Former under-19 cricketer Michael Powell who lost half of his right foot to cancer is pleading with the public to donate A positive blood to help him walk again.

Powell, 28, needs six pints of the rare blood type to undergo an emergency surgery at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex as the Blood Bank is currently out of stock.

Up to two months ago, Powell, who played cricket with several clubs, including Wanderers, Merry Boys and Harvard, was gainfully employed as a paint technician, interior designer and gypsum installer.

So ambitious was Powell he started his own business where he retained a crew to assist him in his trade.

Now he is begging for handouts to eke out a living.

Powell said his life started to go downhill two months ago when he noticed a small bladder developing on the right side of his right foot.

He did not pay much attention to the bladder.

It was only after he started developing a fever and observed another bladder appearing on his foot, Powell visited the St Joseph Health Centre for medical attention, but he was referred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where tests showed he had basal cell skin cancer.

Within hours of the discovery, the doctors operated on his leg where they amputated the front part of his right foot.

“They removed my toes and piece of my foot. I was left with the heel and a piece of the instep which is just a stump.”

Thinking the worse was over, Powell said his leg became infected in July and doctors had to perform another surgery under the heel and instep.

“While in surgery the doctors ruptured two vessels where I began to bleed profusely. So they tied up the vessels and wrapped up the operation.”

The doctors told Powell that he would need an emergency surgery which requires six pints of A positive blood.

“From what I was told this blood is a rare blood type which the Blood Bank does not have in stock.”

Powell said he never knew his father while his mother lives in Florida. “I have no siblings. The few family members I approached did not seem interested in donating any blood. So I am turning to the public, especially those with this blood type to come forward and donate so I can walk again. The doctors told me if this operation is not done quickly I will not be able to walk again,” he said.

With his bandaged foot, Powell walks around with the aid of crotches.

“The wound is very painful. I have to fight the pain and go out and get.”

Up to May, Powell said he had everything going for him.

“I had a good job and I played under-19 cricket for several clubs. I served my country with pride and passion. Now I am begging for handouts to survive because I have nothing. This has not been easy for me. To me, this has been a hard blow. I still can’t come to terms with reality.”

The little money Powell had stashed away for a rainy day has been spent on maintaining himself and buying a honey-based cream to treat his foot.

“Though the hospital has been providing me with medication they don’t have this cream which I buy at $195 a tube.”

Powell uses three tubes of the cream a week. “Since I became sick I have exhausted my bank account. I am penny less.”

Now hard-pressed for cash, Powell owes his landlord $2,400 for his Barataria apartment.

“I have to say thank God I have an understanding landlord who sometimes would give me a little change when things are hard on my end.”

In a bid to help himself, Powell who is not a beneficiary of social welfare would hobble around on his crotches in San Juan to beg for assistance and blood.

“I only started doing this in desperation a few days ago.”

On a good day he would take home $120.

“My mother would also assist by sending US$60 for me. But these last few weeks I have not received anything as things on her end is difficult as well. It has really been hard. I try not to give up.”

In his quiet moments, Powell said he would ask God to deliver him from the obstacle he is facing.

“I took life for granted. I thought sickness would have never come my way at such an early age...that this only happens when you get old. But God has proven me wrong. This has drawn me closer to the Almighty because I realise that one day you are up and the next day a simple illness or disease can thrown you down and change your life in the blink of an eye. I am testament of that.”

The country does not need a Rambo as a Commissioner of Police (COP) says Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) leader David Abdulah who warned COP designate Gary Griffith of impending failure if he does not change his approach.

“This long time badjohn approach is not going to solve crime and is simply going to exasperate the lack of trust and confidence between communities and the TTPS which will weaken the police’s capacity to deal with crime,” warned Abdulah.

Speaking at a press conference at MSJ’s San Fernando’s headquarters yesterday, he alluded to statements by Griffith about crushing criminals like cockroaches and that criminals should fear Gary.

“These statements are quite apart from being unnecessary, inappropriate and perhaps indicate a state of his thinking which will not bode well for his tenure as Commissioner of Police.”

He said Griffith must understand that it is not a political position and he cannot “run his mouth” how he wants too.

He added, “This is not about Gary Griffith the individual, this is not about having Rambo as Commissioner of Police, this is about having someone who can work with the police officers provide serious leadership and management of the TTPS, including matters of discipline.”

However, he said as Commissioner, Griffith will have to first seek to get the confidence of the officers and the people. “He needs to be far more humble and recognise that it is only a person who listens and work with people that is a good leader. Persons who come in like in a bull in a China shop thinking they have all the answers and can do everything to deal with crime are bound to fail.”

He recalled that under Griffith’s tenure as National Security Minister in 2014, MSJ had linked the frequent police killings to statements by Griffith “almost giving them (police) a license to kill” and that had created a tremendous amount of discontent in many communities and impacted negatively on the trust between communities and the TTPS.

“It is the worse experience of my life to see your child dying in your hand,” sobbed Roopchand Moonisar as he recalled how gunmen shot up their car, killing his daughter and injuring him.

Moonisar, who was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, had no idea why they were attacked, but police believe it was a hit on his daughter Mariana Moonisar, 29, an administrative clerk in Parliament.

The killers failed at their first attempt to kill her on Friday morning when she was heading to work in her car, but came back in the evening when she was returning home.

Moonisar said he usually dropped her to Couva on mornings to take the bus to work and after work he would pick her up in Chaguanas.

According to a police report, around 5.15 pm two men emerged from the bushes near the Esperanza Junction, Couva and opened fire on the car.

Moonisar was shot in the head while her father was shot in the neck. Police recovered about eight spent shells. Recalling on ordeal at his Esperanza Village home, Moonisar, 56, employed at the Couva/Talparo/Regional Corporation, said after they left home around 5 am they heard about three gunshots, but he thought someone was shooting at a dog which ran in front of their car.

He said after he picked her up they stopped at KFC Point Lisas branch before heading home. He said, “Just as we reach the junction by Esperanza I saw two persons stand up by a pole. I never saw them in my life. The car slowed down and we were going to approach them. All I hear was gunshots. When I watch my daughter was shot in her head. She fell back on the seat. I didn’t even know I got shot. At that time I tried to save my daughter. I was thinking I could still save her. When she got shot the car was slowing down and the shots were still firing. I took my hand and went down to the accelerator and I mashed the accelerator and hold the steering. After we reached a certain point I raised up and I see we were close to a river. I slammed the gear lever down and looked for the brakes and I mashed it and the car stop.”

He said he stood on the road bawling for help, but people were passing straight.” Eventually, he said, a man he knows stopped and helped them.

He said, “Dad” was the last word uttered by his daughter.

The villager took them to the hospital in his AD wagon. “I opened the door and took her in my hand and I lifted her and took her to his car trunk in the AD wagon. I lie down inside with her on my hand. She was bleeding terrible. I watched her and I begged her, ‘Don’t die on daddy hand at all.’ He said they were transferred from Couva Hospital to the San Fernando General Hospital where his daughter died around 8.40 pm.

He underwent surgery to remove a bullet from his neck. He said his daughter never went to parties, drank alcohol or smoked cigarettes.

The father said she had boyfriend in her life, a police officer, but they broke up last year. Moonisar said about two and a half months ago his daughter went to the police station because her ex-boyfriend had called her and said he had something to drop for her.

Moonisar said he shared a very close bond with his daughter and she would have confided in him if she had been threatened or harassed.

Former health minister Tim Gopeesingh is calling on the Government to do more to provide employment for unemployed doctors and nurses.

The UNC MP for Caroni East said there were “hundreds” of graduating doctors unable to find employment.

“There is despair, hopelessness and exploitation they are undergoing at the moment. Investigative reports show that 680 qualified, young doctors have been facing unemployment and under-employment since graduating from UWI School of Medicine. Because they cannot find employment in T&T, they are trying to find employment in England, the United States, Canada and Australia. Despite hundreds of millions spent on them as taxpayers money.”

Guardian Media highlighted the plight of graduating doctors who cannot find jobs in the public health sector and were seeking employment overseas in its July 22 issue.

Gopeesingh spoke about the issue at a media conference hosted by the UNC at the Leader of the Opposition Office, Charles Street, Port-of-Spain on Sunday.

He accused the Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh of “absolving” himself from the responsibility of mass unemployment of medical personnel in the country.

Gopeesingh claimed there are “hundreds” of vacancies in the regional health authorities and asked why the Government is not doing more to help young doctors to find employment.

“From research we have done, more than 1,840 non-nationals are registered with the Medical Board of T&T and are employed in T&T.”

He thanked foreign doctors for providing their services to T&T in the past but added that it is “sad” that there are so many foreign medical professional practising locally and yet many locals are unemployed. Deyalsingh, in a previous statement, said the foreign medical personnel were hired because of a shortage of skilled specialised staff.

Gopeesingh said in five years there will be a deficiency in health specialists because of a brain drain of local doctors.

Dr Lackram Bodoe, MP, Fyzabad, who also spoke, said the 230-bed Children’s Hospital in Couva remains closed despite the deterioration in the country’s healthcare.

He said every day he is “bombarded” with phone calls about the inadequacies of the San Fernando Hospital.

Chairman of the UNC David Lee offered condolences to the family and friends of murdered parliamentary clerk Mariana Moonisar.

“She played a pivotal part in the lives of all MPs within the Parliament business. It clearly shows that crime is at our doorstep. This is a beautiful young woman who worked with us,” he said.

“I’m always up for challenges.”

That’s the position of an unperturbed former national security minister Edmund Dillon who moves into his new job at the Housing Ministry today.

Dillon and others affected by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s latest set of Cabinet changes commented yesterday on the development.

The Prime Minister’s Office Facebook page posted the Cabinet changes around midnight. A media statement was issued at 12.22 am yesterday. Changes have been made each year since the People’s National Movement (PNM) assumed office, particularly after La Horquetta/Talparo MP Maxie Cuffie’s stroke last year, and regularly this year.

The main change in the latest reshuffle shifted Dillon from the embattled National Security portfolio to Housing. Dillon was replaced in National Security by Communication Minister Stuart Young.

Dillon, who held National Security since Government assumed office in 2015, was informed of the shift on Sunday. Yesterday, he didn’t respond to questions on whether his performance in Security—and criticism of that—caused the shift.

Instead, Dillon said, “I’m always up for challenges. In my entire career, I’ve embraced challenges and risen to changes. In whatever post I’m placed I’ll do my utmost best.

“I thank the Prime Minister for allowing me to serve as National Security Minister and look forward to continuing service in Housing, a frontline ministry for decades, and assisting citizens’ needs.”

Cuffie, the former Minister in Public Administration who recently returned from medical attention in the US, was also shifted further “down” to Parliamentary Secretary in that ministry. A PS carries a lower salary than a minister or a minister in a ministry, Government officials said.

Contacted on his switch yesterday, Cuffie said, “I’m fine with the appointment and thank the Prime Minister for his continued faith in me. I return to work September 3.”

Dillon/Gary can’t work?

—Moonilal

Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday questioned the midnight reshuffle of the Cabinet.

“Nothing prepared T&T for this. Is it a reaction to Gary Griffith’s appointment as Police Commissioner—did Dillon say he can’t work with him? Or was it caused by the Opposition’s recent no-confidence motion in Dillon, up for debate again in September?” Moonilal asked in a telephone interview.

“Dillon hasn’t answered satisfactorily on his New York housing matter, now that he is appointed Housing Minister—the fifth in less than three years. At this rate, Government’s as stable as Jello. Kamla Persad-Bissessar did calculate reshuffles annually. Rowley reshuffling every three months.”

He added: “T&T’s in for a shaky ride with a new Police Commissioner and National Security Minister lacking practical law enforcement/policing experience. What wrong has Glenda Jennings-Smith done, that, after being in Security for three years, she couldn’t be elevated to Cabinet?

“Also, why did the PM inform the President that Marlene McDonald’s resumed duties? Did they cut her salary? The President isn’t a doctor, she only handles appointing or removing.”

UNC MP Rodney Charles pointed out that Young was appointed “like a thief in the night” and questioned whether he had the experience to handle such an important portfolio.

“On what basis has the Prime Minister appointed a relatively inexperienced ‘OJT’ (On the Job Trainee) to provide strategic policy guidance, leadership and management expertise to National Security Ministry’s 20,000 public servants?

“Young lacks known experience in Security and managing multi-faceted bureaucracy. Where will he find time to address three portfolios? Are his Communications and Security portfolios essentially one ministry about old talk? His only qualifications are that he’s a talker in Parliament, a ‘smooth talker.’ For that, he may be suited to Communications to hoodwink the population into believing crime’s down.”

Stuart bad choice—Jack

Former national security minister Jack Warner also felt the PM’s replacement for Dillon did not make sense given the current crime woes.

“If Dillon was bad as minister, the solution the Prime Minister resorted to is worse. Young’s wet behind the ears—no experience in anything. He’s being made minister of everything for reasons best known to the PM.

“National Security requires full attention, yet he’s holding two other portfolios. Dillon and Police Commissioner Gary Griffith both served in the army, so synergies could have developed between them. After national hopes were built up with Gary’s appointment, the PM dashed them this week with Young’s appointment.”

PM wanted change—Dumas

Former public service head Reginald Dumas believes a previous issue between fired National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and incoming Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith may have led Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to remove Dillon from the post.

“It’s possible there’s some difficulty stemming from Dillon and Griffith’s prior work in the army together; it may be Dillon feels he can’t work with him. Since Griffith became Commissioner-designate there’s been criticisms of the way law enforcement was done.

“Whether or not there’s personal difficulty between them, the Prime Minister might have felt the anti-crime fight was going the wrong way under Dillon and it was best to make changes,” Dumas told the T&T Guardian.

On another issue, Dumas said he was also offended by Griffith’s recent reuse of the term “cockroaches” to describe criminals, “especially when one considers the implications of the term.”

“Young, like Griffith, has no direct operational law enforcement experience. I heard Maxie Cuffie speak on television, obviously, he can’t function in his previous capacity so he’ll have light duties now,” Dumas said of the changes. • See stories on page A5

A single mother who kept a man’s marijuana stash at her home in order to obtain extra money to buy school supplies for her three children has been jailed for 12 months.

Sunita Singh, 34, broke down in tears as she was being escorted from the San Fernando Magistrates Court.

Singh, who has a previous conviction for a similar offence, pleaded guilty to possession of 230 grammes of marijuana.

Prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said around 3 pm on Sunday, WPC Marshall, accompanied by other officers of the Gasparillo Police Station, executed a search warrant at Singh’s Gopaul Avenue, Gasparillo home.

Marshall found 13 foil packets of marijuana under a wooden kitchen cupboard and a quantity of marijuana wrapped in transparent wrapping. The officer also found 200 empty blue plastic packs and a box containing 1,000 white wrapping sheets.

The police claimed Singh told them that she had given the rest of marijuana to a man to sell last Friday, but Singh claimed she only told the police that she got the illegal drugs from the man.

In asking for leniency, Singh’s attorney Annalee Girwar said her client did janitorial and domestic work but her income could not cover the cost of school books and supplies for her children, who are aged 14, 11 and six years old.

With the school term opening fast approaching, Girwar said Singh felt a sense of hopelessness and decided to keep the drugs for the man in exchange for money. She said a church gave her a few hundred dollars but it barely scratched the surface.

Considering the quantum of drugs and the other items found, First Court Magistrate Alicia Chankar said it was clear that the drugs were packaged to sell. “Why would you leave that around your children?” asked the magistrate. Singh apologised and promised never again to find her self in such a situation again.

The magistrate asked her if she did not learn anything from the previous time she was charged. Singh said the last time she was charged for drugs which belonged to her male companion.

“We are very aware of how hard times are,” said Chankar, who empathised with her situation. However, the magistrate said, “I am not going to sit here and condone this.” She noted that Singh had a previous conviction and like the first time was again claiming that the drugs belonged to someone else. The magistrate ordered her to serve simple imprisonment. Singh’s relatives also left the courtroom in tears.

Assistant Commissioner of the T&T Municipal Police Service Brian Headley yesterday said he intends to take all concerns affecting municipal officers to Gary Griffith when he assumes office as Commissioner of Police, as well as newly-appointed National Security Minister Start Young.

Headley said there was a lot of room for improvement in the unit.

He was speaking at a promotion ceremony for 45 municipal police officers of the Arima, Point Fortin, Port-of-Spain and San Fernando corporations at City Hall, Port-of-Spain, where they received their letters of appointments.

Questioned by the media if municipal police officers are given enough resources to carry out its mandate effectively, Headley said no.

“We have some issues as it relates to resources. We have a lot of issues as it relates to how the whole municipal police is managed. We are trying to work around that.”

He felt that increasing the strength of the municipal police will give them the edge on the war on crime and also foster a better relationship with communities.

Headley said he intends to raise those concerns with Griffith and Young even though the municipal police falls under the purview of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government.

He praised former national security minister Edmund Dillon, who was shifted to the Housing Ministry on Sunday.

“I think Dillon did all that he was called upon to do. We thank him for his service. We wish him all the best in his new posting.” Headley said they are willing to work with Young in taking on the criminal elements.

Addressing the officers, some of whom were promoted to the rank of superintendents, Headley told the officers that they are now tasked with a greater responsibility.

“Your demeanour, responsibility and way of thinking have to change,” he advised them.

From today, Headley said training will begin for 200 of 894 municipal police officers.

Chairman of the Statutory Authorities Service Commission Christopher Thomas admitted that the delay in the officers’ promotion was “due to circumstances out of your control and that of the commission.”

Thomas told the officers that their new positions require them to supervise, lead the work of other municipal police officers and enforce the State’s laws and regulations in safeguarding life, property and country.

Stating the T&T was grappling with lawless behaviour of such a magnitude that the county had never experienced before, Thomas said the Government has focused municipal police as a supplementary crime-fighting tool. He said it was imperative that the officers exercise leadership behaviours and attitudes in communities.

“Do not tarnish what you have accomplished by losing sight of who you are when you don your uniform,” Thomas said.

Former managing director at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and deputy political leader of the UNC Jearlean John believes Edmund Dillon has the task of actually kick-starting work at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

John says for three years that ministry has been under-performing.

It was previously been assigned to Marlene McDonald, Randall Mitchell and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

“Prior to September 2015, HDC, staffed by public servants, was handing out 100 keys to homeowners per week but after three years they have not built one single house and now these agencies have become like Lapeyrouse Cemetery.”

The agencies John referred to are the HDC and the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (UDeCOTT). John says they are vital to stimulating the country and the economy and, in her opinion, are now in a state of dormancy.

John wished Dillon all the best and said it is too soon to judge him but she was very critical of Dillon’s predecessors.

“I can speak for the three who have gone before, they have been totally unproductive, not one house for the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” John said in an interview with Guardian Media.

To break this so-called cycle of non-performance, John is suggesting that the minister remove some senior office holders at the HDC and UDeCOTT.

She said it seems as if Dr Rowley has a ‘pick-a-pan’ method of reshuffling his Cabinet and she cannot say why Dillon was moved to the Housing Ministry.

But the same people, John believes, the incoming minister should remove, are the same personnel that the founder of the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) Emile Elias believes will help guide Dillon through the transition.

Elias told Guardian Media that he is happy that the Government has appointed a full-time minister to that portfolio. Elias believes there are key people at the ministry who will make up for the Minister’s lack of experience.

Elias is hoping that the new minister will seek to address the situation where monies are owed to contractors. In September 2017, during the Government’s national pre-budget forum Spotlight on the Economy, contractors said that the Government owed them an estimated $4.5 billion. As such, Prime Minister Rowley invited the JCC to submit documentation to support the claim.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister, several months after they received the request from the Government, the JCC was able to submit documentation to substantiate claims totalling $676 million. Elias said while the other sums are being investigated, the Government should settle the bills which have been verified. He also wants Dillon to push for the full implementation of procurement legislation.

Counselling was provided yesterday for Parliament staff who were co-workers of Mariana Moonisar, the woman killed by gunmen in Couva on Friday.

A co-worker said the scene at the Parliament building yesterday was one of tears, grief and sadness as workers huddled together to talk about Moonisar’s tragic passing.

On Friday, Moonisar’s killers failed at their first attempt to kill her as she was heading to work in her car, but came back in the evening and opened fire at Esperanza Junction, Couva, on a car her father Roopchand Moonisar was driving.

The senior Moonisar, who was shot in the neck, was treated and discharged from hospital on Saturday.

Moonisar, 29, worked in Parliament’s Human Resource Department. One of her colleagues, who requested anonymity, said news of her untimely death was the last thing they were expecting.

“Mariana was one of the nicest people we knew. She got along well with everyone in Parliament,” the worker said, adding that counselling was provided to help Moonisar’s co-workers cope with their grief and pain.

“Some employees spoke to the counsellors, while others grieved in silence as they tried to perform their duties,” the employee said.

Another employee described Moonisar as a dedicated and hard worker with a trademark smile and pleasant, bubbly personality.

“This is what we will miss most about her. Whenever you saw her she would be smiling. Hearing what happened was unbelievable ... it left many of us numb and speechless.

“Every day we read and hear about people being killed by criminals but we never expected it to hit closer to work,” the employee said.

Although he received his letter of appointment as Commissioner of Police (CoP) last Friday from the Police Service Commission (PSC), Gary Griffith is yet to pick up official duties as top cop.

In a press release issued yesterday, the PSC announced Griffith as the new CoP of the T&T Police Service (TTPS) who will be responsible for directing all strategic activities of the service to promote and achieve higher levels of safety and security for the nation.

The PSC said the appointment of Griffith was in keeping with its mandate to appoint a person/people to hold or act in the Office of Commissioner or deputy CoP.

Griffith received his letter of appointment from PSC’s chairman Bliss Seepersad.

It also noted that finalisation of the terms and conditions of Griffith’s contract resided with the National Security Ministry.

In response to a WhatsApp message yesterday, Griffith, who is out of the country, confirmed that he had not taken up office as CoP just yet.

“Sorry. I am still not in office even though the appointment has been given. Awaiting this by the Ministry of National Security. Until then, there is an acting CoP who sits in the chair so it would not be appropriate of me to discuss such matters.”

There was no response to questions forwarded to Griffith as to when he is expected to take up duties as CoP and hammer out his contractual agreement with the ministry.

In a telephone interview with the Guardian Media, Griffith said his thoughts were irrelevant when asked about Stuart Young’s appointment as National Security Minister.

“That is a Government policy and the role and function of the Commissioner of Police is to work with whoever is appointed as Minister of National Security and I will do so,” he said.

Stating that the TTPS falls under Young’s ministry, Griffith said he intends to operate as a professional, serve with pride and adhered to the policies directed by Young.

“As the Commissioner of Police my job is to look at the policies that will be provided by the minister and or the National Security Council to implement those policies,” he added.

A 31-year-old man from east Port-of-Spain was remanded in custody after appearing in court yesterday charged with stabbing a woman to death, last month.

Stanley Gittens, 31, of Main Street, Beetham Gardens, appeared before Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court charged with murdering Tyesha De Souza on July 29.

According to reports, around 4 am on the day of the incident, Gittens and De Souza were driving along Charlotte Street in Port-of-Spain when they became embroiled in a heated argument near to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

De Souza, 21, of Trou Macaque, Laventille, got out of the vehicle and attempted to run away. Gittens allegedly chased after her and stabbed her several times.

He fled the scene and was eventually arrested by soldiers, who were on patrol in east Port-of-Spain.

Although the incident occurred within walking distance of the hospital, doctors were unable to save De Souza, who died on the operating table.

Gittens is expected to reappear in court on September 13.

Help began pouring in yesterday for former Under-19 cricketer Michael Powell who recently lost part of his right foot to skin cancer.

In an article in yesterday’s T&T Guardian, Powell, 28, pleaded with the public to donate six pints of A Positive blood to undergo an emergency surgery at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex to help him walk again.

Up two months ago, Powell was employed as a paint technician and interior designer. He also managed his own business.

Having played cricket with clubs Wanderers, Merry Boys and Harvard, the sky was the limit for Powell. But his life took a downward spiral in June when he was diagnosed by doctors as having basal cell skin cancer in his right foot after getting two bladders.

Following the discovery, doctors operated on his right leg where two of his toes and part of his foot had to be amputated.

Days after the operation, Powell’s foot became infected and another surgery had to be performed where doctors ruptured two of his vessels causing him to bleed profusely.

Powell claimed the doctors tied off the vessels and told him he needed an emergency surgery.

Yesterday, Powell’s plight touched the hearts of several good Samaritans who offered to donate blood and financial assistance.

Former Sangre Grande Regional Corporation councillor Dayne Francois, an avid sport fan, admitted that he was brought to tears after reading the article.

“My heart sunk when I read Michael’s misfortune. I have to admit I started to cry. For a man who has given so much to this country, he deserves better…far better. The nation should rally behind him. He should not be suffering and begging for assistance.”

Francois, who is a radio announcer and manager of East Side Plaza, said even though his blood type is O Positive he was willing to donate, where the Blood Bank can trade off with those who gave A Positive blood.

Anyone willing to help Powell can contact him at 793-6104.

NEW YORK—A former member of the Parliament of Barbados has been arrested in Florida on conspiracy and money laundering charges filed in Brooklyn federal court.

Donville Inniss, a legal permanent US resident and ex-member of the Barbados parliament and a former industry minister there, was arrested Friday.

The 52-year-old Inniss was released on a US$50,000 bond yesterday after appearing in Tampa federal court. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Prosecutors say Inniss conspired to accept US$36,000 in bribes from high-level executives of a Barbados-based insurance company in 2015 and 2016. They say he laundered the money in the US. (AP)

A magistrate has been ordered to reconsider her decision to refuse to withdraw an arrest warrant for a man who missed a court hearing last year.

Delivering a nine-page judgment in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Frank Seepersad ruled that Magistrate Adia Mohammed’s decision not to withdraw the warrant against Winston Sutton when he turned up two days after it was granted was fundamentally flawed.

Seepersad also ruled that Mohammed failed to take into account relevant considerations over the reason for Sutton’s non-appearance and did not sufficiently regard the overriding objectives of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2016.

Seepersad said: “The magistrate should have considered that the recall of a warrant, once satisfied that there was no deliberate default in relation to court attendance, would be consistent with the obligation to deal with the matter efficiently, as the court would be able to retain its control over the matter rather than wait for the warrant to be executed.”

Mohammed issued the arrest warrant for Sutton after he failed to attend a hearing of his sexual offence case in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court in November, last year.

Two days later, Sutton and his attorney appeared before Mohammed and applied for the warrant to be discharged as they claimed that they both mixed up the adjourn date for the case.

Sutton’s subsequent lawsuit before Seepersad dealt with a magistrate’s power under the rules to withdraw an arrest warrant.

In his judgment, Seepersad noted that before the rules were introduced, last year, there was no direct policy allowing for such action.

Mohammed claimed that such an application could only be entertained if Sutton or his attorney had turned up on the day the warrant was granted. Sutton’s lawyers suggested that it could be done within a reasonable time.

“Ultimately, the magistrate erred in law when she failed to recognise that the rule enabled her to consider the recall of a warrant where the accused appeared on a date subsequent to the date on which the warrant was issued,” Seepersad said as he described Mohammed’s approach to the issue as myopic and restrictive.

Seepersad also called on the Judiciary to issue a practice direction over the issue to avoid confusion for other judicial officers.

“Clarity is always preferred,” Seepersad said.

Sutton was represented by Joseph Sookoo and Delicia Helwig-Robertson while Rajeev Persad and Brent James represented Mohammed.

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Neil Ramkhelawan made fishing his livelihood 20 years ago but he never felt the need to learn swimming as he always fished in shallow waters.

On Monday, that decision cost Ramkhelawan his life when he fell off a trawler and drowned a short distance from shore. His body was discovered around 7.30 am, bobbing near some rocks at Mosquito Creek.

While fishermen surrounded the vessel and his grieving mother Meena Ramkhelawan looked on, president of the Otaheite Fishing Association Spender Persad called on the authorities to assist poor fishermen with swimming lessons.

Saying many of them were not trained to administer basic first aid, Persad said he hoped that the Government or the group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea could offer assistance to them. Persad said Ramkhelawan, 39, was a helpful and kind-hearted person who loved fishing.

“His death is a tragic loss to this community. We are very sad but he is not the first fisherman who cannot swim,” Persad said as Meena’s son Narren soaked her head with mentholated lotion.

Meena said she never advised her son to learn swimming because he was never far from the shore. She said a week before his death he was unusually quiet.

“I noticed it but I don’t think anything was wrong. He did not have any enemies or problems with anyone,” Meena said. She added that Ramkhelawan grew up in the fishing community and loved being out at sea.

She said on Monday he left home around 5 am and went to the beach. Half-an-hour later, he and his friend Richie Mohan went fishing. Mohan told police they were trawling and he did not see when Ramkhelawan fell over the boat. When Mohan finally noticed Ramkhelawan missing, he began searching the seas hoping to find him.

Search parties from the Otaheite Bay also mounted a search along with the T&T Coast Guard but it was called off unsuccessfully at dusk.

When daybreak came, the tides pulled the body towards the rocks. It took hours before it was finally removed and by then traffic had backed up along the South Trunk Road as far as Otaheite and La Romaine.

Contacted yesterday, secretary of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea Gary Aboud said his organisation did not have the resources to provide survival training for fishermen. Saying Ramkhelawan’s death was a direct result of the government’s failure in implementing proper legislation to regulate seafaring, Aboud said anyone, drunk, sober or blind from age three to 93 could operate a vessel at sea at whatever speed they want as there was no legislation to regulate the fishing industry.

He also said there was no legislation to ensure that all fishermen are able to swim before they go to sea.

Ramkhelawan’s body has since been removed to the Forensic Science Centre where an autopsy will be done today. Investigations are continuing.

Police are investigating how an alleged robber ended up dead inside a house at Pleasantville on Monday evening.

Investigators have seized his gun and are doing forensic ballistic tests to determine whether it was used in other criminal activity.

Up to late yesterday, the deceased remained unidentified.

The home-owner, who is now in police custody, told police he was inside his home at Pleasantville when he was approached by a man.

He said the man pulled out a revolver and attempted to rob him but he retaliated. Three shots rang out during the scuffle, hitting the intruder in the chest, head, and back. He died on the scene. The 29-year-old home-owner then called the police saying he killed a robber inside his house.

He was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries to the head. Police said they have taken statements from the victim and are now in the process of questioning neighbours and relatives. The area where the incident occurred was searched by the police recently and a man wanted for murder was arrested there.

Photos of the deceased circulated on social media yesterday but police said they were yet to get a confirmed identity of the suspect. San Fernando Homicide police are continuing investigations.

—Radhica De Silva

A final year radiography student of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of T&T (Costaatt), who was barred from writing an exam based on a change in the tertiary institution’s academic policy, has been advised to reconsider his lawsuit over the issue.

High Court judge Frank Seepersad gave the advice as the judicial review lawsuit, filed by 33-year-old Jamieyel Pantor, of Princes Town, came up for hearing in the Hall of Justice, in Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

Pantor’s lawsuit centres around a decision taken by Costaatt to bar him from sitting a Radiography External Review Examination in July as he had previously failed a course, which was recently deemed by the institution to be a prerequisite for the examination.

In the lawsuit, Pantor is contending that the decision to change the policy was arbitrary and unfair.

After analysing the lawsuit, Seepersad suggested that it may be misconceived as it was seeking to compel the institution to reverse its decision after the exam had been conducted.

“The boat has sailed and definitely he was not given the opportunity to write the exam,” Seepersad said.

He advised Pantor that he could choose to abide by Costaatt’s new policy in order to qualify to sit the exam and then sue it for breach of contract over its change in policy.

Seepersad suggested that lawsuit could include a claim for compensation over a loss of employment opportunities caused by his delay in graduating.

Seepersad told the parties that he would not consider whether to grant leave for Pantor’s case until they reconsidered their position.

In the event that Pantor elects to pursue the case in its current format, Seepersad advised that he should apply to another judge, presiding during the Judiciary’s annual vacation for leave.

According to Pantor’s affidavit attached to his claim, he is also complaining that the decision was taken unilaterally and only communicated a month before the exam.

“Whilst I agree that all education institutions have a duty to regularly review and make such adjustments to their programmes as are necessary to ensure that students are able to competently acquit themselves on the work environment, it is only right and fair that such a change in policy be communicated to students to enable students to make necessary adjustments,” Pantor said.

Pantor is being represented by Tim Charriandy and Reynold Waldropt while Elaine Green represented Costaatt.

A retiree’s lawsuit over a 15-month delay in making appointments to the National Insurance Appeals Tribunal has been rendered academic as the tribunal members received their instruments of appointment on Monday.

The appointments were announced by State attorneys as the judicial review lawsuit against Cabinet, filed by Ivan Palloo, of Marabella, came up for hearing before High Court judge Nadia Kangaloo in the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain yesterday afternoon.

Palloo’s lawyer Gerald Ramdeen was applying for an interim order compelling the appointments when he was informed of the news by Senior Counsel Russell Martineau, who is leading the State’s legal team.

Martineau criticised Palloo’s lawsuit as he claimed that his attorneys had rushed to file the claim within days of issuing a pre-action protocol letter to the Office of the Attorney General last month.

He pointed out that on the date that the claim was filed, the AG’s Office responded to say that Cabinet had made its decisions in August last year and that the appointments had been delayed by legal and administrative issues.

“We really should not be here today,” Martineau said as he claimed that the case was no longer urgent enough to be heard during the Judiciary’s annual vacation period.

He also accused Palloo of being impatient over the appointments.

“Appointing persons to a tribunal is not like putting a coin into a machine and a soft drink coming out. These things take time for all sorts of reasons,” Martineau said.

He also claimed that Palloo was challenging Cabinet’s failure to make the appointments when the appointments are in fact made by the President, on the advice of Cabinet.

In defence to the claim, Ramdeen pointed out that his client was only informed of Cabinet’s decision after he had threatened the lawsuit and that Cabinet had failed to give a timeline for the Office of the President to make the appointments.

Ramdeen also said that the claim was still relevant as his client was seeking compensation over the delay.

Stating that she wished to deal with the case expeditiously and wanted to prevent unnecessary legal costs, Kangaloo advised Ramdeen to consider his position and decide whether to amend the claim when the 2018/2019 law term opens in mid-September.

In his claim, Palloo is claiming that the delay, which started when the previous board’s term ended in April, last year, directly affected his national insurance appeal.

Palloo appeal relates to a decision by the National Insurance Board to refuse to pay the 67-year-old a pension because he allegedly failed to make monthly contributions between 1985 and 1989.

Palloo is challenging the board’s position but has not received a date for the appeal as the tribunal has not been constituted for over a year. Palloo was forced to write several letters over the failure to set his appeal before he was eventually informed of the delay in appointments.

The delay was said to affect over 1,800 persons who are also awaiting appeals.

Palloo was also represented by Darrell Allahar while Zelica Haynes-Soo Hon appeared alongside Martineau.

New National Security Minister Stuart Young took up duty at the ministry yesterday meeting with several executives of that ministry.

A statement from the ministry said he was first briefed by permanent Secretary Vel Lewis on the current business in the ministry.

It said he then got straight to business by meeting with heads of divisions and units. In that forum, he urged the importance of engagement, focus and prioritisation as well as the pursuit of solution-oriented strategies to confront issues of crime and criminality.

Subsequently, he was briefed on current matters at a security operations meeting with heads of the Defence and Protective

Services.

It said he received an update on the strategies currently being pursued by the various National Security agencies in the fight against crime.

The meeting also served to clarify the support and resources needed by the agencies from the Ministry of National Security.

Young said he was looking forward to full commitment and support from all heads and staff as he intends to strongly lead the ministry forward in the fight against crime and in improving the safety and security of citizens.

Calypso legend Winston Bailey, better known at The Mighty Shadow, will have all reason to “dingolay” this October, as three weeks after he celebrates his 77th birthday, he will be awarded an honorary doctorate from The University of the West Indies’ St Augustine campus.

Bailey is one of five people that the St Augustine campus has listed to be honoured during its annual graduation ceremony celebration.

Bailey, a former Calypso Monarch and Road March winner, will celebrate his 77th birthday on October 4.

He is scheduled to receive his Honorary Doctor of Letters during the campus’ three days of graduation ceremonies scheduled to begin on October 25.

The announcement was made The UWI yesterday.

Apart from Bailey, Paula Lucie-Smith, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA), will also receive an honorary doctorate.

ALTA is a non-profit organisation in existence in T&T since 1982 which addresses the issue of adult literacy and has helped hundreds of people since its inception.

Lucie-Smith is listed to be awarded an Honorary Doctors of Law.

Guyanese cricket legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a former captain of the West Indies team, will also be given the Honorary Doctors of Law. Chanderpaul is still actively playing professional cricket although he is now 43.

Former prime minister of Bahamas Hubert Ingraham will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws. Ingraham was the prime minister of Bahamas from August 1992 to May 2002 and again from May 2007 to May 2012.

Prof Dermott Kelleher, the dean of the faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Canada, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science.