A Barrackpore man who allegedly breached a protection order and stabbed his estranged wife and son was denied bail yesterday when he appeared before a Siparia magistrate yesterday.

Harripersad Roopchand, 52, a gardener, was not asked to plead to the two charges of unlawful and malicious wounding before Senior Magistrate Margaret Alert.

Roopchand’s wife, Shanti, 45, and son, Premchand, who had a bandage on his face and his left arm in a sling, were in court when the matter was called.

It is alleged that on December 29, Roopchand unlawfully and maliciously wounded his wife and son at their Pancham Trace, Barrackpore, home. It is alleged that he stabbed his wife, then chopped his son when he intervened. Both were warded at the San Fernando General Hospital for some time.

Roopchand was arrested and charged by Sgt Davis Lewis. His attorney Ramnarine Soorjansingh asked for bail, claiming that his client has three children, no previous convictions and two pending matters.

Police prosecutor Sgt Starr Jacob objected to bail and told the court Roopchand had two similar matters pending before the court. She said in January 2017 he appeared in the same court on two charges of assault against his wife and another relative and was granted bail on the condition that he stay away from the victims. Jacob said he breached that order by entering the house where the alleged acts were committed.

Upholding the prosecutor’s objection, Alert said based on the circumstances the accused is a danger to his wife and son.

“The best place for you is inside,” she told him as she advised him of right to apply to a judge in chambers for bail.

Roopchand will reappear in court on January 30.

A contractor who told a magistrate he was due to start a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) project today has been denied bail for allegedly trying to murder his ex-lover.

Miguel Collins, 27, pleaded for bail when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Cherril-Anne Antoine in the San Fernando First Court but was remanded in custody because of his criminal record.

The attempted murder charge stemmed from an incident on November 26 at Naparima Mayaro Road, Palmyra, where it is alleged that Collins choked 21-year-old Applonia Paul, put a knife to her neck and threw kerosene on her. He was charged by Cpl Neckcheddy after he was arrested in Morvant on a warrant for failing to attend court in Port of Spain on November 13.

Collins claimed he did not attend court on that date was because he had been injured in a vehicular accident. He said he sent a medical certificate from the hospital to court but it was sent back for him with a warning that a warrant would be taken out for his arrest if he failed to attend court by 1 pm. Collins said he could not attend court because he was not well.

In his appeal for bail, Collins said he is the sole breadwinner in his family and has a registered business. He said he is a sub contractor for a HDC contractor and already had workers lined up for a project today.

“I keeping myself out of trouble. I had a misunderstanding with my ex-common-law wife. Is something that going on for quite a while now,” he said.

Collins said the Ste Madeleine police know about the situation and he also made a report at the Central Police Station. However, Antoine noted that he had seven pending matters for serious offences from 2014 to 2016, including wounding with intent, four sexual charges, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and malicious damage. She told him of his right to apply to a judge in chambers and adjourned the attempted murder case to January 29. The Port-of-Spain matter was adjourned to January 4.

The State is expected to begin its case against alleged fraudster Vicky Boodram and her ex-husband on 109 fraud charges in the San Fernando Magistrates Court on April 4. This was indicated yesterday when Boodram made her first appearance in the San Fernando First Court since her alleged escape from prison last November.

When Boodram and her ex-husband Ravi Arjoonsingh appeared before Senior Magistrate Cherril-Anne Antoine yesterday, Boodram told the magistrate she was representing herself. Arjoonsingh’s attorney, Jagdeo Singh, was not in court.

The charges stemmed from an allegation that Boodram, then owner of Boodram Travel Tours and Ship Ahoy Cruises Limited, took money from several people for cruises which never materialised.

State attorney Elaine Greene said the State was ready to proceed via paper committal but would prefer to start the cases after dealing with the other unrelated matters against Boodram in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court. In paper committal proceedings, statements from State witnesses are tendered into evidence and the defence has the opportunity to cross-examine them.

Greene said those matters were scheduled to start on March 21 and she anticipated that hearings in the San Fernando matters would last four days.

In the interest of making sufficient use of the court’s time, Greene said the State intends to select and proceed on some of the charges since the evidence in all was basically the same. The court would then be invited to make a decision on all the matters, based on evidence in the few charges selected.

Greene said the State was also ready to proceed on the money laundering and larceny charges laid by Cpl Vinelle Bassarath, WPC Bernard and Ag Sgt Seecharan.

Boodram has been before the courts since 2012. However, she has been at the Women’s Prison in Golden Grove, Arouca since last March after she rearrested on unrelated charges which are before the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court. She was denied bail on those charges.

Last November, she allegedly escaped from the Women’s Prison but was recaptured three days later at a house in Penal. Two police officers and another woman are charged in connection to her alleged escape.

Boodram and Arjoonsingh, who is out on bail, will return to court on January 30.

A Cabinet reshuffle, health issues affecting two ministers, an apparent diplomatic snub and legislative stand-offs were among the major political developments for 2017.

During the year two government ministers fell ill—one is back on the job, while the other remains hospitalised abroad.

As 2016 gave way to 2017, there was the news that Energy Minister Franklin Khan had fallen ill while on vacation and would have heart surgery. Khan underwent triple by-pass surgery on January 8 and Khan and remained off the job for more than three months until early April.

In September, Public Administration and Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie suffered a stroke and was admitted to the intensive care unit at the St Clair Medical Centre in Port-of-Spain.

Cuffie, who is also the La Horquetta/Talparo MP, was eventually transferred to a medical institution in Washington DC in the United States for rehabilitation where he remains. Relatives said his condition has improved significantly.

In other health-related developments, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley returned to a medical centre in California, United States, for a medical check-up which was a follow up to a visit made in August 2016 when he was given a “good report” by doctors.

One of the political controversies of the year began in late June when Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald, who had been fired from the Cabinet by Rowley in March 2016, was sworn-in as the new Minister of Public Utilities. She was given the portfolio after Rowley advised President Anthony Carmona to revoke the appointment of Fitzgerald Hinds who was reassigned as Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.

However, McDonald’s return was short-lived. Three days after she took the ministerial oath, President Carmona was advised to revoke her appointment “with immediate effect.” It had to do with one of her guests at the swearing-in ceremony at President’s House, Cedric “Burkie” Burke.

It later emerged that the well-known Sea Lots resident, who was detained during the 2011 state of emergency and charged with being a gang leader, had been one of two last-minute invitees to the function. Sources at President’s House confirmed that McDonald asked for two extra invitations to the ceremony but didn’t give names. When Burke arrived he was made to wait until McDonald’s arrival when he was ushered upstairs with other guests.

Rowley subsequently called McDonald to a meeting at the Diplomatic Centre where she was informed that her ministerial appointment was being revoked. McDonald remains on the back bench in Parliament but remains active within the ruling PNM.

Rowley held the public utilities portfolio for more than a month before appointing banker Robert Le Hunte. He took the oath on August 24 but his appointment was briefly revoked when it was discovered that he had dual citizenship in Ghana. Late on Independence Day Le Hunte took the oath again.

Diplomatic advances

Newly-installed United States President Donald Trump called Rowley on February 19 to discuss what the White House said was “co-operation on shared priorities.” A brief paragraph on the White House website said the two leaders “reaffirmed the strong security partnership and agreed to continue close co-ordination in the fight against terrorism and transnational organised crime.

President Trump invited Rowley to visit Washington, DC. However, that visit had not materialised by year end.

Another visit that failed to take place followed an announcement in early November by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young that Rowley had been invited to China to attend a Communist Party of China with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting.

A week later came word that the invitation to the high-level meeting was being replaced with an official visit to China in 2018. This prompted the country’s longest-serving diplomat, retired head of the public service Reginald Dumas, to remark that it was “highly unusual” for China to withdraw an invitation to a foreign leader.

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Dumas said: “Is it that there was no invitation? Is it that something was being considered? I don’t know, we will probably never get to the truth of the matter because the Chinese aren’t going to say anything, of course. But it is highly unusual and it does represent on the face of it a snub.”

Questions were also raised by former Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne who also felt it was a diplomatic snub.

The issue erupted into a war of words with Young lashing out at Dumas and Browne saying they should not comment on matters about which they do not have all the facts.

Almost simultaneously came the announcement that PNM activist Makeda Antoine was being appointed to the top diplomatic post of Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dumas criticised the appointment saying he did not believe Antoine had the experience to head such an important mission.

Legislative sparring in the House

On the legislative front, Government and the Opposition traded words over the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), a matter which had been on the agenda from late 2016. The banking sector pleaded with Parliament to pass the legislation.

The legislation enables local financial institutions to report to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on accounts held by US clients via the Board of Inland Revenue and is part of US tax evasion law.

The issue came into the spotlight after the Bankers Association of T&T (BATT) and other groups began warning of possible negative consequences for the country if the legislation wasn’t passed within a specified time frame. Signals from the Opposition that it was not prepared to support the Bill, which required a special majority, added to weeks of tension, characterised by dire warnings of losses and economic fall out if T&T failed to become Fatca complaint.

Eventually, after much political sparring, the legislation was passed unanimously in the House of Representatives on February 23, with all 39 MPs present on that day voting in favour of the amended Bill. It was also passed in the Senate with 29 in favour, none against and one abstention.

The second legislative stand-off occurred late in the year when Attorney General Faris al-Rawi tabled the Anti Gang Bill in Parliament.

In announcing plans to debate the Bill, the AG quoted figures from the Organised Crime Intelligence Unit (OCIU) which showed there were close to 2,459 suspected gang members across the country. However, the Opposition refused to support the measure and when a vote was taken on December 7, the Bill failed to get the required three-fifths majority.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar blamed the defeat of the Bill on Prime Minister Rowley, claiming it was due to his resistance to their recommendations on a sunset clause. The legislation cannot return to Parliament for six months.

Of emails and Emailgate

Toward the end of the year, a statement by acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams that Emailgate allegations raised years earlier had been found to be of “very little of substance,” led to calls by the Opposition for Rowley’s resignation.

Another controversy that was still brewing at year’s end had to do with a threat of legal action over allegations by Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal. Moonilal read into Hansard an email linking payments of the $80 million involved in the so-called fake oil scandal at Petrotrin involving A&V Drilling to “the spouse of a high-ranking government official.”

As he read the contents of the email with details of a foreign bank account, the AG intervened declaring that Moonilal had made a “direct indictment on the Prime Minister.”

Moonilal reluctantly withdrew the statement.

Prime Minister Rowley has since instructed his attorneys to pursue legal action against persons who had published the “false and malicious” statements made in the Parliament by Moonilal.

Litter wardens need to more visible and on the field to combat illegal dumping which contributed to devastating floods across the country, says Rural Development Minister Kazim Hosein.

Hosein, who is acting as Minister of Works and Transport, has been touring several areas affected by prolonged flooding over the last few days said the illegal dumping of rubbish contributed to the devastation.

Hosein said he would be asking all corporations to ensure litter wardens are more visible.

“I will ask the mayors to use the litter wardens properly. We want to ensure people see them and they need to be more visible and proactive. I want them (litter wardens) go to the schools. They need come out more. They on the back burner,” he said.

He said climate change was another factor for the incessant rainfall this past weekend.

“We need to find a solution to the flooding problem and everyone has to put their heads together to prepare for the rainy season,” he said.

Nadra Nathai-Gyan, chairman of the Environmental Management Authority, said human activity was a factor in the flooding experienced across the country.

Nathai-Gyan said the changing weather patterns were also caused by the climate change effect.

“The flooding is because of the unusual rain and what we are having unexpected. It’s a related the process. The climate change is the unpredictability of the weather and intense rainfall causes flooding because it’s too much at one point of sustained rainfall,” she said.

However, Nathai-Gyan said the dumping of waste in waterways and excavation of hillsides and slopes exacerbates the situation.

“The waterways are clogged when you cut down the hillside. We are our own worse enemy when it comes to disasters,” she said.

Nathai-Gyan said some 10-15 years ago we began losing our coastlines in Cedros, Icacos and Manzanilla.

“The sea is coming in because of climate change. If you go down Icacos it is dramatic where there was former land-we are losing,” she said.

She said citizens need to have a change of behaviour when it came to dumping garbage.

“One of the initiatives of the EMA was the ICARE programme and you have the bins throughout the country for recycling so it would not be dumped into the environment. This an education programme to encourage change in behaviour,” she said.

President of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) Gary Aboud wants the draft Fisheries Management Bill of 2011 to be made a law to help alert fishermen of potential dangers at sea.

Aboud’s comments came after a rough seas bulletin was issued by the Meteorological Office which remained in effect for several days.

The rough seas warning has since been discontinued, according to a senior meteorologist at the Meteorological office.

In an interview yesterday, Aboud said the draft Fisheries Management Bill 2011 was circulated for consultation to fisherfolk and stakeholders and yet the bill was not been laid or passed in Parliament.

“The Government has not done their work to pass legislation to restore safety at sea. The bill has been out for public consultation since 2011 and the document creates infrastructure at sea,” he said.

Aboud said messages or broadcast by the Meteorological offices possibly did not reach various areas.

“They are not are not broadcasted. Matelot may be completely unaware of the rough seas and we asked the government and especially the Fisheries Division that they should contact fisheries representatives in each community,” he said.

He said it only takes seven or eight phone calls and there should be some mechanism to communicate with the fishermen rather than put it on the radio which might not be heard.

“There is no specific mandate for captain’s licences. In other words, any person of any age whether three or 103 can captain any vessel at any place, any time, anyhow, whether drunk, blind or in between. So there is no regulatory regime to ensure safety at sea and to date we estimate 25 per cent (of fishermen) cannot swim and they don’t have life jackets. There is no stipulated regulation but fishermen don’t report their whereabouts at sea or expected time of return from sea,” he said.

Another issue was that there was no regulation regarding potable water capacity for any vessel.

“They (fishermen) must have a capacity to carry water and they go without water and can’t drink salt water,” he said.

Aboud said every year we lose fishermen and life was precious.

STRONG CURRENTS

Meanwhile, Augustus Sylvester president of the lifeguard’s branch said the sea conditions were not bad at the north coast beaches.

Sylvester said he spent time at the beach in Las Cuevas and Maracas Beach and the north coast on Monday and the water conditions were not bad.

“It is the rough water season and the water is not that rough but it has strong current and that could be a hazard to bathers,” he said.

He said the landslide along the North Coast Road prevented people from coming to the beaches.

“They advised unless you living don’t come in this area. There was hardly people there and people turned back,” he said.

Morgua/La Ruffin Fishing Association Peter Glodon said fishermen usually moor the boats a few days before Christmas.

Glodon said that fishermen were able to live off “a little change they put away for this time.”

Matelot King Fishers Association spokesperson Anderson Zoe said the rough seas was a normal occurrence at this time of year.

“The village is solely dependent on that industry and it would result in loss of earnings. We accustomed. What could we do? There is no way to be reimbursed. We have to wait until the sea settles and get our equipment and go again,” he said.

The Tobago business community is warning Government and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) not to repeat the mistakes of 2017 which virtually crippled the island’s economy of Tobago.

The warning came as the Tobago Chamber asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at which they want Finance Minister Colm Imbert in attendance.

Chairman of the Tobago Division of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Demi John Cruickshank said a letter asking for the meeting was sent last Thursday and the Office of the Prime Minister is working on a date and time. The business group has asked for the meeting to be held at a hotel in Tobago, to facilitate all the stakeholders in Tobago.

Cruickshank, who is optimistic the meeting will take place before the end of the week, said the Chamber asked for Imbert to attend the meeting because “we are more comforted by Minister Imbert. When we met with him at the Magdalena Grand about four Wednesdays ago to discuss the loan guarantee programme, he was on the ball. He did not fool us.

“He said listen, I know what the situation the boat crisis will create and if it is not fixed in two months, the economy of Tobago will crumble. He felt the pain of what we going through. That is the first time a senior Cabinet minister said I understand the problem and will try to fix as quickly as possible.”

Imbert is the minister in charge of a four-member team charged with sourcing a passenger ferry for the seabridge.

Cruickshank said the business community in Tobago is not averse to the government inviting private sector participation on the air and seabridge.

“That will lead to greater efficiency,” he said.

Cruickshank said while the Chamber had gone easy on the THA led by Kelvin Charles in 2017 that will change in 2018.

“They have to bring solutions to the table. They must realise that tourism is the lifeblood of this island,” he said.

Cruickshank said the business community had hoped that after a bad financial year that the recent Christmas would have been brighter. Instead, it was one of the worst years in terms of sales, he said.

“It was extremely slow, dead beyond our expectations and only picked up the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas.”

Although there were cruise ships in the Port of Scarborough over the holiday period, that did not help.

“Basically the people did not spend and to compound that the traditional Tobagonians did not spend as expected,” he said.

In addition, the Trinidadian tourist market which Tobago depends on, never took off “because there was chaos on the airport to get flights and the seabridge has its own problems.”

With no sign of a turnaround of the economic fortunes of Tobago, Cruickshank said workers are in danger of losing their jobs.

“I am not sure what will happen to employment levels after January/February. Some of the members saying they cannot hold on to staff and may have to start sending people home if there is no positive step by Government to fix the problem,” he said.

Two young children witnessed the horror of someone they know choking their mother to death at their home at Lime Head Road, Old Southern Main Road, Chaguanas yesterday.

The woman, identified as Arisa Vana David, 25, was the mother of two girls—ages seven and two—was in an abusive relationship for the past seven years, relatives said.

Relatives said the level of abuse intensified over the last two years. The killer, aged 36, from the same area, is now in police custody assisting officers in their investigations.

According to the police, at about 8 am David was found dead in her bed by relatives after one of the children told their grandmother what they had witnessed.

A relative, who lives adjacent to David’s home, was called to the house where he found David’s lifeless body. Police believe the woman was killed around midnight.

David’s death sent shock waves throughout the close-knit community with residents pouring out in the roadway leading to the track near her house, many recounting incidents where David was abused, even on the streets in public.

One neighbour shouted: “Nobody deserves to be killed, not Vana.”Speaking with the T&T Guardian at her home, David’s mother, Debra said she was shocked over the incident but admitted that she warned her daughter to walk out of the abusive relationship many times before.

She said the man who killed her daughter came to her house and asked for her daughter after she was found dead.

“I had tried to call him several times and he never answered. Then suddenly he pulls up in front the house after my daughter was found dead and walking up to the house. I say let me go and talk to him. I asked him if he was home by me last night and he said no. He then asked me for Vana and that’s when I tell him that she dead like a nit in my house.”

“The man did not say a word to me again but he walking up and down the road whole morning, even drink something and just normal, until…well…the police take him and gone,” she said.

Debra said for years she begged her daughter to walk out of the relationship but said that she believed that she was not strong enough to do so.

“Many times she would write on Facebook that she and the man done and then people seeing them hugging up and walking the road. The next thing people seeing the man beating her all over the place.”

“She could not have talked to anyone, the man would feel offended. She got a little job in the parlour right here and he going there and abusing she. He always sticking up on her. Over a year ago, he pelt her with a cellphone and her eye got damaged, she always had to go to the doctor,” she said.

Debra said her daughter would have celebrated her 26th birthday next Friday.

“Nobody knows how my daughter get big so and how I was taking care of her…now the two little children end up without a mother.”

David’s murder is the ninth for the New Year but the first woman to be killed .

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

The Presbyterian Church in T&T plans to establish three food banks and convert one of its buildings into a home for battered women.

These were among plans announced at a press conference in San Fernando yesterday to celebrate the church’s 150th anniversary. Moderator Annabell Lalla-Ramkelawan said they include programmes to deal with social ills, including school violence.

“The theme of our celebration is Looking at the Past, Appreciating the Present and Fulfilling the Mission. We are doing this through our outreach programme. Lots of people are losing their jobs, people are in need of food ,so we are launching the food bank at three locations where people can come and get food items for free. We will also develop a programme to deal with school violence,” Lalla-Ramkelawan said.

She said a building has been identified to house battered women and the church council will meet in late January to discuss the issue.

The church hopes to raise $15 million this year to build an administrative centre in Couva. Construction of the three-storey building at Balmain will begin next month and should be completed by December. Tthe top floor will house an auditorium for 300-400 people, while the mid-level will house the synod as well as all boards and committees of the church. There are also plans to acquire television and radio licence.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, there will be a thanksgiving service on Sunday, a wreath laying ceremony next Monday and a cultural show at the San Fernando City Hall auditorium next Wednesday.

A contractor who was paid for work he did not do in cleaning the Mayaro market was yesterday ordered to repay the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation more than $870,000.

In entering judgment against Heralal Rampadarth, who never filed a defence in the claim, Justice Frank Seepersad also ordered the contractor to pay the corporation’s legal cost.

Delivering a written judgment in the San Fernando Civil Court, Seepersad said the evidence adduced before the court outlined that the defendant failed to discharge his contractual obligations and failed to perform the required washing, sanitising and cleaning of the designated M2 area (Mayaro market) and as a consequence was overpaid.

Seepersad said, “Given the current economic climate, such a circumstance is simply untenable and the court must jealously guard and protect the public’s interest. The culture of lawlessness, corruption and the misguided views of entitlement that prevail in this society, cannot be condoned.

“Citizens must understand that unjustified and unmeritorious claims against the State will not be upheld and just remuneration must be contingent upon performance and goal oriented task completion.”

The judge further said the court cannot condone the exploitation of the treasury and all claims on the public purse must be carefully reviewed.

Rampadarth was awarded the three-year contract in February 2013 for cleaning services for the Mayaro Market by the T&T Solid Waste Management Company Ltd. He was paid by the Corporation $2,304, 640.25.

However, after the Corporation officials found out the contractor had breached the contract by not washing, sanitising or removing refuse from the market, a meeting was held with the contractor.

It was agreed, however, that payments to the contractor will continue, but any monies paid in excess of the quantum of the works done will be repaid to the Corporation. However, the contractor did not honour this agreement.

The Corporation had to pay an additional $879, 307.18 to do the work which the contractor failed to do. Declaring that the contractor has been unjustly enriched, the judge ordered the contractor to repay the $879,307.18 and interest to the Corporation. He also ordered the contractor to pay $50,598.69 in costs.

Attorneys Cheika Anthony and Andre Sinanan represented the corporation’s interest. There was no representative on behalf of the contractor in court.

Legislation approving an array of new taxes announced in the last Budget has been approved and became effective in the New Year.

A statement from the Ministry of Finance announced that 35 per cent corporation tax on commercial banks, $20 environmental tax to help dispose of used tyres and the imposition of taxes on hybrid and CNG vehicles with engine sizes above 1799 cc, went into effect from January 1.

However, the implementation of the 10 per cent tax on lottery winnings had not been finalised says Minister in the Ministry of Finance Allyson West.

She said measures are being put in place for the imposition of the property tax which had been put on hold before the court.

In a release issued by the Ministry of Finance yesterday, it stated that the taxes had been assented to on December 19.

The environmental tax, West said will focus on importers who are charged $20 for each tyre brought into the country.

“That will be collected by Customs and Excise upon entry. We should see an immediate impact on this tax. That should be an easy one to ensure compliance and monitoring.”

With respect to the 35 per cent corporation tax imposed on banks and other companies from January 1, West said the Board of Inland Revenue would not see an impact until the end of March.

As to when the lottery winnings tax will go effect, West said this was still hanging in the balance.

This tax will only apply to winnings over $1,000.

“That has been deferred because there was recognition that the NLCB had to put some systems in place for the collection of that. The introduction of that has been deferred. We have not finalised a deadline as yet,” West said.

In addition to these measures, West said the ministry will be pursuing the property tax.

“We are waiting for the decision of the court on the property tax matter. In the meanwhile, we are putting things in place so as soon as the court matter is determined we can move ahead to get this tax implemented in 2018.”

West said these taxes will give the Government the kind of revenue it needs to get us safely through 2018.

Three people were wounding in a drive-by shooting near the Tunapuna Market last night.

According to preliminary reports, around 7 pm, three men were standing along the Eastern Main Road in front of the market when a car pull alongside them.

One of the occupants of the car fired several shots at the men before the driver sped off.

One man was shot in his hand, one in his leg and the other was grazed near his mouth by a bullet. They were taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope where they were receiving treatment, up to late yesterday.

The shooting took place a relatively short distance from the Tunapuna Police Station.

The suspects had not been arrested by police up to press time.

The murder of a Trinidadian was recorded as the last murder in St Lucia for 2017.

On December 31, Richie Ramdass, 24, of Preysal was found shot dead minutes after the bullet-riddled body of a Venezuelan national was found in a rental vehicle.There were 60 murders on the island last year.

According to a police report in St Lucia, at about 10 pm, police officers of the Southern Criminal Investigations Department received a report of a possible homicide occurring along the St Jude’s Highway at Cantonment, Vieux Fort. Police found the body of Venezuelan national Vincente Jose Mendoza Pacheco, 26. He was shot several times.

An undisclosed amount of US currency and a firearm were also recovered and seized.

The body of Ramdass was found nearby.

He was also shot several times. Investigating officers believe that the double murder was drug-related.

Contacted yesterday, one of Ramdass’ relatives said that he was self-employed and “worked hard for his money.” The relative described Ramdass as a “fun-loving and outdoor person, who knew everyone from all parts of Trinidad.”

Arrangements are being made to have Ramdass’ body returned to Trinidad for burial.

A 32-year-old employee at the Port Authority of T&T was yesterday charged with 14 offences of fraud amounting to over $200,000.He is expected to appear before a Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court today.According to a police report, during the period December 29, 2017, to January 3, members of the Fraud Squad conducted exercises and later arrested the man of Fitt Street, Montrose, Chaguanas.

He is employed as a clerical assistant.It is alleged that he collected $209,300 from a used-car dealer, pretending that he was in a position to supply new and foreign-used motor vehicles from the Port Authority, via auction.

The man was charged with nine offences of money laundering; two charges of forgery; two charges of uttering fraudulent documents and one offence of larceny by trick.

The investigation was led by Ag. Snr Supt Totaram Dookhie, Ag Insp Dipchand, Ag Insp Mathura, Cpl Kissoon, Cpl Bassarath and W/Ag/Cpl Joseph-Francis.

The charges were laid by PC Stephen Woodroffe.

Chief Justice Ivor Archie is said to have been locked behind closed doors for much of yesterday in meetings with a team of attorneys as investigations by the Committee sent up by the Law Association to investigate allegations against him continue.

The T&T Guardian understands that the CJ met with a team of attorneys including Ian Roach and Ian Benjamin yesterday, but efforts to contact CJ Archie proved futile.

Calls to his cellphone went unanswered and there was no response to questions emailed to the Court and Protocol Officer Alicia Carter-Fisher.

Archie returned to the country on Boxing Day after being out of the country for several days on personal business.

In his absence, the committee investigating allegations against him submitted an interim report, but President of the Law Association Douglas Mendes told the T&T Guardian that the Committee will not be rushed in the work which it is doing.

The Committee, he said, will write to the CJ to get his response to the allegations in the public domain.

These include that he sought the assistance of HDC officials for a number of persons, an allegation which he has admitted to and which retired Chief Justice Michael De La Bastide described as an “error of judgement” on his part.

The CJ is also accused of holding discussions with someone who is not a judge about personal security for judges, a charge which he has denied.

Yesterday reports circulated on social media that Dillian Johnson the man who has been making public allegations against the Chief Justice had fled to the United Kingdom seeking political asylum.

Johnson who was shot outside his Gasparillo home more than a month ago has alleged that a high-ranking official and a special forces agent were involved in a plot to kill him.

Johnson is said to be upset with the pace of the police investigation.

In a December 15, press release Archie said there had been a discussion in the public domain about an attack on Johnson and he expects “the relevant authorities will urgently conduct a necessary and thorough investigation into this incident.”

The Police Service has said that allegations made by Johnson are being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Asked if he was aware of reports that Johnson had gone to the UK seeking political asylum Attorney General Faris Al Rawi told the T&T Guardian “I am not aware nor have I received any official contact on it at all.”

ABOUT POLITICAL ASYLUM

The UK website offers a detailed explanation as to how one can seek political asylum.

It states that “as a general rule, asylum seekers may apply for asylum only after entering the UK. Asylum applicants who meet the application criteria receive refugee status. Applicants who do not receive refugee status may still be granted leave to remain in the UK for humanitarian or other reasons if there is a real risk that they would suffer serious harm after returning to their country of origin.”

Applicants for asylum are fingerprinted and their information checked against databases to help prevent those with a known criminal background from entering the UK

The data is also cross-referenced against the Immigration Asylum Fingerprint system to ensure there are no duplicate applications.

In addition, the fingerprints are checked against the Eurodac database to ascertain whether the applicants have an outstanding application with another member state of the European Union. These procedures also help identify fraudulent visa applications.

Refugee status and humanitarian protection provide the individual with permission to reside in the UK for an initial period of five years, with the right to work and access welfare benefits.

Concerned by an apparent waning of public interest in allegations against embattled Chief Justice Ivor Archie, one of the country’s most senior lawyers has taken a novel approach to keeping the issue alive.

Outspoken Senior Counsel Israel Khan yesterday stuck two cardboard placards on the balcony of his office, located to the west of the Hall of Justice with slogans directed at Archie.

Khan, who has been a lawyer for over 38 years, claimed that the failure of Archie to respond to the allegations made against him had scandalised the Judiciary.

“This is the worst it has been in the entire Commonwealth,” Khan said. He stated that Archie was entitled to a presumption of innocence but the allegations had to be investigated by the police.

He also expressed disappointment at the pace of the Law Association’s response to the issue.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has agreed to a request from the Tobago Division of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for a meeting.

The Office of the Prime Minister says the meeting will be held on January 22nd.

Rowley is also expected to meet on January 23 with officials of the Tobago House of Assembly to discuss Tobago’s development agenda for 2018 and beyond.

The Tobago Chamber wrote to the Prime Minister last Thursday requesting the meeting to discuss the air and seabridge issues which plagued Tobago for much of 2017.

Tourist arrivals in Tobago have seen a significant decline in the past year because of issues in getting to and from the island.

Chairman of the Tobago Chamber Demi John Cruickshank told the T&T Guardian on Tuesday that “the private sector has always held out an olive branch to say we want to work with the Government.”

He said the situation in Tobago in 2017 was bad “businesses have not paid loans for three months and after three months the banks can call in those loans.

We have had a horrible year in terms of business on the island.”

He put the blame squarely at the doors of the Port Authority and those in Trinidad who were in a position to fix it.

He said the Chamber is not issuing any warning to the government but the Chamber “was very happy that the Prime Minister responded to our letter and we are looking forward to the Prime Minister and his team working along with the private sector to fix the economy of Tobago.”

The Chamber has also requested that Finance Minister Colm Imbert attend the meeting. Imbert is the chairman of the inter-ministerial team mandated to find a passenger ferry for the sea bridge.

President of the Inter-Island Truckers Association Horace Amede said he is looking forward to the discussions and is going with “an open mind.”

He said “my take on the issue right now is that the private sector in Tobago should get involved in looking for a vessel to run the route between Trinidad and Tobago. But they need approval from the government because they will have to pay the subsidy.”

But he said he awaits the proposals of the government to deal with the seabridge issue.

The board of Petrotrin has handed in a status report to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on the planned restructuring of the cash-strapped energy company.

A decision has not yet been made on what form that restructuring will take but Rowley is expected give some details when he addresses the nation on Sunday evening.

The board’s report was handed over during a meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister which was attended by Energy Minister Franklin Khan, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Allyson West, Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte and Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis. Discussions focused on options available for restructuring the wholly state-owned company.

Since being installed last September, the Petrotrin board, which is chaired by businessman Wilfred Espinet, has been considering a report from the Petrotrin Review Committee chaired by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy Selwyn Lashley.

That committee was set up last March 2017 after Cabinet decided to assess the operations of the company in light of falling revenues, allegations of mismanagement and decreasing oil prices. The report identified challenges, risks and shortcomings and recommended the establishment of three operationally independent business units within the company: Trinmar, Land Exploration, Production Refining and Marketing.

Petrotrin’s operations were affected by a dramatic slump in crude oil prices, combined with an ongoing decline in refinery margins and declining local oil production. Its revenues fell by more than 50 per cent, from $37 billion in 2012 to $16 billion in 2016.

The company—a net earner of foreign exchange—an important contributor to tax revenues and a guarantor of the country’s energy security, has more than 5,000 employees and an annual wage bill of $1.9 billion, which is close to 50 per cent of its annual operating costs.

Last September, Rowley announced plans to begin converting the company “in the shortest possible time from being a ward of the State to a company that not only conducts a stable business but conducts business as profitable and will continue to contribute profits to other benefits of national improvement.”

Petrotrin has a US$850 million debt due in 2019.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the United National Congress (UNC) is ready to work with the Government on the selection of the country’s next President, but the party wants to ensure the candidate “will not be just a puppet and a mouthpiece to be run by the puppet master from the Government and the executive.”

Speaking after a meeting of the Opposition caucus at the conference room of the Debe Waterpark on Wednesday, Persad-Bissessar said the person elected to the presidency should “be able to adhere to the Constitution and the law without the excesses that could come from an over-zealous executive and the government” and must be able to “operate in an independent manner as demanded by the Constitution.”

While everyone wants a name of a nominee, that’s not the approach the UNC intends to take, she said.

A team from the Opposition will meet with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and a government team at 10 am today to discuss the nominees.

Persad-Bissessar said they plan to approach those talks with “an open mind, prepared to listen to the Government proposals and to offer whatever assistance we can.”

She said the Opposition is looking forward to serious discussions, especially in light of the situation in the country “where we are seeing institutions imploding.”

“It is very important that we have these discussions so that we have a person who could be elected by the Electoral College who will be able to act in a manner that the President is to act and that is to say not to be a puppet of the executive,” she said.

The UNC leader said she is fearful, based on information from sources, that Government already has a person in mind.

Persad-Bissessar said: “The stories coming to us now is to place a President in office who will remove all existing independents and in fact place again stooges or puppets of the ruling party. These are things we want to guard against.”

But she said she will go to the talks “with an open mind that these are just rumours and we will be able to come to some kind of consensus with the Government.”

Persad-Bissessar said the independence of the person selected is very important, given the role of the President.

“Remember that the President appoints not just independent senators but also judges, a very crucial role for the separation of powers. We cannot have where the executive, the judiciary and the Office of the President are all in collusion.”

It was smooth sailing as passengers boarded the T&T Express on time at the Port of Port-of-Spain without any glitches yesterday.

On Wednesday, the Port Authority apologised for the non-sailing of the vessel which had developed electrical problems upon its arrival into Scarborough.

This prevented its timely berthing.

The Port Authority said that repair works have since been completed, adding that the T&T Express resumed its inter-island run from Tobago at 8.30 am and and from Port-of-Spain at 2 pm.

It said the normal schedule was expected to resume today (Friday) from Tobago at 6.30 am and from Port-of-Spain at 2pm.

The Port Authority said cargo vessel, the MV Cabo Star would maintain its daily schedule from Port-of-Spain at 2 pm and from Tobago at 11 pm.

Terminal Manager at the port of Port-of-Spain Ramesh Sankar said passengers who were left stranded on Wednesday were allowed to board the T&T Express yesterday.

There were no long lines at the ferry terminal as the passengers boarded on time and vehicles were also seen being driven onto the vessel shortly after it berthed.

“Everything is running smoothly. We have not had any problems and we do not expect any. The vessel came at the port at 1.30 today (yesterday) and there was no delay in passengers being allowed to board.

“We had no long lines of people wanting to get on board. Even the people who could not get on board on Wednesday we accommodated them. Everything is back on track...we have had no problems,” Sankar added.

One passenger said he was relieved that he could finally get to Tobago as his family members were expecting him since Wednesday.

He echoed similar sentiments of other passengers who said better and more permanent measures were needed to address the sea bridge woes.