Rhondor Dowlat

A vehicle that was stolen from the compound of the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) on Thursday was recovered hours later by good samaritans in the Aranguez area.

The vehicle, a grey Hyundai Tucson, bore a false number plate—PCW 6943, which slipped off revealing the correct registration number plate of the vehicle—PCR 1744.

It was reported that at about 7.30 pm that day, a female student was held up at gun point at UWI car park. Her SUV with her belongings, including her handbag, were stolen.

The victim’s sister took to social media where she highlighted the robbery and added that her sister was very traumatized after being told by the gunman that he would shoot her if she did not “dive” into a nearby five-feet deep drain.

“She (the victim) said the perpetrator looked no more than 20 years and he did not act alone as she was told to stay in the drain for five minutes or else someone else will shoot her,” the victim’s sister wrote on her Facebook post.

Hours after the victim’s sister posted about the incident, the SUV was potted in Aranguez.

The sister went back to Facebook and thanked readers for their overwhelming concern and shares, which she said she believe was the reason for the recovery of the vehicle.

“I want to personally thank everyone for the shares, for spreading the word and for keeping their eyes out, because you guys made it possible for the recovery of her car. We literally drove around till 2 am looking for this car but was unsuccessful. However, a number of good samaritans saw the post from the hundreds of shares and was able to identify my sister car at Aranguez,” the victim’s sister wrote.

“There were two fake number plates on the car however, the back number plate, we don’t know what happened there (if it slid down or if it was stuck like that) but it exposed the original number plate. Unable to reach us at the time they contacted the Barataria Police Station to recover the car. A number of items were stolen but her car is still in very good condition. Once again thank you, thank you, thank you, without your help her car would have been just another statistic,” she added.

Meanwhile, UWI, also in a Facebook post, said it has been responsive to students' calls for improvements in safety and security around the campus.

The university assured that improvements are ongoing—“a collaborative effort with key campus stakeholders and the TTPS”.

UWI shares useful tips to students on staying safe

. Know The UWI Police numbers: 662-2002 ext. 82120/83510

. Never walk or jog alone at night and avoid secluded or dimly lit areas

. Report all suspicious persons and activity to The UWI Police

. Students are also reminded that the Campus Security Escort Service is available on request: 6 pm to 6 am

Tenants at the Housing Development Corporation’s Clifton Towers in Port-of-Spain are calling for permanent security in and around the compound, saying they are now living in constant fear of bullying and reprisal attacks by gang members after the HDC evicted illegal tenants from the site.

The issue was addressed on Friday in the Parliament by Housing Minister Randall Mitchell, who told the House police and Defence Force members had evicted illegal tenants twice from the four-tower development, following complaints of unlawful activity and illegal apartment occupation.

Police and soldiers arrested and evicted 15 people and the compound is now being closely monitored, Mitchell said. (See page A8)

But speaking under strict anonymity yesterday, tenants told the T&T Guardian they fear for their lives as some of them are being labelled as “informants” and now their lives are being threatened by the criminal element.

One tenant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they are the highest paying tenants in all of PoS, at $800 a month. He said initially there was security for the project but that was stopped years ago.

“With that money we ought to be getting security personnel here, but they moved out the security years ago and it’s years now we are trying to get HDC to put back security here for our safety,” the tenant said.

“It is really the HDC fault now that the situation reach where it reach with gang people moving in and bullying us, threatening us, beating us and influencing our children. They selling drugs…all kinds of racket going on here and like the people in Government afraid to stand up against them.”

The residents had also complained to former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal and former HDC managing director Jearlean John about their issues during the People’s Partnership rule and noted it would only get worse. The tenants back then also called for the establishment of several programmes, including homework supervision, a daycare, gym, an adult training facility and meeting rooms.

But John advised the tenants then to form a residents’ association to oversee the maintenance, security, operations and community relations of the entire development. The tenants were also advised to set up neighbourhood watch systems and to develop a good working relationship with the police station within the district.

Speaking about the response back then, a tenant yesterday said: “It is like they throw us to the wolves out there years ago when we are paying a rent here and HDC is the one who are supposed to be maintaining here and providing security for us. How could they ask us to do that for ourselves when we paying them for a service and to live here?”

Tenants also claimed that there are adverse plumbing issues, leaks and infrastructural damage and called on the current HDC management to deal with their issues.

“We want HDC to move in and see about upgrades and repairs and put back security for us because it is their fault that we are in this ugly situation,” on tenant added.

Questions sent to the current HDC managing director Brent Lyons on the ongoing issue have gone unanswered.

Doctors at the San Fernando General Hospital have opted to leave the metal pellets in the neck and leg of two-year-old Candy Loubon, who was among three people shot during a family dispute in Moruga on Saturday.

As Candy lay peacefully on a bed at the Paediatric Ward of the San Fernando Teaching Hospital yesterday, her mother Cassie Fonrose explained that because the pellet was so close to her spine, doctors decided they would wait to see if her body would push it towards the surface.

“The way this bullet is located close to her spinal cord, they did not want to interfere with it. Because it is so close, if they only touch it (spinal cord) it can do more damage. It can cripple or kill her. They said they want it to move away from the spinal cord and then they will see if they can operate or wait for it to eventually come out for itself,” Fonrose said, saying she was praying everything would go well.

Fonrose said she was told if Candy was standing any closer to the gunman she might have died. She said one doctor told her it could take up to three months before the pellet can be removed. The pellet in her left leg also remained. It was the same leg that broke in September when a regiment vehicle crashed into their family car. It was only two weeks ago that Candy completed her rehabilitation at a clinic. Her father, Jamie Loubon, lost his arm in that accident.

According to reports, Candy’s cousin, Wendell Mike, 31, who had a long-standing dispute with the suspect, went to the family’s property to tend to a garden. It was then the suspect picked up his 12-gauge rifle and fired a shot at Mike. Mike was hit in the head and shoulder while Shane Lemo, 26, another cousin, was shot in the leg. Paramedics removed a pellet from Lemo’s leg while Mike had to be taken to the hospital. Yesterday, Fonrose recalled that Paul with sitting in their yard holding her one-year-old son Jamieson at the time of the incident.

“When I heard the explosion, I saw her (Candy) drop on the ground but I did not think she got shot. I thought it was just the fright that had her like that,” she recalled.

“I picked her up and started to quarrel when I saw my cousin in blood. I told him (suspect) that I was going to call the police. When my husband came downstairs, he said ‘Aye! Look Candy has a hole in her neck.’ I went crazy.”

Meanwhile, the 63-year-old relative responsible for shooting Candy and her cousins has not been found. Following the shooting on Saturday morning, the suspect ran into the forest at the back of his house and has not been seen since. Southern Division Task Force, Moruga Police and the Canine Unit had gone in search of the suspect but only recovered the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting.

Fonrose said villagers had joined the search for the suspect yesterday.

President Anthony Carmona has left for Nairobi, Kenya, where he is scheduled to deliver a keynote statement at the UN Environment Assembly between December 4-6.

Carmona left Saturday on the trip, which is being funded by the United Nations Environment Programme.

The Environment Assembly, the highest-level UN body to address global concerns on the environment, invited Carmona to speak through executive director Erik Solheim.

Solheim had lobbied for Carmona’s appearance, noting that the President had demonstrated his motivation and ability for climate advocacy and has placed high importance on the need to protect the environment, a release from the Office of the President said yesterday.

The theme for the event will be “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet.”

In his invitation letter to Carmona, Solheim stated, “Your participation in a leadership dialogue with several of your peers would also allow you to showcase the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago’s environmental leadership... I look forward to welcoming you alongside other global leaders to the 2017 Environment Assembly…”

A community lime among neighbours in Couva turned tragic yesterday when gunmen opened fire on the group, killing Dwayne Callender.

Reports are that neighbours had gathered at the apartment buildings along June Street, Lisas Gardens, on Saturday night and were liming into yesterday morning when the attack occurred. Police were told by a relative that around 7. 10 am yesterday she was awakened by the gunshots. She checked outside and saw Callender, her cousin, lying in the carpark with gunshot wounds to the back and thigh.

Callender, 29, a pipe-fitter, was taken to the Couva District Health Facility where he died while being treated.

His father, Wayne, said he was liming a short distance away from their home. He said the lime had just finished when three gunmen came and began shooting.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has ordered a probe after a reported surfaced in the United Kingdom yesterday that a UK pollster received US$10 million from the former Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration for work conducted in T&T between 2013 and 2015.

A report in the UK’s Sunday Observer, titled “The opinion poll guru, the Caribbean islands and the $10m consultancy deal,” claimed the then government entered into an agreement with the founder of Mori, Sir Robert Worcester, for a consultancy agreement over a two-year period.

The article reported that in a letter to Worcester in June 2013, Reynold Cooper, permanent secretary to the then prime minister, said T&T’s Cabinet had approved the fees and expenses for the core consultancy, 13 sets of surveys and seven sets of focus groups totalling US$9,793,475, plus estimated expenses of US$160,000, giving a total sum of US$9,953,475.

The article said a copy of the contract between the Government Information Services Limited (GISL) and Mori Caribbean, said the two-year project, a continuation of earlier work, was to improve the delivery of public services. The firm was also offered a separate contract to help the then government develop its strategic communications plan.

“Worcester, a former president of the Institute of Business Ethics, said that in 2010 he had been approached on behalf of the newly-elected prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. She wanted Mori Caribbean to continue the work it had been doing for her predecessor, Patrick Manning,” the newspaper reported.

GISL, the paper said, was charged with overseeing Mori Caribbean’s projects and ensuring it was paid within 60 days of the company submitting its invoices. A considerable portion of the money went directly to Worcester. On February 5, 2014, GISL instructed First Citizens to transfer $1,326,475.55 to Worcester’s private account in Kingstown, St Vincent, where he has citizenship. However, Worcester insisted in the article the company was only paid US$3.2m because it did not complete the full range of services agreed.

Contacted yesterday, Al-Rawi said said he read the article “with interest,” adding, “This comes as a great surprise to me in terms of an international entity’s observation.

“Further this does not reside well with the posture and position taken by the UNC... in particular Rodney Charles and Mrs Persad-Bissessar have been insistent that expenditure to consultancy services outside T&T providers, including lobbyists etcetera, that these are inappropriate expenditure items.

“One therefore wonders how they could have been sitting on a US$10 million sum such as this to a pollster, so this is obviously something that is going to require some further investigation and we will produce the information for public consumption in due course,” Al-Rawi said.

Al-Rawi added that while there were hints of corruption in the article, the facts must first be established.

“We must first find out whether services were actually provided or not. Whether sums were expended or not. It been a very difficult task to unmask a lot of the transaction that the UNC left. Much of it was hidden, some of the paperwork was shredded,” the AG said.

“But with this one, obviously the first thing is to establish the facts and once that is established then you can have an informed view ,but this is something that obviously will be looked at.”

But also contacted yesterday, former PP minister Devant Maharaj accused Al-Rawi of trying to create a political distraction, saying the firm’s services were simply continued under Persad-Bissessar.

“The services were first employed under the Manning administration and on the principal of continuity of government, their services continued with no change of terms of reference,” Maharaj said.

Asked if the US$10 million could be justified, he said he could not comment on this as he was unaware of the figures, but added it would have been “US $10 over five years.”

“It is very mischievous that we only hear about the fees for the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration, but the story is silent that the Patrick Manning administration had paid the fees in the first place.

“This is just a political distraction because a lot of pressure is being put and rightly so on this Government,” Maharaj said.

Former head of the Public Service Reginald Dumas and Martin Daly SC say judges do not have the authority use the Judiciary’s Court and Protocol Information Unit to place newspaper advertisements in the latest issue involving Chief Justice Ivor Archie.

Their response comes in the wake of a newspaper article which suggests a group of judges had come out in defence of Archie in the incident involving private citizen Dillian Johnson, and planned to ask the CPIU to place the ad in the newspapers detailing their stance to the public.

The article said the judges preferred to remain anonymous but had issued a text and given the mandate to the CPIU to make the necessary arrangements for the publication of the ad, which they will pay for.

But in response yesterday, Daly and Dumas said the proposed ad would contain an account of the alleged role played by the CJ in discussions concerning a possible change in security arrangements for judicial officers and would refute allegations already in the public domain regarding the role of the Chief Justice.

They said the judges could not use the CPIU to place such an advertisement, adding the judges had no official status for such activity in relation to the CPIU.

“Further, it was a private expression of opinion of an unknown number of anonymous judges. If the mandate is accepted by the CPIU unit it would be an improper use of that unit, made more serious by the unit being used to cloak a private opinion in anonymity,” both men said in a release.

Dumas and Daly also inquired whether the unit could accept the alleged mandate without the approval of the Chief Justice as head of the Judiciary.

“We remain of the firm view that the person best placed to deal with the allegations in the public domain, particularly the alleged relationship with Dillian Johnson, is the Chief Justice himself,” they said.

They added that the report in question also revealed deep divisions within the Judiciary, which were not conducive to public trust in the institution and which will further undermine the institutional reputation of the Judiciary.

On November 17, High Court judge Carol Gobin had called for a meeting with Archie to discuss the “very serious and scandalous allegations” regarding Archie’s conduct in the matter.

After three failed attempts by Kallco to build a proper retaining wall in Matelot, villagers are now calling on Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to ensure the project is awarded to someone capable of doing the job.

Standing firm on this decision was St Helena Village Council president John Lewis, who said for years the people have been suffering at the hands of Kallco, who got three opportunities to build a retaining wall at the edge of a precipice in the community.

On Kallco’s last attempt, Lewis said the wall collapsed, which led to approximately 50 metres of the Paria Main Road, built on a steep cliff, to cave in last year.

“The road has become impassable for motorists and is cordoned off with caution tape. For a year now the road like this and we just biting we tongue,” Lewis said.

Matelot has a population of 500.

During a visit by the T&T Guardian, Lewis also showed another area on the Paria Main Road which had a huge depression and cracks four feet deep.

“The taxis don’t want to drive on the road, so they dropping you off at this point and villagers have to walk the rest to get to their homes. Motorists who drive over the cracks have been doing so at their own risk. Maybe we have to get on lawless like Beetham people to get some action and attention.”

To get in and out of the village, motorists now use Andrew Road, which they claim is a steep hill and causes great inconvenience.

Residents Renwick Roberts and Albert Cummings said they had warned Kallco about a water source above the road which has been attributing to land erosion.

“This is about the third time the land slip away. They used plastic netting and sand,” said Roberts, pointing to the road and culvert Kallco built as well.

“We told them what they were doing would not work but they did not listen. It looks like they can’t handle the work again because they leave everything so and gone, now is we to catch,” Roberts said.

But on Friday Sinanan defended Kallco, saying they did what they were supposed to do.

“From what I understand, the bottom of the wall got slippage way outside of their scope and that is what will be rectified now. Those areas are prone to land slippages,” Sinanan said.

He said even the ministry’s engineers said it was not the contractor’s fault.

Sinanan said the contract was awarded before he became a minister.

“One thing I could assure you is that any time we get defective work by a contractor the ministry does not pay. All work requires a retention and a guarantee.”

Sinanan makes it priority

Two Mondays ago, Sinanan said he visited Matelot with a technical team and saw the conditions of the road, which he listed as priority cases. To address the issue, Sinanan said huge rocks have to be placed at the edge of the sea to prevent the water from getting onto land. However, he said the original contract did not include this scope of work.

So far, Sinanan said tenders for these two critical areas have closed and contracts will be handed out in the coming days. Both projects are expected to cost about $800,000, he said.

Sangre Grande Regional Corporation chairman and Toco/Fishing Pond councillor Terry Rondon confirmed this was Kallco’s third attempt to build the wall. However, he said this problem has been ongoing since under the People’s Partnership tenure.

“The people are correct when they tell you they do it three times. I would not shield anybody,” Rondon said.

“They have to inject money into Matelot to get back those roads to service the people. Sooner or later they would have to condemn that road. The villagers are saying a lot of money was spent on that road and they still can’t pass. I raised the concern about it with the promise that Kallco continue it. But the cost is plenty.”

He said if shoddy workmanship was done somebody should account, but admitted coastal erosion led to this ongoing problem.

Residential Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) customers still have time to get their accounts in order before action is taken to seize their properties, as the authority is currently focused on commercial clients.

However, the drive is already bearing fruit as two commercial property owners who were advertised the press have agreed to enter into payment plans to clear off their debt.

The action comes as WASA moves to recover $500 million owed by errant customers, following chairman Romney Thomas’ announcement last month that they would begin seizing and selling properties to recover outstanding debts. WASA has the authority under the Water and Sewerage Act and the Rates and Charges Recovery Act. The majority of the WASA debt is owned by commercial customers.

A week ago, WASA published the first two addresses of commercial customers at St Yves Street, Chaguanas and the O’Meara Industrial Estate, Arima.

Contacted over the weekend for an update on the drive, Thomas said the first two customers have since visited the authority and set up payment plans.

“In terms of those two customers we have advertised, they would have met the criteria of being commercial properties who have a significant amount in terms of outstanding water rates. They are customers we would have written to before or tried to engage them in liquidating their outstanding arrears.

“All efforts had failed so we took this action. Since the publication of that advertisement last week, both customers have come in and made arrangements to liquidate their outstanding amounts,” Thomas said.

Yesterday, WASA published the addresses of two more customers at Saddle Road, Maraval and the corner of Frederick and Sellier Streets in Curepe.

On residential customers, Thomas said WASA will try to engage those who have significant arrears and encourage them to pay off the outstanding amounts. While there have been rumblings in various quarters over WASA’s tough action, he said customers have been coming in to settle their accounts.

“We are being very thorough in going through the list because we want to ensure everyone has a fair chance to settle. This is not something we take delight in doing,” he said.

“This is a last resort because we don’t really want to take anybody’s property. We’re not in the business of selling properties, our objective is to collect outstanding rates and that is it.”

Next on WASA’s agenda will be going after illegal connections. However, Thomas said those people with such connections will be encouraged to regularise their accounts first. But he noted that illegal connections are one of the main reasons for water wastage.

Prophetess Rev Natasha Leon has called on the Government to implement the youth-oriented Military-led Academic Training (MiLat) Academy programme in the nation’s prisons as a rehabilitative measure.

“This programme should be integrated into the prisons. We ought to look at getting into the schools from as early as pre-school and take preventative measures, rather than find solutions to problems, we would change so many lives, save so many lives,” she said on Saturday during the funeral of her 16-year-old nephew Jabari Phillip.

Phillip, who was shot dead on Piccadilly Street, Port-of-Spain, last Saturday, would have celebrated his 17th birthday on December 12 and had been in the MiLat programme for three months.

Leon recalled her nephew’s difficulty fitting into the regular school system and him being expelled from a secondary school in the west. She smiled, however, when she proudly pointed out that where others could only see Phillip’s troubled past, MiLat personnel saw his goodness. “I am sure that if he were here, he would appeal to you all, ‘the mistakes I made don’t make it,’” she put to the youths, fellow MiLat enrollees and military dignitaries on hand.

To the adults in the audience, she demanded, “Examine yourselves to see as to what more you can do to better someone else’s life. Where are the fathers and mothers of the nation, who would stand and say I will be there for you?”

Leon blasted “parents who deceive themselves that their children are their friends and would practice, wine, woman and weed” with them and made the call for society to get back to being “each others brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.”

Phillip’s mother, Vanessa Phillip, was presented with a ribboned framed photo of her son in full uniform by member of the Defence Force.

According to reports, Phillip and another individual was walking along Piccadilly Street when several shots rang out near the Mango Rose plannings. The two young men were said to have run for cover but Phillip fell to the ground a short distance away. Police and emergency health services were notified and Phillip was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Investigations are continuing.

After spending almost a decade in prison and facing two trials, a 31-year-old man from Maraval was yesterday freed of charges which accused him of murdering two men by a bar in St James.

It took a 12-member-jury before Justice Althea Alexis-Windsor in the Port-of-Spain High Court a little over an hour to return with not guilty verdicts for Jayvon Charles, of Boissiere Village, Maraval.

As the jury foreman indicated their unanimous decisions, Charles smiled and nodded at them from the prisoner enclosure.

In an interview as he greeted his relatives outside the Hall of Justice, Charles said he was pleased with the verdict and thanked his attorneys Stephen Wilson and Delicia Helwig-Robertson.

The verdicts come three years after Charles’ first trial before Justice David Harris, which ended with a hung jury.

Ask the first thing he planned to do, Charles said he wanted to visit his son, who was born shortly after he was charged and remanded for murdering Anthony Boodoo and Wilfred Mohammed on December 1, 2007.

It was the State’s case that around midday on that day, Boodoo, Mohammed and their friends Sheldon Bernard and Harold Joseph were liming outside a bar at the corner of Francis and Perigord Roads in Long Circular, St James.

Two armed men approached Boodoo and shot him several times.

The gunmen then threatened Bernard and other patrons but did not shoot at them. Before they fled the scene in an awaiting vehicle, one of the gunmen shot Boodoo two more times at close range.

Mohammed was hit by a stray bullet and died while receiving treatment at the hospital.

The State’s main witness was Joseph, who claimed to have hidden at a nearby business when the shooting began. Joseph identified Charles, whom he claimed to have known since he (Charles) was a little boy.

However, Joseph was murdered before Charles’ preliminary inquiry began and his statements given to police days after the incident were tendered into evidence.

Bernard, was also a State witness, did not identify Charles as one of the shooters. Bernard testified at the preliminary inquiry and first trial but was killed by police during a shooting in St James in February last year.

Lennox Alexander, who was also liming at the bar on the day of the shooting, was called as a defence witness by Charles.

Alexander, who said he knew Charles for nine years, claimed that Joseph was intoxicated and did not witness the shooting as he left the bar minutes before the incident.

Alexander also gave a description of the shooters which matched Bernard’s account and denied that Charles was one of them.

In her summation of the case, Alexis-Windsor warned jurors to be cautious when approaching Joseph’s evidence because he was never cross-examined by Charles’ lawyers.

“Just because he knew him since he was a little boy, does not mean that it was not possible that he (Joseph) was mistaken,” Alexis-Windsor said. The case was prosecuted by Anju Bhola.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia says teachers at the Bishop’s Centenary College and some 12 other private schools will be paid their stipend within the next 48 hours for accommodating ministry-assigned students.

His statement came after some 25 teachers at the Bishop’s Centenary, in Woodbrook, stayed away from owing to the non-payment of their November salary.

Only four teachers showed up for duty yesterday and students were sent home at half-day.

Last month, students complained that they were turned away because their parent had not paid an annual $500 maintenance fee.

At a press conference yesterday, Garcia said Bishop’s Centenary College and 12 other schools were not paid their stipends due to a cash flow issue.

He said schools have been complaining that they have not received their stipend since the school term began in September.

“A great majority of teachers did not show up for work today and took the decision to send home the government students,” he said.

Garcia said this problem does not rest alone with the Bishop’s Centenary but other private schools were experiencing the same problem.

“All the private secondary schools that provide assistance to the Government have been experiencing this problem. And the genesis of this problem is simply because this Government is experiencing some serious problem with respect to cash flow. The economy is not doing as well,” he said.

Garcia said 13 schools were involved and the quantum would depend on the number of students assigned to each school at a rate of $1,200 per student, per term.

“It is likely payment will be made tomorrow. It is not necessary to take that action again,” he said.

The Ministry was grappling with challenges to meet its financial commitments, he said.

In an interview yesterday, students at Bishop’s Centenary said they were told to return home because the teachers did not get pay for the month of November.

An educator at the school said they had to borrow money to pay the teachers in October and there was also no money to pay them in November.

“They (teachers) did not come out to work because they did not get a salary for November. Only four turned out to work because they were not paid for the month of November. We borrowed money to pay their salary in October,” she said.

The educator said the school is usually given money each at the start of each term.

“They (Government) usually give money by the September term but we had to borrow for October and we can’t do that again. They were not paid so they stayed away,” she said.

Marlon Seales, first vice president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association, said the association would be looking into the problem.

“This is the first time I am hearing about this and we do not have members in private secondary. Children not having school in any sector is a cause for the association,” he said.

Teachers of Las Lomas Government Primary School have stayed away from classes for the past 12 days because of a bat invasion.

For several months, teachers have been complaining about bats in the building. School officials said an official report had been made at the Ministry of Education’s assigned school supervisor but it yet “to get action.”

There are eight teachers, one clerk, three on-the-job trainees and two cleaners, in addition to the school’s principal.

Several written complaints were also sent by the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to the ministry.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, PTA president, Sparkle Ramjewan said that the staff and the 170 pupils are severely affected by the bat droppings. The situation has affected the end of term exams.

“It has reached to a point where teachers have been notified by TTUTA to just go to the school, sign and leave. So, since November 17 the children are being kept at their respective homes,” Ramjewan said.

A disgruntled parent, who wished not to be identified said that he did a lot of research on bats, said bat droppings can have an adverse effect on the health of the pupils and teachers.

“By inhaling the bat droppings they can get Histoplasmosis, which is an infectious disease and can cause immune deficiency and serious problems to their internal organs,” the parent said.

“They need to act now and have the pest control people move in and clean that place inside out,” he added.

Contacted yesterday, a ministry spokesperson said an official was sent to the school last week and a report was expected to be handed in soon to the Chief Education Officer.

Asked how soon classes would be able to resume at the school, the official said he could not say but “as soon as they clean up and give the green light.”

Judgment has been reserved in a $20 million medical negligence claim brought by the family of late businessman Ricardo “Smokey” McKenzie against the Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre (BLCTC).

During a hearing of the case in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Mira Dean-Armourer said she needed time to consider lengthy submissions filed by both parties.

She said she would seek to deliver her decision by the end of February next year.

McKenzie, 55, a brain cancer patient, received external beam radiation therapy at the BLCTC for six weeks in 2009. In June 2010, McKenzie, the co-owner of Smokey and Bunty bar in St James, underwent an operation for swelling in his brain. He was then taken to the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, for further treatment before he eventually died later that year.

In a lawsuit filed several months after his death, his widow Lisa claimed the BLCTC was negligent in administering radiation to McKenzie due to miscalibration of its Linac accelerator during the period he was treated. She also claimed the centre failed to take reasonable steps to notify McKenzie or his family that there was a miscalibration and the possibility that an overdose of radiation had occurred.

The BLCTC admitted that it was aware of a small miscalibration on its linear accelerator but claims to have promptly sought to have it adjusted, checked and verified at a calibration laboratory in the United States.

The centre claims the miscalibration did not cause McKenzie’s death which was due to the aggressive form of cancer he had and operations that were performed on him in the US.

McKenzie’s wife is seeking almost $20 million in compensation including US$500,000 spent on her husband’s medical treatment and just over $16 million in loss of his earnings.

McKenzie’s family is being represented by Terrence Bharath while BLCTC is being represented by Neal Bisnath, Ravi Nanga and Lydia Mendonca.

KEVON FELMINE

A police motorcyclist was seriously injured yesterday when he collided with a car along the South Trunk Road, La Romaine.

Reports stated that around 5 pm, PC Jones of the Highway Patrol Unit, was heading towards San Fernando when his motorcycle collided with brown Mazda 323 driven by construction labourer Edison Rahim of San Francique.

Eyewitnesses said Rahim was at the intersection of Potato Street and was attempting to cross the road when the bike crashed into the left front of his car. Jones flung off his bike and landed metres away. He suffered several injuries and was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital by an ambulance.

Rahim’s son, Dexter, said officers who responded to the crash told his father that he was wrong in the accident. He said police and ambulance attended to the injured officer but left his father and his workmate, Mark Ferreira, nursing injuries on the roadside.

Dexter said his father was working on a house in La Romaine and was going to Bhagwansingh’s Hardware to purchase supplies. On reaching Potato Street intersection, a van stopped to allow Rahim to cross the road, however, the officer had his siren on so Rahim stopped halfway, eyewitnesses said. Instead of swerving away, the motorcyclist collided with the car.

"When the police officers came, the first thing they said was that my father was wrong. Because of that, my father did not want to even tell them that he wanted help. Mark Ferreira’s head was busted and his foot swollen. When the ambulance came, they just assisted the officer and left my father and the other guy right there. I had to ask the police if they would assist my father. They told me that we were supposed to ask for help. He was here for an hour and more in real pain,” Dexter said.

An eyewitness said it was only when an off-duty female officer stopped and asked questions that Rahim and Ferreira were assisted and the accident scene was marked off.

With 16 people being killed in the last four days of this new and last month of 2017, senior police officers are now looking to push different strategies to “up their game.”

The murder toll reached 460 yesterday with just 27 days remaining in the year. In the past two days there were also two double murders recorded in Belmont and Morvant, making it 25 (double murders) for the year so far.

These figures are not going down well with ACP Anti-Crime Operations Irwin Hackshaw. Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Hackshaw said there is major dissatisfaction among the senior ranks of the T&T Police Service, including the acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams.

“We are not happy at all…we are not comfortable with what is happening,” Hackshaw said, noting they were especially disturbed with the recent spike in murders.

He said they will now be looking to deploy more officers in communities throughout T&T as they seek to bring the criminal element to book for their actions.

“We are pushing different strategies and looking at different ways to inject more officers in strategic areas for impact and to get that grip on that criminal behaviour.

“We are not giving up any fight and we will be pursuing relentlessly the gangs and the people conducting these crimes,” Hackshaw added.

Breakdown of the murders

Yesterday:

Akiel “Ratty” Edwards and a man identified only as “Shem” gunned down at Pelican Extension, Morvant, just after 8 am.

Sunday:

Jamal Modeste and Mota Ali gunned down while liming at Barton Lane, Belmont, at about 9 pm.

Kylie James, 28, of Malabar, shot dead while at Reid Lane, D’abadie.

Father of one Dwayne “Kid” Callender, 29, shot while at a street party in the area. Callender, who lived at June Street, Lisas Boulevard, Couva, died while undergoing emergency treatment at the Chaguanas Health Facility.

Saturday:

Andre “Beenie” Prince, 40, was discovered dead after shots were heard at an abandoned three-story house at Sherwood Drive, Arima, around 2.45 am.

The body of 47-year-old gardener Anand “Chris” Singh was found in a drain near his Carlsen Field, Chaguanas home at about 6 am. Police said the body bore marks of violence and the case is being investigated by Homicide detectives.

David Ali was killed while at Cicada Drive, Diego Martin, around 4 pm by a man dressed as a Muslim woman, inclusive of hijab and a purdah (face covering). Police said the gunman walked up to Ali, removed a gun from a bag and shot him before escaping in a black X-trail. Police said Ali was known to them and was suspected of being involved in the murder of Abraham Simpson, who was killed in a drive-by shooting after attending a birthday party at a basketball court at River Estate, Diego Martin, on November 27.

Jonathan Gobin, 34, was shot dead while at Green Street, Tunapuna, around 9.45 pm. Gobin, who was originally from Laventille, was said to be living in Tobago for the past two years and had just recently returned to Trinidad.

Friday:

Businessman Ashram Ramnath, 32, was shot and killed by two men during an attempted robbery at his Chandernagore Old Road, Chase Village home around 3 am. Police said when Ramnath resisted he was fatally shot in the chest.

The body of Canadian citizen Vishnu Narine, 56, was found near the Ste Madeline Usine Pond around 7 am. He was said to be vacationing with relatives at Church Street, Charles Village. Police said they believe he was robbed as he was reported to have left on Thursday night to drop off a large sum of money at a business establishment in South.

At about 8.30 am in Marabella, Anderson Babwah, 24, of New Haven Avenue, was stabbed to death during a heated argument.

Shortly after noon, Kerwin Baptiste, 35, was shot dead at his home at Cipriani Avenue, Morvant. He was employed at the Ministry of Works and Transport.

In Tobago, at about 2.30 pm, the decomposed body of jeweller Doolalchan Lutchman was found in his home at Canoe Bay Road, Cove Estate. Lutchman’s body, police said, was tied with rope. He was originally from Trinidad.

In an unrelated incident, Collin Henry, 24, from Coconut Drive, Morvant, died at hospital from gunshots he sustained after a group of men ambushed him and his cousin Aaron Warner, 31, at the NP gas station in Barataria. Warner is still listed in a serious condition at hospital.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has defended his decision to put the responsibility for selecting a ferry for the sea bridge in the hand of a Cabinet sub-committee.

Rowley gave the responsibility to Ministers Colm Imbert, Stuart Young, Shamfa Cudjoe and Robert Le Hunte last week, after it was announced that the recent sixth tendering process attempted by the Port Authority of T&T had failed to secure as vessel for the sea bridge.

There was an outcry in some sectors of society following the decision, with some noting none of the ministers had the maritime expertise needed to undertake such a process and also the possibility of collusion in the award of any contract if Government had a preferred bidder.

But speaking during a sod turning ceremony for the $132 million 20 megawatt expansion of the Cove Power Plant at Canoe Bay in Tobago yesterday, Rowley said he took the decision because “I was not prepared to subject the people of Tobago and the people of Trinidad and Tobago to a seventh failure.”

He added: “Because when the boat is not there, when the service is not there, it is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet that you hold accountable, you give me the authority, you give me the responsibility and I will make sure that this boat here in Tobago before the not too distant future.”

Tobago stakeholders have been clamouring for a solution to the sea bridge woes, with businesses noting they have lost millions since the Super Fast Galicia ended its contract with the PATT.

Yesterday, however, Rowley seemed positive his Government would resolve the issue soon.

“I as Prime Minister took responsibility for ensuring that the Christmas season and the Carnival season does not meet Tobago without this very valuable piece of infrastructure.”

He said the Government is also going ahead with the development of a port at Toco, which is also being seen as a vital link to Tobago as well, and clearance is currently being sought by the Environmental Management Authority for development of the site.

LOYSE VINCENT

Two employees of the Tobago House of Assembly’s Tourism, Culture and Transportation Division have been ordered to stop reporting for duty while two others have been referred to the Public Service Commission (PSC) for disciplinary action.

The decision comes on the heels of a Fraud Squad investigation into an alleged wire transfer fraud involving $8 million intended for airlift arrangements with Virgin Atlantic Airways. The money was reportedly deposited into an incorrect bank account.

THA Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles yesterday said the action was initiated against the employees due to the seriousness and severity of the matter. He said two of the four involved are public officers so their matters were referred to the PSC for disciplinary action.

He said until the THA is advised by the PSC, those two employees will remain on duty at the division. But the other two, who are contract workers, have been told to “cease reporting for duty with immediate effect.”

The issue was first highlighted by THA Minority member Farley Augustine last week.

It is alleged a senior division official, after allegedly receiving an email from Virgin Atlantic about a change in their bank account, gave instructions for monies meant for the airline to be wired to a new account in the UK. The money was subsequently withdrawn and the account closed in the UK.

It was later learnt that Virgin Atlantic never collected the money, which was for airlift agreements from the UK to Tobago. The THA official later claimed his email account was hacked.

A similar incident allegedly occurred in July 2016, where the same officer caused the THA to place $1.6 million, meant for agents in Miami for the upcoming cruise ship season, into a wrong account.

Augustine had demanded that the THA send all those identified as being involved on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Yesterday, Charles said the THA is also working with the Fraud Squad to ensure the case is resolved in the shortest possible time.

“Due process must be observed,” he said.

While liquor stores have not seen a major decrease in sales of Angostura products following Fixin T&T’s call for a national boycott, some supermarkets, despite placing their early Christmas orders, are not getting the company’s alcoholic beverages on their shelves.

Yesterday, owner Maharaj West Side Supermarket in Arima, Kumar Maharaj, admitted that over a month ago he ordered from Angostura a list of products which they have not been able to deliver.

“Angostura can’t supply these products which customers have been asking for. This morning I spoke to them and they told me they can’t guarantee when I will get my order. It is getting progressively worse. The picture at Angostura is not healthy. If this continues they might have to close up shop,” Maharaj complained.

Maharaj said he was unsure what was causing the delay.

“This is Christmas…the busiest time of the year for us and our shelves are bare. It’s affecting our business and Angostura is not saying anything. Customers are going elsewhere and we are losing sales. This is not good for business.”

Expressing similar sentiments was owner of Chang’s Brothers Liquor Store and Supermarket in Marabella, Andrew Chang, who complained that Angostura was not supplying its full range of products. “We are not getting everything we order. I don’t know what is wrong because sometimes we can’t even get Forres Park puncheon, which is always in high demand.”

With Christmas approaching, Chang said cherry brandy, which is used to soak fruits to make black and fruit cakes, were in short supply.

“Even Hard Wine they don’t have. For a million-dollar company like Angostura you have to wonder what going on with them.”

Chang said not having these highly sought products was cutting into his profits.

However, Susan Ramkhelawan, of Anand Low Price Supermarket in Fyzabad, said they had not seen a decline in sales of Angostura’s products nor was there a short supply.

“People buying their grog as normal for Christmas, especially White Oak and Forres Park,” Ramkhelawan said.

At John’s One Stop Shop Liquor Store in Cunupia, Ramadhar’s Food and Liquor Centre in Freeport and MS Food City Supermarket in Debe, their customers remained loyal to the brands.

Two weeks ago, Fixin T&T head Kirk Waithe called for a boycott of Angostura products after its chairman Dr Rolph Balgobin was cleared of allegations of sexual harassment against him by a female executive who was fired last Wednesday. Yesterday, Waithe said the boycott has been gaining traction.

“We have no way to measure it because people have been commenting on social media.”

Waithe noted, however, that two radio stations had asked him not speak about the boycott when he appeared on their shows because of concerns the company would pull their advertising.

Meanwhile, in a press release yesterday, the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce strongly condemned sexual harassment, while the Bankers Association of T&T (BATT) expressed concerns that sexual harassment and gender discrimination had become a worldwide concern.

BATT said T&T was signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, while the Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. It recommended that these provisions be strengthened and supported by legislation to treat with all form of discrimination in the workplace.

Stating that sexual harassment has been attracting headlines globally and locally recently, the chamber was of the view that enhanced legislation was urgently required to address the issue.

“Until such has been enacted, it remains incumbent upon employers to develop and enforce a comprehensive approach to maintaining an environment that is free of harassment and untoward behaviours of a sexual nature,” the release stated.

Angostura’s communications manager Giselle Laronde-West did not respond to questions emailed by the T&T Guardian yesterday.

The 63-year-old man accused of shooting two-year-old Candy Loubon and her cousins Wendell Mike and Shane Lemo has surrendered to police.

He was expected to be handed over to Moruga police yesterday where he will be questioned. Based on police’s investigation, the suspect may be charged with attempted murder or wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

Reports are that around midnight on Sunday, the suspect, who ran into the forest after the shooting on Saturday, contacted a relative, who is a police officer in the South Western Division. The officer went to the forest, off the Penal Rock Road, Moruga and took the suspect to the Penal Police Station. He was handed over the Southern Division police shortly after.

Meanwhile, Candy, who has pellets in her neck, near her spine, and in her leg, remained at the Paediatric Ward of the San Fernando Teaching Hospital. Her father, Jamie Loubon, said doctors still have not decided when they will perform surgery. He said they are consulting and based on her condition, they may discharge her in a few days with an appointment for surgery. Mike, 31, who was shot in the head and shoulder, also remained warded at the hospital.

Around 7.10 am on Saturday, Mike, who has a long-standing dispute with the suspect, went to his garden along the Penal Rock Road, Moruga. It was then the suspect shot Mike. Lemo, 26, who was next door, was shot in the leg. Paramedics removed a pellet from his leg, which was lodged just under his skin. Candy was standing in the yard of her home was also struck.