Demolition crews from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) returned to Thompson Gardens, Ste Madeleine, yesterday to tear down the remaining squatter houses. 

But while armed private security officers stood watch, the residents were allowed to salvage items from their structures before the excavators moved in.

PNM’s San Fernando East activist Michelle Johnson, who erected a concrete structure on the site, said she was disheartened that Housing Minister and San Fernando East MP Randall Mitchell did not respond to their calls for help. 

Johnson said she lost $40,000 in building materials because she decided to take a risk.

A WASA line was seen gushing in front of Johnson’s unfinished home but she denied being responsible for the leak. 

Nearby, Kyle Dillon also took time removing the galvanize sheets and plyboards from his home. 

All of the materials were taken to a relative’s house. Another dwelling house, which was outfitted with an electricity supply, remained standing up to late yesterday. An official at the site said T&TEC will have to disconnect the supply before demolition could take place.

Last week, seven squatting houses were demolished. 

Responding to questions in Parliament last Friday on the issue, Mitchell said the HDC was acting within the law.

“I am told that employees of the HDC have been meeting with the occupiers for some time now and will continue to do so. For further details contact the acting managing director of the HDC,” Mitchell said yesterday via text message.

“While the occupiers are in dire need and will receive the relevant interventions by the HDC, the thousands of residents from the Tarodale Hills community deserve not to be robbed of the use of recreational space,” he added.

However, former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday called on Government to act humanely when dealing with the squatters. He said many people were facing job loss and were becoming increasingly hopeless.

“I am calling on the Housing Minister to exercise greater empathy and care and demonstrate that Government has a heart by meeting with these people. If they have to be removed from the site they should have made low-cost housing units available to these people,” Moonilal said. 

He added that thousands of housing units are available at low cost.

Moonilal added that under his tenure, the HDC never broke down squatters’ homes. 

“We entered into negotiations and discussed arrangements. This is heartless especially at a time when people are losing their jobs. They are now hopeless and I call upon the Government to have a heart in dealing with these people,” Moonilal said.

Two murder suspects remained in police custody last night after being arrested following two fatal stabbings in Pasea, Tunapuna, and Cunupia between Sunday evening and yesterday morning. 

In the first incident 33-year-old Kevin Joseph, of Green Street, Tunapuna, was stabbed to death during a fight at Pasea Extension Road, Tunapuna, around 5 pm on Sunday. 

According to reports, Joseph and his attacker were attending an event in the area when they had an argument on the road. As friends tried to separate them, Joseph collapsed on the ground and the other man ran away. 

Joseph, who was stabbed several times in his abdomen, died at the scene. Police recovered the knife used by his attacker near his body. 

The suspect, who police said was known to Joseph, was arrested at his home in Tunapuna shortly after the incident after he was identified by eyewitnesses. 

Several hours later, homicide detectives were summoned to the scene of another fatal stabbing at a bar in Cunupia. 

Police said around 2 am, 25-year-old Alecia Gilkes, of Petit Bourg, was liming at Flirt Bar, Cunupia, when she got into an argument with another woman over a man. 

The 25-year-old woman from Central Trinidad reportedly broke the end of a beer bottle and stabbed Gilkes several times in her chest. The suspect was restrained by patrons and staff at the bar until police arrived.

Gilkes was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. 

Homicide detectives said the suspects will remain in custody until they complete their investigations later this week and consult the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on possible charges against the suspects. 

The relatives of both victims refused to comment when approached by media personnel at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday as they were waiting for autopsy results. 

Detectives of the Region Two Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations. 

Police recovered seven stolen vehicles and arrested 105 people during an anti-crime operation in the Southern Division over the weekend.

Several places in La Romaine, San Fernando, Pleasantville, Cocoyea, Marabella, Gasparillo, Ste Madeleine, Princes Town, Moruga and environs were raided between 6 pm on Thursday and 6 am yesterday.

A total of 15 known drug blocks were searched and two illegal immigrants from Santo Domingo were arrested. Police also searched several night clubs and bars. Four people aged 23, 45, 34 and 21 were arrested in connection with six offences of stealing vehicles.

Seven stolen Nissan Tiidas and Nissan B-14 Sentras were found at a garage in Cocoyea.

Apart from the 105 arrests, 82 warrants were executed on suspects for possession of narcotics, possession of ammunition, robbery, shooting and larceny. 

Police also issued 54 traffic tickets. The exercise was headed by Senior Supt Irwin Hackshaw, Insp Don Gajadhar and Sgts Ramroop, Teeluck and Ramlogan. 

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, police recovered another stolen car and arrested a 27-year-old labourer from Hermitage Village, San Fernando, yesterday. Investigators said Himraj Ragoonanan parked his white Nissan B-14 valued $45,000, at Dumfries Main Road, leaving his keys in the ignition. 

When he returned a few minutes later, the car was gone. An All Points Bulletin was issued alerting officers to be on the lookout for the car. It was later spotted in the Penal district. 

Officers intercepted the car and arrested the 27-year-old suspect. 

President Anthony Carmona says the time may have come for a review of who holds the right to possess a national award when recipients of such awards die.

He made the comment yesterday, after Group Chairman and Chief Executive of the ANSA McAL Group of Companies, A. Norman Sabga, returned to the country the Order of the Republic of T&T given to trade union leader Adrian Cola Rienzi, during a ceremony at President’s House, St Ann’s.

The ORTT had been awarded posthumously to Rienzi in 2012, but it was put up for sale on eBay in March through a relative who may have inherited it. ANSA McAL subsequently won a bid to purchase it on behalf of the citizens of T&T.

Saying he too had become “distraught at the thought of someone peddling this symbol of our national pride,” Carmona said the Trinity Cross (which preceded it) and the ORTT were the ultimate symbols of our nationhood and urged all national award holders, “If you don’t want it don’t accept it, and if having accepted it you no longer want it or appreciate it, don’t sell it or condemn it, simply give it back.”

Commending Sabga for his action, Carmona said perhaps the time had come to review possession of national symbols after the awardee dies.

“I am of the firm belief that once awarded, these symbols of nationalism and patriotic pride should stay within the family. We could probably adopt the convention of the UK and Dutch systems: in the case of honours given while the recipients are still alive, they should be returned upon the recipients’ death.”

Earlier, during the ceremony to hand over the medal to chairman of the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) board, Neil Parsanlal, Sabga said it was an act of patriotism “on behalf of our 6,000 employees in T&T and throughout the Caribbean.”

He said he was especially delighted that the medal was personally brought back to Trinidad by his father, Chairman Emeritus, ANSA McAL Group of Companies, Dr Anthony N Sabga.

If the Government insists on paying backpay arrears to police officers in cash and bonds, police officers say they will, in turn, work in tranches. 

Speaking at a media briefing at the Police Service Social and Welfare Association, at the Besson Street Police Station, yesterday, head of the association Insp Anand Ramesar said his membership stated that they would work in tranches to match the proposal to pay them in like manner.

Ramesar said, “I had a general council meeting yesterday and we always maintained as an organisation that we would do nothing unless it is legal to do so, but when you want to pay the police 50 per cent, coming out of the general council, they said they would perform 50 per cent of their duties in June and then they would perform the next 50 in September. 

If you want to do performance in tranches well that is the kind of responses you get. I am urging the Government to treat with the matter seriously because it is going to affect performance. 

The longer you take to respond and treat with the options, the worse it will get.”

Flanked by the heads of the Prison Officers Association and the Fire Service Association, Ceron Richards and Leo Ramkissoon, respectively, Ramesar said following a meeting with Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday, a deadline of May 31 was set for the reconsideration of the proposed bonds. 

The three representatives stated that the bonds and a lack of information were “like cyanide” and they would not be taking it. 

They said a suggestion of a stipulated $50,000 cash payout for officers was made to the minister. 

Those with arrears in excess of that would be given at least $50,000 and those whose arrears were less would receive their full cash arrears.

Richards added, “We are suspicious as to what those bonds would take and we are deeming these bonds poisonous to the members of the protective services. Please remove the option of bonds. We negotiated for money, so we would like money to be paid.” 

They said they were cognisant of the current economic situation faced by the country and were not being greedy but merely wanted what was due their membership given that the monies owed were for the period 2011 through 2013.

Government is about to approach the courts to have a number of T&T nationals designated as terrorists and will also very shortly present to Parliament new legislation to deal with people alleged to be terrorist fighters, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said yesterday.

“The country deserves action and enforcement and that’s exactly what we intend to do,” Al-Rawi said in the Senate.

He gave details of how Government plans to treat with T&T terrorist fighters and such persons returning from overseas, in reply to Opposition Senator Wade Mark’s queries on the issue. 

Mark sought details concerning the future of nationals who’ve gone overseas and are reportedly fighting with the Islamic State (Isis) terrorist network. He asked if Government intends to invoke laws in respect of citizens with proven links to Isis and who wish to return home.

Al-Rawi said two key pieces of legislation relevant to people proven to be linked to Isis and who wish to return were the Anti Terrorism Act (chp 12.07) and Proceeds of Crime Act (chp 11.27). He said his powers as AG are restricted to sections 22b, 36 and 37 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

“But other key legislative tools under these two acts are available to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary,” he noted.

“Where someone is proved to be linked to Isis, this Government will invoke the provisions of the law that are within the discretion of the Executive to apply—regardless of whether the person has already left the country or whether they wish to return.”

The AG said in circumstances, such as described in Mark’s question, of citizens linked to Isis wishing to return, Section 22B of the Anti-Terrorism Act will be invoked. He said Section 22B (1) allows him to apply to a judge for an order under section 22B(3) to designate an individual or an entity and to freeze their assets. Al-Rawi said Section 22B (1-b-ii) allows such applications to be made in respect of entities or individuals where there are reasonable grounds “to believe an entity/individual is knowingly acting on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with an entity designated as a terrorist entity by the United Nations Security Council.”

Al-Rawi noted Government had successfully invoked Section 22B in the first-ever application to the High Court regarding Kareem Ibrahim. That application was filed in November 2015 and a court order was granted shortly after listing Ibrahim (as a terrorist) and freezing his assets.

“The courts’ guidance in this matter will now greatly assist the State in charting a course for the various types of applications available under Section 22B.”

Al-Rawi said other sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (36-37) focusing on terrorist property will also be applied where “circumstances so dictate.” These allow the DPP to apply to a judge for an order to restrain property that may ultimately be made the subject of a forfeiture order. Sections allow Government to request a judge to appoint a person to take control/manage/deal with the property according to judicial orders. Anyone possessing the property must give it to the appointed manager.

Mark asked the AG about reports of “hundreds” of T&T fighters with Isis returning to T&T if Government was monitoring such people and whether it would invoke the Anti-Terrorism (22B1) Act in respect of these returnees. 

Al-Rawi said there was no information of “hundreds” of T&T nationals, though there may be anecdotal information, but Government must be driven by evidence.

“The matter of foreign terrorist fighters is being addressed with all seriousness by all security apparatus, with all foreign partners, particularly foreign states, by Europol and Interpol. That has led to the monitoring of a number of people in active and real time circumstances,” Al-Rawi added.

“The Anti-Terrorism desk of the AG’s office, in co-ordination with the National Security Ministry, is about to approach the courts in relation to a number of persons for Section 22B (Anti-Terrorism Act) designations.”

Mark asked the precise number of nationals fighting with Isis at this time and about the resulting threat to T&T from such people.

Al-Rawi said, “A precise number is an incapability, as one relies on anecdotal information usually originating from a different country where the information has to be specifically verified. ... I wouldn’t be in a position to provide a number. Suffice to say, this is a multi-dimensional treatment that’s being applied.”

The AG was also asked by Opposition Senator Gerald Hadeed about a number of alleged terrorists travelling to Venezuela and returning to T&T via porous borders. Al-Rawi said National Security Council agencies are tracking all issues and Government has deepened its intelligence sharing with the Venezuelan government and border patrols.

A 32-year-old Laventille man yesterday calmly stood before the Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers Caesar as she read to him the charge of murdering his 17-month-old daughter last week.

Brandon Job, of John John, was represented by Legal Aid attorney Randall Raphael as he stood accused of killing Nyla Sanchez at the child’s home at Plaisance Terrace, Laventille. 

According to police reports, around 8 pm on April 20 detectives were called to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital after Sanchez’s relatives took her lifeless body to the Accident and Emergency Department. 

Her mother told police that an hour earlier she had left Nyla and her four-year-old brother at their home and went on an errand nearby. 

She said when she returned she found her daughter unconscious and frothing at the mouth. 

The mother was detained at the Besson Street Police Station for several hours before being released pending further investigations.

A post mortem by pathologist Dr Eslyn McDonald-Burris at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, subsequently revealed the baby died from blunt force trauma to the head. 

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions gave the green light to charge Job on Monday with the murder of the child. He will re-appear in court on May 24. 

A Petrotrin worker with over 40 years service died yesterday after he was crushed while dismantling a pump jack near a well site in Penal.

Charles Mitchell, 59, a technical craftsman attached to Petrotrin’s production operations, was pronounced dead at the company’s medical facility in Penal.

The company, in a press release yesterday, said an investigation had been launched into the incident which took place around 11.30 pm.

A police report stated Mitchell was working with a crew dismantling the jack when the crank arm gave way and pinned him between the jack and the gear box. 

He was taken to the company’s Penal medical facility by the company’s emergency responders where he was pronounced dead, the release stated.

The company has since lodged a report with its security department, Police Service and the Occupational Safety and Health Authority. The Ministry of Energy and OWTU has also been informed.

Extending condolences to Mitchell’s family, friends and co-workers, the company said Employee Assistance Programme services were being provided for the family and co-workers. A party of police from the Penal Police Station visited the scene. Cpl Ramsaran is investigating.

Also extending condolences yesterday was Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union second vice-president Peter Burke, who said he only heard about the incident on the news and had no details.

He said Petrotrin president general Ancel Roget would issue a formal statement on the matter today.

A 47-year-old Cunupia businessman and two of his employees are being interrogated at a Southern Division police station after police raided a contracting firm and recovered over $2 million in stolen equipment belonging to Brazilian firm Construtora OAS.

Police believe the equipment was stolen from the highway contractor’s compound in Golconda on April 1. 

Several vehicles, a compactor and other machinery are yet to be recovered. While the two men are suspects in the robbery, investigators said they will have to determine whether the businessman has sold the equipment.

Investigators said since the robbery, they were conducting surveillance and interviewing several people based on information they received on Monday. An operation was coordinated by Snr Supt Irwin Hackshaw to retrieve the equipment.

Around 7 pm, Supt Yussuf Gaffar, ASP Rawle Ramdeo, Insp Don Gajadhar and Sgt Parasram led teams together with the Central Division Task Force and went to a compound along Madras Road, Cunupia.

When they searched the compound, they found a dump truck valued US$81,000, a truck valued TT$612,000, trailer valued TT$492,000, an excavator valued US$222,000 and one battery valued TT$4,500. The equipment matched the description of those stolen from Construtora OAS and was taken to the Ste Madeleine Police Station. 

The businessman from Rodney Trace, Las Lomas, and his employees from Chin Chin Road, Cunupia, remained in custody last night.—(KF)

A homeless man who has been living in a tree house at the Tunapuna Public Cemetery for the past 17 years faces eviction from the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation.

Adrian Garcia yesterday pleaded for the corporation not to evict him.

If he is given marching orders, Garcia said he would have to join the growing homeless population on the city streets.

Garcia lives in a three-foot by four-foot, crudely built tree house that overlooks the sprawling burial ground off the Priority Bus Route.

He is one of two men who reside and work in the graveyard. The other is Ricardo Alvarez who lives in a tomb and cultivates organic crops in three troughs in the graveyard which he sells to mourners and motorists.

Alvarez’s story was highlighted in the T&T Guardian on Monday in an article entitled Growing Life Among The Dead.

However, chairman of the corporation Edwin Gooding said he intended to evict both men as soon as possible.

Gooding has ordered “a report” into Alvarez’s case.

The report would be compiled by an official responsible for the corporation’s parks, recreation grounds and cemeteries, Gooding said yesterday.

“These people would have to go soon. We will treat with them in a humane manner. However, I still want the senior official to make his visit and bring a report to council telling us what his findings are and how he proposes to deal with the situation so council can approve it. 

“One problem the corporation faces is that when we put them (homeless) out they have a tendency to come back so enforcement has to be maintained,” he added.

Gooding said the cemetery dwellers could be assisted by the Ministry of Social Development if they needed help.

Yesterday, Garcia, 46, described his tree house, the third he has constructed, as his castle.

His two previous houses were destroyed. One was torched and the other was chopped down by the corporation in an attempt to evict him.

In 1999, Garcia who did not go to school, walked out of his parents’ Tunapuna home due to sibling rivalry.

After days of wandering, Garcia said his journey led him to an abandoned mausoleum in the cemetery where he has lived for five years.

To eke out a living, Garcia began digging graves and cleaning yards for people in the community.

“Then one day the corporation ordered me to leave. They did not want me to occupy any land space and that’s when I opted to live above ground level by building a house in the trees,” Garcia said.

After his two previous tree houses were destroyed, Garcia built his third, using strips of rusty galvanise sheetings, weather-beaten lumber and end of carpets which were salvaged from the side of the roadway.

“I take about two days to build this tree house last month. It tiny but it real comfortable. It’s so peaceful and quiet up there. I don’t have a bed or any furniture. But it’s my castle,” said Garcia, as he skillfully climbed from one branch to another to get to his front door.

At the base of the tree, Garcia prepares his meals on a fireside.

At the entrance of the cemetery, where a standpipe is located, Garcia bathes and does his laundry.

He said his mother, who lives in Oropune, Piarco, begged him last year to turn his life around and return home.

“I complied but I didn’t stay there too long. After ten months I packed up and leave. I realised that my heart and life was in the cemetery. This is where I belong,” he added.

Garcia said the cemetery had now become his sanctuary.

“In here it real safe... sometimes you would see people running through the cemetery late at nights and you know they just rob somebody and trying to escape but nobody never interfere with me.

“It’s far better to live with the dead than the living. If they (corporation) put me out I will have to live on the streets,” Garcia said. 

However, Alvarez said he would not resist the corporation’s move to evict him.

“I will not put up a fight. I know I am breaking the law. I don’t think I was disrespecting the dead by cultivating crops in here. To me, it was something positive that I was doing but not everyone would share the same view,” Alvarez added.

Archbishop Joseph Harris says he is happy with the national dialogue which has been sparked by his pastoral letter calling for “pardon and mercy” for prisoners on remand who have been charged with minor offences and some of whom “when sentenced would have already served that time in remand."

Speaking with the GML Enterprise Desk, Harris said he had no specific list of prisoners in mind for pardon, “only those charged with petty crimes such as using obscene language, failure to pay maintenance, traffic offences, someone selling or smoking marijuana, a man stealing a few mangoes to take care of his family, those are the people who I feel are deserving of pardon not those charged with serious crimes.”

He said, “Somebody in jail for failing to pay maintenance, it means they can’t maintain the person they in jail for. We need to show mercy, that is where we need the social services to play a role.”

He said since his pastoral letter went out, “some parishioners have been very enthusiastic, it all depends on the parish priest.” 

But the petitions which were sent out are due to be returned by May 26 so he would not know until then the number of people who have actually signed the petition.

Harris said he had written to the Commissioner of Prisons Sterling Stewart and the Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard “to get a list of persons on Remand Yard charged with petty crimes and awaiting trial, but all I got is an acknowledgement of my letter. No list has as yet been provided to us.” 

The Government and the prison authorities, he said, “know what is happening, all they have to do is pull it up on the computer and see who is there for a petty crime and serving longer than the sentence for the crime.”

Even without that information, Harris said, he was happy that “people are taking the petition seriously. At least it has started a conversation.”

He is hoping that in the ‘Jubilee Year of Mercy,’ in the Catholic calendar, that “mercy becomes a characteristic not just of the Christian community but of the wider society.” 

One area crying out for mercy, he said, “is the plight of the remand yard prisoners.”

The “prison authorities will have to examine each case, but I am not saying everybody in remand yard should be sent home. 

I speak of those charged with petty crimes who could not get bail.”

Harris said just over a month ago he was told by an attorney that there are 75-80 people on remand yard charged with minor crimes who have been unable to secure bail because of their situation, he said. 

“You hear the AG talking about the cost of maintaining a remand yard prisoner at a time when the country is going through so much hardship, where we paying thousands of dollars a day for someone who already paid their dues to society. You ask what is the point?”

Harris said he believes that the number may have increased by now to perhaps 100. 

If the State spends $25,000 for their upkeep each month, freeing them would save $2.5 million dollars.

Harris was particularly happy with the morning poll on i95.5FM on Tuesday in which 80 per cent of the respondents said they supported the initiative. He laughed, “This included the hosts Dale and Tony.”

Amid growing support to pardon hundreds of remand prisoners who have been in jail without trial, Prisons Commissioner Sterling Stewart is urging that this not be done willy-nilly, saying there must be proper consultation before any final decision is made.

Stewart made the comment while fielding questions from members of the media after the National Security Officers Foundation’s (NSOF) Fourth Annual Interfaith Service held at City Hall, Knox Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Harris has made a proposal for a presidential pardon to be given to prisoners charged with minor offences who were held on remand for periods exceeding the maximum sentence they would have gotten if found guilty for the crime.

Joseph had said the idea was linked to the “Jubilee Year of Mercy” in the Catholic calendar.

There are over 2,235 remand prisoners in the nation’s jails and close to 300 could benefit from such a proposal.

There has been public support from head of the Anglican Church, Bishop Clive Abdullah, and Law Association president Reginald Armour SC, among others.

But head of the Inter Religious Organisation, Brother Harripersad Maharaj, who objected to the suggestion said this would be tantamount to punishing the victims twice. 

Stewart said he too was reluctant to sanction such an idea adding: “All the variables and factors must be taken into consideration and most importantly the risks to the community, environment and the neighbourhood before any thought of that.

“We must have a bio-social report and or a suitability report and a joint report coming out of the prisons. But we must get a report from the communities and neighbourhood because you cannot just come up and say we will release people without taking into consideration the threat to law-abiding citizens,” Stewart said.

He said there was a reason why people were sent to jail in the first place but stressed that the facility must not be used as “punishment” via the use of force.

“At the end of the day the inmates are frustrated due to the length of time they are there,” Stewart said.

Restorative justice coupled with various programmes aimed at rehabilitation played a key role in ensuring prisoners were properly prepared to re-enter society, Stewart added.

But there were a few prisoners, he added, who had undergone such initiatives and who could be recommended for release before their time.

“There are some ‘lifers’ who have been there very long and are no longer a risk to society and they could be taken into consideration,” Stewart said.

NO JAILBREAK EVIDENCE, ONLY TALK

Prisons intelligence has unearthed no information which could link recent rumours of a jailbreak to claims made by a former state witness.

On CrimeWatch on CNC3 two weeks ago, she alleged there were already female suicide bombers in T&T, plans to strike Central Trinidad and tall buildings in Port-of-Spain, to overthrow the Government and to stage a jailbreak. But asked about this, Stewart said he had no such information.

“What is happening with the prisons is there are always rumours and allegations about a jailbreak because a lot of people want to do the crime but they do not want to do the time.

“Because of the length of time they are in that environment who would not want to escape? It is not the most ideal to be in,” Stewart said.

On April 17 this year, the Port-of-Spain Prison was placed on high alert in response to word of a planned “violent break out” involving a man charged with murder in a high-profile case.

Stewart said “from time to time” there has been talk of a jailbreak following which security measures were then immediately put in place.

He said this was especially so after the July 2015 prison break in which PC Sherman Maynard was shot and killed. One of the escapees, Allan “Scanny” Martin, was also killed by police.

Another escapee, Hassan Atwell, was murdered a day after being on the run in East Port-of-Spain and third escapee Christopher “Monster” Selby subsequently surrendered to police. Stewart said at a recent national security meeting it was revealed there were 147 gangs in T&T and most of the members ended up in prison.

Asked about the seriousness of a threat of a jailbreak in the coming weeks he gave the assurance this would not happen, saying his officers were prepared for any eventuality.

“We don’t have any concrete intelligence saying there would be a jailbreak but there are a lot of high-risk individuals in our environment at this time,” Stewart said. He said he was comfortable with all the security arrangements at the various prisons.

Saying that conditions at the prisons were in urgent need of attention, Stewart said: “When I joined as a recruit 30-something years ago there were seven to nine persons, sometimes 11 in a cell using one pail and inmates waiting for trial ten to 15 years.

“I am about to retire and it remains the same.”

He appealed for greater effort by the criminal justice system in ensuring speedier trials.

This petition to set free persons charged with criminal offences tell the story that the crooked always win. We are always told that even when we don’t get justice from man we will get it from God but the irony of it all is that the church is behind this call to set free criminals who would have brought tremendous distress to citizens. Why doesn’t the church stick to converting the bad to good before the bad goes to prison? Why couldn’t they call on the chief justice to improve the court process and have quicker trials for these matters as freeing prisoners in this manner eases congestion in the jail but it doesn’t improve the justice system. No one wants to question this chief justice maybe because he is a nice guy but we must put blame where it is due. When we fail to take responsibility for what is expected of us we will always have to plaster the sores.

If these persons are freed without a trial does it mean that the state has conceded and that these individuals can then claim innocence and sue? What about persons who are out on bail for similar offences? How will this show up on their criminal record and would persons in the future be charged with similar offences? Would those released be monitored? And what happens to any physical evidence retained in matters? If there are concerns about a cost factor in operating the prisons what then is the cost at the judiciary?

Ramesh Marajh

Palo Seco

CL Financial’s (CLF) majority shareholder Lawrence Duprey, as well as a new group called the Clico Stakeholders’ Alliance (CSA), are formulating legal action to block Government’s proposed sale of CLF assets.

This was confirmed by Duprey’s spokesman, Claudius Dacon, on Tuesday, following failed bids by Duprey to meet with Government to discuss Duprey’s plan to recover his former companies and repay the outstanding debt owed to Government from the 2009 bailout following CLF’s collapse.
This week’s development marks the culmination of efforts by Duprey, 82, over the past year to regain his former company. 

Action has been brewing in the last few weeks since Duprey wrote Finance Minister Colm Imbert on March 23 offering an outline proposal to settle the Clico/CL Financial debt. The proposal had already been sent on March 22 to Central Bank Governor Dr Alvin St Hilaire. 

In February, Hillaire had also received a request from Duprey for a meeting on Clico and CLF matters. Duprey had indicated that Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, and attorney Ronnie Bissessar had been retained to represent his interests.

In the March 23 letter, Duprey told Imbert: “I have assembled a knowledgeable team of legal and financial advisers and we stand ready to work with you to bring the best possible resolution of this matter in the interest of all stakeholders.”

But since nothing has been heard from Government, Dacon, former CEO of Colonial Life and Clico Bahamas, said Duprey was now in the process of formulating a pre-action protocol letter to send to Government soon.

Dacon said the CSA, an independent group headed by Tobago activist David Walker, comprises about 50 people “who don’t always agree with us but feel assets shouldn’t be sold off in a ‘fire sale’.”

The CSA includes former Clico employees and policyholders. Walker headed a Charlotteville group which successfully challenged the Tobago House of Assembly on a Charlotteville mall issue.

The parties are particularly concerned since Imbert, in his recent mid-year review, said Government was moving to recoup the $20 billion used for CLF’s bailout. 

He said the Central Bank had been asked to dispose of the remaining Methanol International Holdings Limited shares owned by Clico, as well as Clico’s traditional portfolio of insurance policies and other associated assets.

Imbert said the Central Bank was also asked to transfer to Government, Clico’s shares in Angostura, Home Construction Limited and CL World Brands. He said once that was completed, Government “will take appropriate decisions to dispose of these assets” and would also acquire lands owned by Angostura and HCL. 

The Central Bank, Imbert added, would begin disposing of Clico’s shares in Republic Bank by 2017. These proposals only relate to Clico and in “due course” Imbert said he would report on plans to monetise other assets held directly by CL Financial.

The T&T Guardian contacted Duprey early last week on his views of Government’s plan. He made it clear he was unhappy with that, saying the sale was a bad idea and that he could manage the assets so the companies could earn hard currency to assist T&T in its current economic constraints. He was bitter about measures taken by the last People’s Partnership (PP) government also and indicated action was ahead on the matter.

In a statement on Tuesday, Duprey stated: “I have chosen to speak now because the country needs a powerful, vibrant CLF.

“For seven long years I’ve been vilified in the media. One government minister after the other has lined up to claim the company that my uncle and I built was a Ponzi scheme. 

“They and others claimed I am responsible for all the money that was taken from the taxpayer to rescue CL Financial.

“To support their claim it seems they have hidden all accounts from the public. Every administration has gone to great lengths to keep information from us. They are fighting all the way to the Privy Council to block disclosure of how the money was spent.“

He claimed: “They passed legislation making people like Gerald Yetming, Marlon Holder and all their other senior appointees immune from prosecution, apparently so that they can hide their actions.”

Duprey said the CLF rescue could not have cost TT$20 billion. 

“This rescue was less complex and less costly than many in the international arena.

“Unlike many of the other rescues, our assets suffered a temporary diminution in value directly as a result of a global economic crisis. The other rescues were largely the result of bad investments in unrecoverable sub prime mortgages. 

“CLF wasn’t in that position and just needed time for asset values to recover, as they did,” he added.

Saying CLF, which included forex generators, Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Ltd (MHTL) and Methanol Holdings (International) Ltd (MHIL), were created for T&T, Duprey accused Government of selling the MHTL and MHIL companies “on the cheap, losing us a constant stream of foreign exchange.”

Duprey said CLF had “broken the effective monopoly of a small cartel of financial service providers in T&T” but the moves of subsequent governments had now eradicated that.

“The other financial services companies are once again free to exploit the market by giving negligible rates of return to savers. 

“The Government’s actions allowed them to poach the CLF client base, reducing our value drastically. We created the largest and most valuable insurance infrastructure in the Caribbean. 

“That included sales and support staff as well as a valuable portfolio of real estate. This has been destroyed for no good reason,” he said.

Duprey added: “I’m not to blame for this costly fiasco. My management and staff are not to blame. We created a fantastic company that should be helping T&T through this trying time in our history. 

“Taxpayers could and should have been repaid within three years. We should now be generating masses of foreign exchange, offering savers sensible returns and leading T&T’s diversification efforts, as we have done successfully.

“Instead, CLF has been reduced to a bit part player that’s being stripped bare even now. CLF has so much to offer, access to accounting and other information will show that clearly. 

“That is why each administration has gone to such lengths to hide the information. It is information that will set me free. They cannot stop ongoing disclosures like recent information about kickbacks ...”

He added: “We also need to return CLF to the control of professional businessmen with proud track records, away from politicians and political appointees. I have played my part in building this national treasure. I will now play my part as best possible in restoring the company to its much needed leading role.”

Legal action looms
Lawrence Duprey’s spokesman Claudius Dacon said Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, who both Duprey and the CSA have engaged for the matter, is also a CSA member and is preparing the legal action against the Government. Dacon said Maharaj wrote to Imbert recently, informing him he was retained by Duprey concerning negotiation of CLF but received no reply. 

Dacon said Duprey began talks with the past PP government in 2015 and was ready to negotiate for the return of CL Financial. He had spoken to then acting finance minister Vasant Bharath. Dacon claimed Bharath was positive but said solutions were required to say how Duprey would settle the debt and deal with negative public sentiment. 

He said it was proposed that a reputable investment firm be hired to do due diligence on CLF and give a proper accounting of the debt owed. Once established and audited, he said it was proposed a firm of investment bankers would be contacted to use CLF’s assets to raise a loan to repay government.

“The problem is we don’t know how much we owe government and if they sell those assets they will never be able to recover sufficient money to repay the taxpayers and policyholders,” Dacon said.

“Lawrence left in 2009 with the assurance policyholders would get full benefits. That’s why he signed the agreement giving the previous government opportunity to seize CLF assets;  he was forcefully evicted. The company always had sufficient funds to deal with its liabilities, it wasn’t insolvent. It was illiquid,” he added.

It is understood another Duprey family branch is also exploring the matter. The T&T Guardian sent emailed queries to Imbert yesterday on whether Government is considering Duprey’s proposal, if it’s feasible and whether there are any talks with Duprey or Maharaj. Imbert replied that he had no comment at that time. 

Also contacted, the Central Bank stated “these matters are confidential” and that it could not comment.

Tobago Police are probing a shooting of an 82-year old man during an arson attack which left 15 people homeless at Mt Pleasant yesterday. Injured pensioner, Daniel Roberts, who is partially blind, said yesterday he was lying in his bed when he was alerted by the sound of rapid gunfire.

“I got frighten so I didn't get up. The noise stopped and I started to bawl out for my grandson and them. About two to three minutes after that, it started back again like if they put in more bullets (in the gun) and that was when I got shot. 

“I am an old man. I never have case going on with nobody. I ain't do nobody nothing, I don't know who they came for. I don't know their business but I'm glad to be alive, I'm living a second life," Roberts said, after he was discharged from hospital.

Eyewitnesses said they were awakened by a crashing sound, followed by rapid gunfire. They believe  a molotov cocktail was used to start the fire to force the occupants out of the house. T&T Guardian was told around 3 am three masked gunmen, armed with automatic guns, alighted from a white Nissan Tiida and opened fire in the yard which has several houses.

Roberts was shot in both legs and the other occupants escaped without injury. Another relative, Marlon Sandy, also said the response from the Old Grange Police was poor.  He said although the police station is located about two minutes way, police officers arrived on the scene about 45 minutes after the report was made.

"We called the station, police never meet here until about 45 minutes after. When we do see the vehicle, two SRPs pass us whoosh.

“Even when the officer came he didn't even have on a shoe. He was fighting to put on his boots and things like that. If the police did respond in the time that we called, they might have been able to apprehend somebody," Sandy said.

A Mt Pleasant resident told the T&T Guardian following this incident the community was bracing itself for reprisal shootings. Over the past months, the Old Grange Police Station have been recording numerous shootings in the district. However, they remain unsolved. 

Investigations are continuing

Western Division has recorded a 53 per cent reduction in murders for the year to date. This also represents the highest reduction in murders as compared to other divisions.

But there was an increase regarding sexual abuse against children as there have been 27 reported cases to date, compared to 17 for the same period last year.

So said head of Western Division Senior Supt Basdeo Ramdhanie at yesterday's police press briefing at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain. He said most of the sexual offences cases were solved.

"Most of these crimes were perpetrated against children who were left unsupervised and we appeal to parents to ensure children are properly supervised by responsible people.

"Some of the crimes committed were by relatives," Ramdhanie added.

The division, Ramdhanie said, recorded seven murders for the year as compared to 15 for the corresponding period last year. He said there was also a significant reduction in shootings and woundings and a 22 per cent reduction in serious reported crimes as compared to the corresponding period last year.

For the year, officers have seized 37 guns and last week alone nine guns were recovered, including five in one day along with a quantity of ammunition.

Ramdhanie said the reduction was attributed to hard work, dedication to duty and strong ties with the community which in turn provided key information to the police. He added that patrols have also been intensified, particularly in hot spot areas.

On reports of burglaries and break-ins, he said that was prevalent in the St James, Carenage and Four Roads districts in particular.

Most of those occurred at private homes and Ramdhanie warned owners to secure premises properly and ask neighbours to keep an eye on their property while away. He also advised in the investment of CCTV cameras which are exempt from taxes.

Medical staff at the Pediatric Ward at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, yesterday came in for high praise from Annie Arietas for saving the life of her four-year-old daughter, Nicola Dyer, who was stung by a scorpion at her Maraval home on Tuesday. 

Despite there being no antidote in the country, doctors battled for over 12 hours on Tuesday after she was brought in almost lifeless.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday at the hospital, Arietas said she would be forever thankful and grateful for the dedication of hospital staff but at the same time made a plea for the authorities to get equipped with antidote/anti-venom for future cases.

“I do not know if I did lose my child how I would have dealt with it but I thank the doctors and nurses for what they did and how they sacrificed to save my daughter,” Arietas said.

Yesterday morning, little Nicola was moved from the Intensive Care Unit to the Pediatric Medical 1 Unit, where she is said to be a little agitated but resting comfortably. She is expected to be discharged soon.

However, her mother has since vowed never to return to her Maraval home, well, at least not until little Nicola reaches 12 or 13 years.

“This was a very frightening experience for me. I am still shaking from Tuesday. When that happened to see that my child could not even get up to walk I had to keep telling myself hope for the best, prepare for the worst,” Arietas said.

Recalling the events leading up to the incident, Arietas said on Tuesday morning she decided to go to her home, which is in a bushy area in the hills off Morne Coco Road, as her temporary home in Belmont had a power outage. She said while little Nicola and her (Arietas’) two-year-old grandchild were playing on a mattress on the ground, her daughter just burst out crying.

“I kept asking her what was wrong, if she had hit her head but she kept on saying no, no. It was only then one of her big sisters decided to make up the bed when she saw a huge scorpion among the ruffled sheets,” Arietas said.

She said her daughter quickly captured the scorpion in a glass jar and rushed her to the Maraval Health Centre. However, with no ambulance available, one was called in. To beat the time, two security guards decided to take the child and the mother in a private vehicle where they met with an ambulance on the way. The child was then taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where she was given Piriton and Gravol.

“She was real vomiting and even before we left home she couldn’t even stand up on her own. She was almost lifeless,” Arietas said. After being stabilised, she was then transferred to Mt Hope. It was there doctors discovered that Nicola’s heart had already gotten infected.

“More than one doctor was called in and they really fight to save her life. If it wasn’t for them I would have surely lost my child,” Arietas said.

Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, when contacted on the incident told CNC3  scorpion anti-venom was not available in T&T as yet. However, he did not say when it would become available. He also clarified that anti-venom has to be very specific, “because what can be used for a snake bite cannot be used for a scorpion sting.”

Accusing police of fabricating a story to cover up his mother Sona Lalloo’s death, Jamere Lalloo says the officer who shot her must account for his irresponsible action. Lalloo, 80, died on an operating table at the San Fernando General Hospital at 11.15 pm Tuesday after being shot in the head. 

A police report stated that a police constable attached to the South Western Division Task Force was chasing a man with a silver object resembling a gun along Johnson Trace around 7.45 pm Monday. While climbing over a wire fence it allegedly collapsed, causing the officer to fall. 

When his service pistol hit the ground, the officer claimed it accidentally discharged. The bullet travelled approximately 50 metres, pierced the plywood of Lalloo’s bedroom and struck her on the side of her head. Showing the bullet hole in their Rancho Quemado home yesterday, Jamere said he had a strong feeling  his mother could not survive the injury. 

“Doctors told us it was 50/50. They said to expect anything,” Jamere said. His emotions were both sorrow and anger as he said the police’s account of his mother’s death was untrue. He denied police were chasing any gunmen, saying he was lying in his hammock when he saw the officer approaching. He said the fence that the officer claimed he fell from had collapsed some time ago.

Jamere said he has already given a report to senior South Western Division officers and his sisters would decide whether they would approach the Police Complaints Authority. 

Up until yesterday, the offending officer remained on active police duty and has been receiving sympathy from his colleagues and the Police Social Welfare Association. He is expected to receive counselling but Jamere said no one has approached his family to deal with their trauma.

He said he was not angry or afraid but was focused on stemming the bleeding. He said the officer helped wrap Lalloo’s head with a piece of cloth but it took almost an hour for an ambulance to come and take her to the Siparia District Health Facility.

The death hurt even more as Jamere recounted the sacrifices his mother made for her ten children, saying they grew up poor with no electricity or running water. He said his mother would toil for hours, harvesting cocoa and coffee in the estates just to feed them.

“She now started to enjoy life, now started to get her little pension so she could buy what she wanted. 

“We did not grow up with a TV, we had no current. Just the other day she was telling me that she now started to enjoy life. Look how she come and died now. 

“If she had died in her bed sick or old, I could have understood that but look how she just got shot. We must get justice for this.”

A 32-year-old vegetable vendor was shot dead at the Tunapuna market yesterday. According to reports, around 6.30 am Anthony Prince Noel, of Monte Grande, was setting up his provision stall when he was approached by a man whose face was covered with a burqa, an Islamic veil worn by women. 

The attacker shot Noel once and then eight other times as he fell to the ground. 

Eyewitnesses said the shooter then ran away through the market and boarded a maxi taxi on the Priority Bus Route (PBR), heading west. They claimed that they could not identify the shooter as they could only see his eyes through his disguise. Noel was pronounced dead on the scene by a District Medical Officer (DMO). 

Speaking with reporters on the scene of the shooting Noel’s brother, Andy Thomas, said he could not think of any reason why someone would want to kill him.  

“He don’t be in beef with anyone. If you come outside you might not even hear his mouth. I don’t know what would have caused this,” he said as he described his brother as a “hard working family man. 

“He was making a good life here. He never tell us about any confrontation or anything like that but I now hearing he and another fella had an altercation in the market,” Thomas said. 

One eyewitness, who only spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Noel had gotten into a series of altercations recently with veteran vendors over the positioning of his stall at the market. Homicide detectives, who are yet to establish a motive for the incident, could not confirm if his murder was connected to the dispute with his fellow vendors. 

The market was cordoned off for hours as police searched for clues. So far, 151 people have been murdered for the year. For the same period last year 128 were murdered. 

Investigations are continuing.  

The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) yesterday turned to the Police Service and Defence Force to guard the Navet, Caroni and Arena reservoirs after one of its private security contractors prematurely terminated its contract because of a staggering $100 million in excess bill.

Confirmation came from WASA’s chairman, Romney Thomas, yesterday who admitted that the company, T&T Security Services (TTSS), withdrew its services around 7 pm on Tuesday. TTSS has a staff of 800 employees who provided security to WASA’s two reservoirs and other facilities. 

Thomas said when he heard of the sudden walkout he contacted National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Public Utilities Minister Ancil Antoine about the incident. Thereafter the T&T Police Service and the T&T Defence Force were notified.

“The police and army were able to give us short-term cover in those critical high risk areas so the facilties have been and will always remain covered. We had assistance to ensure that they were properly protected.”

Yesterday, Thomas said other security firms employed by the WASA provided additional security at critical areas where water was stored.

Asked what was the overall payment owed to TTSS, Thomas said: “They (TTSS) are claiming in excess of $100 million. It is nowhere near that figure, based on our last view.” He said TTSS’ three-year contract was valued at $146 million “which I think is high in any case. That is something we were in the process of reviewing in any case.”

Thomas said TTSS still had 18 months left on the contract. “They are claiming that we have $100 million for them already. It just does not add up. If I remember correctly the compliment of workers in the contract was under 400.”

Thomas said while WASA “will settle all legitimate claims, we have some concerns about some of the level of billing because they were doing a lot of work that was out of scope. I don’t think there was proper documentation for it so we have to make sure there is proper documentation. That is what we were doing...reviewing the invoices... having a proper audit done on those invoices.”

He could not say when they would pay TTSS, stating WASA always faces a cash flow issue.

Business facing closure
General manager of TTSS, Towfeek Ali, confirmed yesterday his company had ended its contract with WASA for failing to pay them in a timely fashion for services rendered. TTSS is now seeking legal action to recover its payments from WASA.

Ali broke down in tears at his Chaguanas home, saying his heart goes out to his 800 workers, many of whom are single mothers, who may face the breadline if something is not done fast. 

“This is something that has been bothering me for some time. If WASA does not make some partial payment, I would have no choice but to close my business, which has practically fallen apart. I didn’t get any impression from WASA that this is disturbing them,” Ali said.

Having called “a breach on the contract” Ali said his workers would now be displaced.

“Many of them are disturbed by the news. They are saddened not knowing what the future holds for them. How will they pay their rent, mortgages, car loans, feed their families and survive?”  he asked.

Ali said on Tuesday he ordered his workers to vacate WASA’s offices. The workers said they were owed salaries for April. 

Yesterday, some of them staged a protest outside WASA’s head office, St Joseph, calling on WASA to settle its unpaid debt.