though the bins were purchased in their name in 2010, she would await directive from the Green Fund.

Farmer said Plastikeep is owed 1.3 million in subvention by the Government. “At this point, I feel I have held out for 23 months and good sense has not prevailed. I have to stop incurring debt. We would have to take the Government to court... this is what I am guessing... if they don’t come forward. The reason why I have to pull in these bins is to secure them.

“These bins have my branding all over them which would have to be removed. They have not been cleaned in a year now.”

Farmer said it was not an exaggeration to say that the recycling industry in T&T lags badly behind international best practice, including some recycling systems in some of our Caribbean neighbour territories.

“Plastikeep has forged for itself an enviable and progressive position in both the local and Caribbean context. It will not be to the best advantage of our recycling industry to compromise the prestige of such a unique project simply for the lack of a budgetary provision,” Farmer said.

In 42 primary and secondary schools where the bins were placed, Farmers said materials were continually collected.

But managing director of the Environmental Management Authority(EMA) Hayden Romano said the authority planned to manage Plastikeep’s bins which belong to the Green Fund.

“These bins are supposed to continue under the EMA’s iCare project. The Green Fund has said they would like us to continue with the bins in the locations as is. That is what is supposed to be happening.”

Under the iCare project, the EMA has 70 recycled bins scattered across the country.

Within the next six months, the EMA will install another 70 iCare bins at schools, businesses and State enterprises.

“When we include the Plastikeep bins this figure will increase to 210 bins.”

Farmer, on the other hand, insisted that the bins cannot be handed over to anyone without a proper plan

The protection provided by the T&T Police Service on the Priority Bus Route today will determine whether Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) bus drivers will return to work.

This was the word from Transport and Industrial Workers’ Union (TIWU) president Roland Sutherland last evening, hours after a meeting between the union, which represents the workers, PTSC management and the police.

Sutherland said while the union was heartened by the assurances that police will be monitoring the situation, it will only be if the drivers feel safe today they will return to work.

The meeting came after drivers refused to continue duty over fears they may be attacked or lose their lives while passing through the Beetham Gardens community due to gang activity, which adversely affected scores of commuters, including school children preparing for end of terms exams.

The drivers’ action came less than week after Beetham residents threw debris on the Beetham Highway and PBR during a protest and robbed motorists who were stranded in the resulting traffic gridlock. Stones were also thrown at a PTSC bus during the activity, shattering its windscreen. This came after police carried out an anti-crime exercise in the community and arrested two community leaders.

Commenting on the reason for their action yesterday, one bus driver said it was not the first time the lives of drivers were at risk, adding they had now had enough.

Shortly after drivers refused to leave the capital with their buses yesterday, the union met with PTSC management and the T&T Police Service on the issue.

Following the discussions, the PTSC issued a statement apologising to the public, saying the safety concerns of the union had been noted.

“We are seeking to have these matters urgently addressed as the safety and security of staff and passengers are of paramount importance to the corporation,” the statement said.

It was also agreed that stricter security measures would be put in place to ensure the safety of PTSC staff and passengers in the area of the Beetham Gardens.

Contacted yesterday, acting Superintendent of Police Florence Hodge-Griffith said the presence of police officers along “both ends” of the Beetham was always in existence.

“On the south we have two traffic patrols along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway and on the Bus Route we have the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).... 24 hours a day that patrol is there to secure the lawful users,” Hodge-Griffith.

“What transpired last week...we have heightened our presence by having more officers there. There is no reason for members of the public to be frightened...a situation happened last week, it was dealt with within an hour’s time and we are back to normal.”

But Sutherland said the concerns of drivers were legitimate, insisting increased security was a necessary measure to ensure the smooth operations of the company. He said on one occasion weeks ago, a “bullet also flew past” one of the drivers as they were driving through the community. The bullet shattered the vehicle’s wind-shield.

“The workers this morning (yesterday) decided that enough is enough, because these things continue to happen and at some point it has to stop.” Sutherland said once the necessary measures were put in place by the police the workers would feel safer.

“But if the situation remains the same the workers have a right to check their body, soul and spirit. This is a real issue because workers cannot go out there where buses are being stoned,” Sutherland said.

“A few buses came down from the east and south this morning (yesterday) into PTSC, but drivers did not feel safe to leave the compound to go back out.”

He noted, however, that the police should also look at a more permanent security measure on the PBR in the Beetham Gardens community.

The Minister of Planning and Development has been given three months to review and reconsider this country’s water pollution regulations which charges the same fee for polluters, regardless of their size and level of pollution for which they are responsible.

Five British Law Lords of the Privy Council made the order yesterday as they ruled in favour of environmental activist group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) in its over decade long legal battle against the ministry.

In their 19-page judgment, the country’s final appellate court ruled that the local Court of Appeal was wrong to reverse the judgment of a High Court judge, who struck down the regulations in 2012.

They agreed with Justice Devindra Rampersad that the flat-rate of $10,000 under the Water Pollution (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 was irrational and inconsistent with T&T’s National Environmental Plan (NEP) and the internationally applied “polluter pay principle”.

Under the principle the costs of preventing and minimising pollution should be borne by those responsible for the pollution. It also requires that all charges levied against polluters should be used to fund the correction of environmental damage.

The judges rejected the ministry’s claim that the current system was chosen in 2001 because it was simple and easy to administer when compared to the other options and was suitable based on the state of the economic and institutional development of T&T at the time.

“It is not sufficient that the polluter will necessarily expend its own money in complying with the permit conditions, and so contribute to the “correction” of environmental damage. The fees are to be used to finance or contribute to correction activities by the authority itself,” said Lord Robert Carnwath , who wrote the judgment.

While the judges ruled that the flat fee was unlawful, they chose to make the order against the minister as opposed to striking down the regulations.

“Such an order could create great uncertainty as to the status of the permits issued since the rules were first applied in 2007, and any enforcement action taken in respect of them. It might even lead to claims for return of the fees already paid,” Carnwath said.

The judges said that they felt that the ministry should pay FFOS’s legal costs for bringing the lawsuit and for corresponding appeals, but told the parties to file submissions on the issue within three weeks.

FFOS was represented by Fyard Hosein, SC, Rishi Dass and Marina Narinesingh, while British Queen’s Counsel Thomas Roe represented the ministry.

FFOS RESPONDS

In a press release issued after the judgment was delivered in the United Kingdom (UK), Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) described it as landmark victory for them.

“This judgment underscores the long hard road to justice which FFOS maintained with several judicial challenges over these past two decades. FFOS is encouraged by this victory and will maintain its course towards the sustainable development of T&T,” the release said.

The group also claimed that the ruling set a precedent which would affect similar rules applied recently for air pollution.

“This decision will have an immediate and wider impact in relation to other Government activities including the recently passed Air Pollution Rules (2014) which suffer from a similar illegality and which FFOS hereby formally call on our Honourable Minister of Planning and Development and the Attorney General to immediately and voluntarily review in accordance with this ruling of the Privy Council,” the group said.

The State has been ordered to pay half the legal costs of former agriculture minister Devant Maharaj’s lawsuit over the failure of the Minister of National Security to publish annual reports on wire tapping between 2012 and 2015.

Delivering a decision on the issue in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Frank Seepersad ruled that Maharaj was entitled to costs even though his lawsuit was rendered academic as the ministry admitted its error and sought to correct it.

However, Seepersad ruled that he is only entitled to 50 per cent of what was claimed, as he was a Cabinet minister during the period of non-compliance.

Seepersad also pointed out that Maharaj had complained of being improperly monitored in the past during the debate of the Interception of Communications Bill in 2010.

“Notwithstanding this, the applicant was concerned and was aware since November 2010 of it and nothing was done about it for four years. The reality is despite the change in government nothing was done,” Seepersad said.

He added: “It leaves a disquiet in the court’s mind that even after a change of government nothing was done or said. With the passage of time it becomes increasingly difficult to collate the information and nothing was done to protect the public’s interests to ensure that the reports were filed.”

In his lawsuit, Maharaj was claiming that Section 24 of the legislation requires that annual reports, on how many warrants were obtained from the courts, are to be laid in Parliament within the first three months of each year.

He said the reports must also provide information on the number of warrants refused or revoked by the courts, the number of applications made for renewals and the number and nature of the interceptions made pursuant to the warrants granted.

Maharaj claimed that the lawsuit was filed in the public’s interest as well as his, due to his previous experience with wire tapping.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the ministry moved to file the reports before Parliament.

Maharaj still requested that Seepersad make orders against National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, but he (Seepersad) refused based on the fact that Dillon did not hold a Cabinet post at the time and Maharaj did.

Maharaj was represented by Dinesh Rambally, Jagdeo Singh, Criston J Williams and Kiel Taklalsingh while Russell Martineau, SC, Brent James and Zelica Haynes-Soo Hon represented the ministry.

With almost half of the students writing the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations failing to get grades one to three, Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) registrar Glenroy Cumberbatch said dividing the subject into modules is something they can consider.

Cumberbatch was responding to questions at the press conference held at the Naparima College, San Fernando, yesterday, after meeting with students, principals and teachers to address issues with CSEC and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

Already, changes have been made with CXC to include a School Based Assessment for the Mathematics qualifications this year.

Cumberbatch said the Mathematics pass rate in the Caribbean was around just under 50 per cent while English was around 60 per cent.

According to the Ministry of Education’s Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan, the CSEC Mathematics pass rate in T&T has improved by 10 to 17 per cent over the past three years and was around 58 per cent.

At the same time, the English pass rate had increased to roughly 70 per cent. Cumberbatch acknowledged that Mathematics and English were key to many job opportunities and requirements for higher education. He said one country proposed that CXC divide mathematics into modules where geometry, algebra, calculus and other modules would have separate examinations. Each will be done over a period and when finished, it would constitute a mathematics qualification.

“That, however, totally changes the way the schools are organised so that it is something that has to be discussed. The ministries would have to make the adjustments to make that work,” Cumberbatch said.

CXC currently has three committees reviewing History, English and Mathematics with regards to the examinations and syllabuses, taking into consideration the view of teachers and students.

Following the reports from those committees, Cumberbatch said only then would he be able to speak more on the recommendations and whether they can be implemented. However, he said no change will occur that would affect the standard of the examination.

Seecharan said whether or not Mathematics is separated into various modules, all are necessary to function in various professions.

“I think we have to look at ensuring that the standards are met. A question you should ask is why are they (Students) not passing Math? We have identified that we have challenges in the teaching and learning process. Teachers teach concept as opposed to the traditional work and the mechanical approach to Math. We have to address that from the primary school going all the way up in terms of improving the teaching of Mathematics,” Seecharan said.

One of the four slates contesting the Public Service Association’s (PSA) election has agreed to negotiations with the union’s election committee to resolve alleged irregularities in its list of voters.

Lawyers representing the committee and Team Fixers, who last week obtained an injunction stopping last Monday’s election, gave the undertaking when their substantive case came up for hearing before Justice Nadia Kangaloo at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain, yesterday morning. Kangaloo agreed to adjourn the case to Friday, when the parties will return before her to indicate if they reached a compromise.

In an interview afterwards, presidential candidate Solomon Gabriel, head of the slate, said he was happy the issues raised by his team are being resolved.

“The election is flawed and the constitution was breached, that is why we are here today,” he said.

Gabriel said the injunction did not cause an inordinate delay in the elections as the union’s constitution allows for executive elections 90 days before or after the term of the previous executive ended, which was last Monday.

“This injunction is not only about the PSA elections, this is about the union itself. We have 90 days in which we could fix these things,” Gabriel said.

However, incumbent president Watson Duke, who is vying for his third term, said he is concerned by the delay.

“I am troubled by the fact they (the members) did not get the chance to exercise their franchise and am further troubled by the fact that the matter is postponed for another time,” Duke said.

He said until the lawsuit is resolved through mediation or trial before Kangaloo, he will continue to hold the post and serve the union’s members.

“I am comforted by the fact that I continue to carry on the duties of the president and we have some important business next week with the Minister of Finance. I would have liked the strength of a new mandate but the old one is still strong,” he said.

Duke’s view on his ability to continue to serve the membership, was opposed by Oral Saunders of the United Public Officers.

“We are encouraged that some mediation is taking place. The only person who has benefited from this is none other than the incumbent, but he has absolutely no mandate to speak,” he said.

Nixon Callender, of Team Sentinel, refused to comment extensively on the lawsuit as he said his slate is merely an interested party. However, he said his team had analysed the list of voters and found no irregularities.

In their lawsuit the group is contending that the list of voters is fundamentally flawed due to a decision by the union’s general council on October 5 to allow PSA members with union dues arrears to be allowed to vote if they cleared their arrears before the election. Almost 300 members reportedly made use of the allowance. The PSA has approximately 14,000 members.

The group claims the decision is illegal as the PSA’s constitution only allows members in financial good standing for more than a year to vote.

As a secondary issue, the group is claiming the elections committee acted unfairly as it failed to publish the locations of all polling stations.

In granting the slate an injunction last Friday, Justice Frank Seepersad said it had raised a valid claims which had to be determined before the election is allowed to take place.

The group is being represented by Raisa Caesar while John Heath is representing the elections committee.

It is believed that when Shamilla Singh saw a vehicle careening into her family’s car on Monday she stretched across to cover her six-month-old daughter Karen.

It was the last sacrifice Singh made for her daughter. Her head was stuck between the front passenger seat and the door. According to eyewitnesses, she died immediately.

At their Reece Road, Barrackpore home yesterday, relatives said Singh, 36, a geriatric nurse, left work at Mt Hope to pick up her husband Shameer Boban Hosein, 27, an auto-mechanic, at his workplace at the Siparia Regional Corporation. After picking up Karen at a daycare, Singh went into the backseat of their Nissan Sunny B-14 and left him to drive.

While travelling along G P Road around 4.30 pm, less than two kilometres from their home, a white Nissan Tiida collided head on, causing the family’s vehicle to hurtle into a yard. The wheels flung out and other mechanical parts littered the pavement. The Tiida, which was occupied by two 19-year-old men from the area, spun several times, tossing both men out before stopping.

Residents rushed to pull Karen out of the car. She was still strapped in her baby seat. Princes Town firefighters had to cut her husband out of the car but Singh’s body remained until undertakers removed it three-and-a-half hours later.

Her husband suffered fractured arms, legs and pelvis while Karen had minor injuries to her foot. The victims were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where they remained warded up to yesterday.

Hosein’s uncle Jeffrey Abdool believed that police should have known about the young men’s driving action as the school is a few metres away from the police station.

“I believe the police should have known what was taking place with this car during the day because they went to the Barrackpore school after it was dismissed and they spun around there. They make several spins, burning their tyres. I don’t know why there was no police there at that time. Usually, there are police in that area.

“It’s really disheartening to know something like this happened and the entire village is aroused over this. We need justice to the fullest. We’re not taking anything short of justice,” Abdool said.

Just last month, Penal couple Kimchan Roopnarine and Patricia Harripersad were killed in a hit and run accident while walking along the Penal Rock Road.

The couple was walking with their sons, Brandon Roopnarine, nine and Darion, five, who escaped death by inches as they head walked ahead. Two people were arrested and questioned but later released.

Residents at the Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) Clifton Towers in east Port-of-Spain who have been running scared and begging relocations have been assured that the HDC is currently working on solutions.

One day after residents came forward saying that their living conditions are “like Baghdad,” with them being attacked and threatened on a daily basis by thugs, HDC’s managing director, Brent Lyons said that relief was on the way for them.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Lyons said they are making attempts to bring back normalcy to the community.

“The HDC takes the safety and security of its tenants seriously, and, as such, has been working closely with the T&T Police Service and other security providers to bring about normalcy to its communities,” Lyons said.

“These efforts have been yielding positive results thus far and the HDC will continue to work diligently on this matter,” he added.

However, this response by Lyons was not favourably received by one of the residents, Desire Slinger-Griffith.

In an immediate response, Slinger-Griffith said she has been hearing that a solution is in the works for far too long.

“In October during a visit by Mr Lyons he said solutions were on the way yet still nothing. It’s not only now this thing happening you know since in the time when Ms Jearlean John was around. I sent so many letters to her and since then promises being made to address our problems and still nothing today,” Slinger-Griffith said.

“The longer HDC take to act the worse here is going to get…in fact HDC is the cause for this ongoing problem here,” she added.

Last Thursday, police officers moved in and evicted illegal people who have been said to be residing at the Towers.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, during an address to the nation the following day (last Friday), confirmed that some home owners were being chased out of their homes while others faced house invasion by people who had no respect for law and order at Clifton Towers.

After escaping from the Arima Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning, murder accused Hamilton “Musa” Small went to visit the son he had never seen.

According to police, the Rose Drive, Carapo man went to Congo Terrace, Arima, to visit the mother of his child hoping to see his three-year-old son, but left without seeing the child.

Police said around 9 am Small climbed a wall at the courthouse and escaped. Police said he changed his clothing before mingling with the crowd gathered outside the courthouse before disappearing. It was only after he left and his picture began circulating that people living in the area realised he was the man police was searching for.

Small, who was expected to be committed to stand trial for murder yesterday, stole a car belonging to a neighbour of his child’s mother around 10 am. The car was found at Cleaver Woods, D’Abadie, around 11 am.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, the owner of the car said he had just placed his two-year-old daughter in the vehicle when Small walked up to him and demanded the keys. Small had a gun. After the man removed his child from the car Small got in and drove off.

At the time of the carjacking, the 25-year-old, who asked not to be identified, said he did not know his attacker was an escapee. It was while reporting the matter to the Arima Police Station that the mother of Small’s child arrived there and confirmed he had visited the house hoping to see his son.

When the T&T Guardian visited the courthouse yesterday, a security guard said everything was normal because they knew the escapee would not return there.

Small remained on the run last night.

Two attorneys arrested and charged with possession of marijuana were granted a total of $15,000 own bail by a Mayaro magistrate.

Attorneys Jason Jackson, 36 and Cathy-ann Campaign, 39, of Gould Street, Mayaro, appeared before Magistrate Rae Vijay Roopchand in the Mayaro Court charged with possession of marijuana.

The charge was laid by PC Versammy of Mayaro Police Station.

When Roopchand read the charge to Jackson and Campaign they both pleaded not guilty.

Jackson was granted $10,000 own bail while Campaign was granted her own bail in the sum of $5,000.

Roopchand then adjourned the matter to January 16.

Police arrested the attorneys during an exercise along the Mayaro Road on Sunday evening. A quantity of marijuana was allegedly found in the vehicle they were in and the duo was arrested and later charged by PC Versammy.

The police exercise was led by Cpl Ramlakhan and included PCs Flores, Amann, Diaz, Aberdeen and WPC Reifer of Mayaro Police Station.

RALPH BANWARIE

In what is being touted as the greatest escape in the history of the country, alleged fraudster Vicky Nirupa Boodram walked out of the Arouca Prison on Monday afternoon and has not been seen since.

Boodram, 35, whose last known address was 34 Gambal Street, Siparia, had been on remand since March 2016 after being denied bail on 39 fraud charges. She has 175 fraud matters before the court beginning in 2012.

According to both police and prison sources, Boodram was taken from the prison on the authority of a court order. Sources said two police officers attached to the Tunapuna Police Station, which is charged with responsibility for prisoners scheduled to appear in court from the Northern Division, went to the Women’s Prison and removed Boodram on Monday. The officers, a male and a female, went in a marked police vehicle and were accustomed to collecting prisoners at Golden Grove for court.

Prison officials said they thought nothing untoward about the officers coming with what they presumed were legitimate court documents stating Boodram was scheduled to attend night court. Prior to the officers’ arrival at the prison just after 5 pm, prison officials were telephoned and told Boodram had secured bail in all her matters.

After collecting Boodram, the male officer returned to the station where he dropped off his colleague and left with Boodram. Neither he nor Boodram has been seen since. The female officer was being questioned by officers of the Professional Standards Bureau up to last evening.

According to a release issued by the T&T Police Service yesterday, a nationwide search is under way for Boodram and the accomplice cop as her release was unauthorised. Security forces at all ports of entry and exits were put on alert.

In March last year, Boodram was charged an additional 39 times outside of 136 charges she had already accumulated.

Boodram was facing a total of 175 fraud related charges, including demanding property by virtue of a forged instrument, larceny, uttering a forged document and money laundering.

Contacted yesterday, ACP Mc Donald Jacob, who has responsibility over the Northern Division, where two prisoner escapes took place within less than 24 hours between Monday and yesterday, said the incidents were “unfortunate.”

In a brief telephone interview with the T&T Guardian, Jacob said the two incidents were not connected, as Boodram’s case appeared to have been well planned while the other was a seized opportunity. Regarding Boodram, he said the female officer was acting on the advice of her male colleague when she went to the prison and thought nothing of his actions. She was only made aware of what transpired when she arrived at work yesterday morning and was told the male officer and Boodram were missing.

Fraud Squad officers visited the office of the Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation at Sangster’s Hill, Tobago, yesterday, as they investigated an $8 million wire fraud transfer scam perpetrated against the division.

The issue was first highlighted by the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) at a news conference at James Park, Scarborough, yesterday morning.

It is alleged a senior Tobago House of Assembly (THA) transport official, after receiving an alleged email from Virgin Atlantic Airways about a change in their bank account, gave instructions for monies meant for the airline to be wired to the new account based in the UK. The money was subsequently withdrawn and the account closed and it was subsequently learned Virgin Atlantic never collected the sum, which was for airlift agreements from the UK to Tobago. The official has since claimed his account was hacked.

It was also alleged a similar incident occurred in July 2016, where the same officer caused the division to place $1.6 million, meant for agents in Miami for the upcoming cruise ship season, into a wrong account. Sources said yesterday that despite the issues the employee is still on the job.

Fraud Squad officers yesterday visited both the building housing the audio visual unit and the main building, which houses all the administrative officers, and questioned accounting staff. Division Secretary Nadine Stewart-Phillips was present, but there was no confirmation on if she was interviewed by officers.

Speaking at the news conference yesterday, Assemblyman Farley Augustine called for the Executive Council to give answers on the issue, as well as send all individuals involved on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation

He said the latest incident was “symptomatic of how the THA does its accounts.”

This is not the first time a wire transfer involving a state agency has going wrong in Trinidad and Tobago. A 2011 auditor’s report conducted by the National Gas Company (NGC) revealed an incident of a $60 million wire transfer fraud at its subsidiary, National Energy Corporation (formerly NEC, now National Energy), in September 2011 to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in Dubai.

The audit, which was directed by then NGC chairman and former finance minister Larry Howai, had noted that the bank did not follow due diligence before it transferred US$9,608,904.36 (TT$60.5 million) through three wire transfers out of NEC’s US account. The issue was before the Fraud Squad and was deemed solvable, but was eventually dropped.

Efforts to contact Stewart-Phillips were unsuccessful yesterday.

Allyson Baksh’s resignation from the Government’s Senate bench was an attempt for the Government to save face following the Petrotrin “fake oil” issue allegedly involving the company owned by Baksh’s family, United National Congress Senator Gerald Ramdeen has indicated.

“Ms Baksh’s resignation was long in coming,” Ramdeen told media prior to yesterday’s Senate session where Baksh’s replacement, Ronald Huggins, was sworn in.

“It’s a farce to cover up controversy around the Petrotrin matter. Government has tried to save face considering what’s been disclosed by Petrotrin’s audit team on the “fake oil issue” and confirmation by Canadian auditors recently.”

Ramdeen added, “What’s delayed now for an unacceptable period is action by Petrotrin’s board following the Canadian auditors’ report. This matter involves $100 million of taxpayers’ funds and on the face of it, criminal conduct seems to be involved.

“One would expect the board and Energy Minister to immediately institute proceedings for recovery of monies wrongly paid by Petrotrin and termination of continuing contracts.”

A statement from the Prime Minister’s office at 11.25 pm yesterday stated Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had accepted Baksh’s resignation.

Baksh was among the first appointees of the new PNM government in September 2015.

Her father Nazim Baksh’s company landed in controversy in September when Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar revealed a Petrotrin audit on alleged volume discrepancies between oil production and actual production receipts. An internal audit alleged Petrotrin paid $80 million to A&V Drilling for oil which wasn’t supplied.

Canadian consultant Kroll Consulting, mandated to probe the matter, confirmed there was indeed a discrepancy but Petrotrin, which revealed the findings 10 days ago, is yet to take any action.

People’s National Movement sources said yesterday that Baksh decided to “do what was obvious and resign.”

PNM chairman Franklin Khan told T&T Guardian he couldn’t say exactly when Baksh resigned, if she’d been asked to or did so on her own, adding the PM was the one who hires and fires.

At yesterday’s session, Senate President Christine Kangaloo announced President Anthony Carmona had declared Baksh’s seat vacant following the PM’s advice.

Replacement Huggins, from the PNM’s St Joseph constituency, was the party’s former public relations officer.

Also contacted yesterday, Congress of the People leader Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan said the situation emphasised the need for campaign finance reform as soon as possible. She noted Rowley’s statements that the A&V owner was his friend.

Seepersad-Bachan added, “If no one will, COP will start the campaign finance reform rolling in our party.”