The taxi fare between Chaguanas and Port-of-Spain has been increased from $9 to $11. And some angry commuters are planning to boycott taxis and take the bus. After much discussion, the Port-of-Spain/Chaguanas Taxi Drivers Association decided to increase the fare by $2 because of the recent gas price hike announced by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

So said Nicholas Moore, president of the association, who said the new fare would come into effect on May 9. He said Port-of-Spain/Chaguanas taxi drivers have already been “feeling out” their regulars and were bracing for disapproval of the increased fare.

“People may feel it is unfair. Some of our passengers said they were more comfortable with the a $10 fare,” he added.He said the association decided to increase it by $2 because it was expecting another increase in the price of gas in the September budget.

“Based on what Imbert is doing, taking off the subsidy piece, piece, we are planning for another gas price hike.

“We really didn’t want to,” he repeated, “but we are playing it safe. We will not raise the fare again if there is another gas price increase. The $11 fare will remain for about ten years,” he promised.

Moore said Chaguanas/Port-of-Spain drivers, who had not raised their fares for nine years, held their hand during recent previous gas price increases while others were raising their fares. He said after the last announcement by Imbert, drivers had been really feeling it. “The amount we spend on gas for the day jumped from $120 to $170.”

Imbert, in the March 2016 budget review said: “The cost of super gasoline will be increased by 15 per cent to $3.58 and diesel by 15 per cent to $2 a litre.” He said the price of “super gas” was being subsidised by almost 100 per cent at the pump and diesel by over 200 per cent and even with those increased fuel prices, the subsidy in 2018 is expected to exceed $1 billion.

Moore said their $2 increase was only to pay for gas to continue providing their taxi service. 

“We are not talking yet about increased prices of car oil and other parts or the general cost of living. Everything gone up by 50 per cent.” He said it just was not fair for people to call on taxi drivers alone to be patriotic and keep their prices down. “The parts place raising their prices too. Everybody raising their prices,” he added.

Some taxi drivers operating the Chaguanas to San Fernando route increased their fares earlier than others amid much protest from some of their own fellow drivers who accused them of being unpatriotic. All have since increased their fares from $10 to $12.

Fares between Port-of-Spain and San Fernando increased from $15 to $17 and between Curepe and Chaguanas from $7 to $8.

As a Petrotrin employee lay gasping for breath, pinned by a pumping jack, villagers of Lowkie Trace, Penal, begged for a chance to resuscitate him.

However, Charles Mitchell’s co-workers refused to let anyone touch him and while everyone waited for an ambulance to come, Mitchell, 58, passed away. He remained on the ground for more than 20 minutes before the Petrotrin ambulance arrived and medical personnel pronounced him dead.

During an interview yesterday, Maria Fabien said Mitchell would have survived if the ambulance had responded immediately. Fabien, who is a certified First Aid attendant, said a hiab truck was used to pull the pumping jack’s crank arm off Mitchell’s chest.

“He was having difficulties breathing so I told them that he needed resuscitation but they said we not allowed to move him in case he had other injuries,” Fabien said. 

She criticised Mitchell’s co-workers for not putting him in their vehicle and taking him to hospital.

“What they were saying made no sense because they already moved him. Why didn’t they put him in a van and take him to the hospital? That man stayed there for a long while and I think if he was taken to the hospital quickly, he would be alive today,” Fabien said.

Another resident, Edward Fabien, expressed dissatisfaction that the Petrotrin ambulance took 20 minutes to respond.

“The EHS ambulance also arrived more than half-an-hour later and by then Mitchell was dead,” Edward said. He revealed that workers on the site told him that the brakes on the well had collapsed. 

“The wheel came down and crushed him. The foreman should have taken charge of the situation and sent the man to the hospital,” Edward added. Relatives of Mitchell declined comment yesterday. 

A woman who identified herself as Mitchell’s sister said she did not have details of the accident. “All I know is that the Petrotrin people came and went with my brother. They gone to do some business,” the woman said.

Meanwhile, OWTU’s president general Ancel Roget is blaming Petrotrin for Mitchell’s death, saying a shortage of technical staff was causing too many accidents at the State-owned company.

Speaking to reporters at the site where Mitchell died, Roget added: “Petrotrin has not been filling vacancies in critical operational and technical areas.”

He said the mechanical crew that responded to service the pumping jack had one employee short. Saying there is a stipulated number of workers required to do maintenance works, Roget said a restructuring proposal was sent to the Petrotrin board but no response was forthcoming.

“We have complained incessantly to management and even to the board about how HSE is being delivered. Therefore, we are saying that the company has to be properly re-organised to deliver greater levels of efficiency, accountability and safety so that workers will be able to perform their duties,” Roget said.

He added: “We are demanding that the proper investigation takes place to unearth the cause of this fatality. Within the past five or six years, we have had 11 fatalities. This is unacceptable.”

Roget said proper staffing and proper numbers of crews had to be brought into question. 

“There is a requisite number of persons required to perform particular tasks and when you go below that you compromise the ability of the crew to perform the job safely,” Roget said. He said staff members have retired but vacancies in the technical and operating areas have not been filled. Roget said a team, which includes a union representative, had begun investigations.

Petrotrin in a statement said Mitchell, a technical craftsman II attached to Petrotrin’s production operations, was working with a mechanical crew when the incident occurred around 11.30 am on Tuesday.

Mitchell, who was employed as a permanent worker for more than 40 years, was examined by the company’s medical team but was subsequently pronounced dead. Officers from Petrotrin’s Employee Assistance Programme have visited Mitchell’s family and are providing counselling.

Ingrid Applewhite and her son, Joshua, who were living in a public bathroom at the Pinto Road, Arima, recreation ground, now have their own simple, airy home in a serene, windy, wooded settlement off the Valencia Main Road.

Mother and son, who share a love for animals, have taken under their wings two puppies, two cats and a guinea pig and are kept busy caring for them. Applewhite got the puppies from a neighbour in Valencia whose dog made 18 puppies. “I gave them wormouts and treated them for fleas.”

Joshua, 12, who is still to return to school, is delighted with the puppies and calls them Shortman and Butch. Applewhite said she was grateful to the T&T Guardian for highlighting her plight on April 7. “It’s because of that all of this happened,” she said.

“On Monday I sat in the house and it was so breezy and spacious and comfortable I fell asleep in the chair. It felt like home.”

However, she is yet to move into her new house because it is still incomplete. “It needs windows and locks on the doors and a washroom,” she said. The house was built with materials donated by Multi Grade Hardware of Arima and by volunteers. Applewhite said labour was a problem and this caused a delay in the completion of the house.

In the meantime, Applewhite and Joshua have been staying in a one-room hut next to the house which belongs to a neighbour while her wooden house with its concrete flooring stands empty, with only the wind blowing through it.

“I am not moving in until the windows are up and the doors are secure,” Applewhite said. In the one-room hut, she uses a flambeaux for light at nights and candles. There is no electricity or pipe borne water in the new settlement and residents depend on generators for current and rainfall and the water truck.

A blue barrel someone gave her stood at the back of the structure with a new length of galvanise in it to collect water from the roof. After a brief shower Tuesday, there was less than quarter of a barrel of water. Joshua said a water truck comes into the area once a week and fills up residents’ tanks and barrels.

Applewhite has no furniture. A mattress on which she and Joshua sleep lie on the floor in one corner of the small room in which she stays. She said she was a good cook and worked as a kitchen assistant at the Hyatt Regency, Hilton Trinidad, and places like Homes in Arima, and is skilled at making all types of roti, including “buss-up-shut”, dhalpurie, sada and dosti.

But she has not been able to prepare meals because she does not have a stove, she said.

“We eat mangos from the tree at the side of the house and buy bread and snacks from the parlour. People sometimes give us food,” she said.

T&T Guardian employee, Ryan Diaz visited the Applewhites last Tuesday and bought a box of groceries, two cases of water and lunch and dinner for them. 

Applewhite was hesitant about writing a second story about her. “I will appreciate any further help but I do not want to appear down and out and as if I am begging,” she said. She plans to look for work and start saving to buy a small generator which costs $2,500 and finish her house. “I really want to open a shop, too,” she said.

She said MP for the area, Glenda Jennings-Smith, had promised to help get her into the Unemployment Relief Programme and she is awaiting word from her.

When the Applewhites’ story broke, the NGO, Sharing Humanitarian Love, said it was taking full responsibility for their welfare. They promised to build her a house in one week. The T&T Guardian contacted a member of the NGO who asked not to be identified. 

“We are still in the process of completing the house,” she said. She said head of the NGO, Zahir Ali, was not available for comment.

Anyone wishing to help the Applewhites can contact Ingrid Applewhite only at 486-8692.

In a time when some citizens are cowering in fear of criminals, Springvale residents dished out a special kind of vigilante justice on Wednesday when they pummeled one of two bandits who robbed a Claxton Bay bar, leaving him in critical condition at hospital.

The suspect, who remained a John Doe at the San Fernando General Hospital last night, had not regained consciousness since being knocked out by villagers on Tuesday outside PJ’s Recreation Club along Mount Pleasant Road.

There were over a dozen patrons liming at the community watering hole around 2.40 pm when two bandits, dressed in short-sleeved coveralls, boldly walked into the bar. 

Whipping out a gun, one of the men announced a robbery. Unprovoked, he immediately kicked Chinese national Lui Luo, the operator of gaming machines inside the club, in the back of his head. 

The impact caused Luo to fall against a roulette table, hitting his forehead. He was then robbed of almost $2,000 in sales. The gunman then walked into the casino room and robbed patrons of cash and jewelry.

Club owner, Phoolmatie John, said she was outside when she saw the two men but thought they went to buy drinks. It was when she heard the sound of the gunman unlocking the safety feature on the gun that she panicked and grabbed her three-year-old grandson.

“I got real frightened and my heart not so good. I picked up my lil grandson and walked inside (my house) while the bandits went inside and rob the people of their money and gold. 

“The tall one who got beat up came and opened the gate to the bar and started to kick down the door,” she recalled.

“Right in the back is my house and my son was inside sleeping. When he heard the knocking, he jumped up and said ‘What is going on ma?’ As the bandit kicked down the door, my son grabbed him by the neck and both of them started to scuffle.”  

While her son, Niben Beepat, 28, fought with that bandit, the gunman bolted, leaving his partner to fend for himself.

 By this time, however, the angry bar patrons, responding to John’s cries for help, ran into the house and dragged the unarmed bandit outside. The then unleashed a barrage of kicks and cuffs on him

Other patrons. meanwhile. chased the gunman but he jumped into a white Nissan Almera, registration PBU 6600, with another man and the car sped off. 

Within a minute, however, the car spun around and came back at them. As the patrons threw stones at the car the gunman fired two shots at them but missed.

When Couva police arrived they found the battered suspect bleeding from a wound to his face. 

He was taken to hospital by ambulance and investigators said yesterday he was warded in an unsatisfactory condition under police guard. Police recovered bullet casings which were taken into evidence, along with CCTV footage from the club.

As she commended the villagers for their bravery, John said the police treated her son and the patrons like they were criminals.

 She said they spent long hours under interrogation at the Couva Police Station and it was only when a senior officer gave instructions to release them were they were allowed to go home.

“I can’t function, I can’t eat, I can’t cook. I said this could never be right. All these hours we were at the station after people came and robbed us. Big daylight they (bandits) coming to rob people. I don’t know what is going on with this place,” John said.

“I don’t really want to work again because I really can’t take seeing a gun in my face a next time. Those boys were saying kill him (the bandit) but I said not to kill anybody in my place. It was a good move by the young fellas in the bar and if there were the bigger guys, he (bandit) would have been dead.”

Her business, which she inherited from her deceased mother, Ramrajie John, several years ago has been opened for 40 years. 

She said police, current and retired, frequented the club, which is popular among the villagers.

She said the bandits knew when to strike and believed they have been targeting the Chinese who run the casino. She said since the Chinese set up last year they had been robbed several times while leaving the club. Two months ago, the casino in the club was also robbed.

While she said no one at the bar knew the suspects, there were suspicions they could be from Railway Road, Couva.

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has launched an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct against senior and junior police who were investigating the discovery of marijuana at the private residence of former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in 2013. It is also calling on anyone who may have information relevant to the case to come forward.

The move came hours after a call by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley for a detailed investigation into alleged inducements and personal benefits offered to the team of investigators, and for a determination on if this constituted misconduct in public office and/or the commission of a serious crime. 

The claim that marijuana had been found at Persad-Bissessar’s Phillipine residence was first made by former national security minister Jack Warner in 2015.

Warner had claimed that on April 12, 2013, former deputy commissioner of police Mervyn Richardson informed him (Warner) that several ounces of marijuana had been found at Persad-Bissessar’s house. Persad-Bissessar was in New York at the time. Warner said both former national security adviser Gary Griffith and former housing minister Dr. Roodal Moonilal were aware of the find and had advised Persad-Bissessar of it.

Yesterday, Rowley said it was now to be determined if the conduct of the police investigating the matter had, “received a series of personal benefits and it is to be determined now whether those actions and persons who offered those benefits have in fact resulted in the commission of a serious crime.”

He said Warner had sworn an affidavit prior to the general elections last September, confirming the details of the marijuana find as well as the alleged cover-up which saw police officers deviating from the proper channels of protocol.

Underscoring the seriousness of the matter, Rowley said the investigating officers had reportedly been the recipients of state housing, Priority Bus Route passes and had their vacation leave bought out by government.

He said the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had the power to intervene in the matter.

Asked about the lack of power by the PCA to move beyond a certain point in many of these types of investigations, Rowley revealed that plans were afoot to bestow “more power” on the PCA.

He also knocked acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams, whom he said held the post with the highest authority.

“I don't want to think that the Commissioner of Police who has lost breath in all of this, would allow the officers who were at Phillipine to be prosecuted and turn a blind eye to the fact that high-ranking office holders may have been involved or behind the conduct of those officers. Then that would be saying the law only applies to certain people and doesn’t apply to other people,” he said.

People whose current vehicle shipments do not meet the May 20 deadline of the moratorium on luxury vehicle tax can seek a tax waiver from Board of Inland Revenue (BIR), Finance Minister Colm Imbert said yesterday. 

Speaking in the Senate on an order to effect the 50 per cent increase on tax on luxury vehicles, Imbert noted when he had announced the moratorium on the tax on April 8, the six-week period ran from then to May 20. 

That involves the six-week period which ships take to come to T&T from Japan, with two weeks added for off-loading. 

When he debated the order in the Lower House on Monday he gave a May 20 date as the date by which the moratorium would end.

Yesterday, in the Senate, Imbert said after he gave May 20 as the deadline for the moratorium, he was contacted by someone seeking to have the concession extended beyond May 20. He said they told him their shipment would not get to T&T in time to qualify for moratorium. 

He said those whose shipments, due to unforseen circumstances, arrived after the May 20 date when the moratorium ended, could try and seek the tax waiver from the BIR, on a case-by-case basis.

Imbert, who said the tax could raise the price of an Audi by $128,000, added it was implemented to try and change social behaviour. He said Government would also be approving other types of taxes to change social behaviour, such as to encourage farming and fishing. 

He said Government would bring an order to Parliament next month to exempt from tax farming equipment and fishing boats.

Imbert warned that Agriculture Ministry officers would be vigilant to ensure people did not abuse the situation since, he said, it had been noted that some abused the current tax concessions on farming vehicles and boats, using them for pleasure purposes rather than farming and fishing.

Imbert admitted  Government would have to wait and see how upper-bracket consumers responded to the luxury vehicle tax measure to see how much revenue the measure earned.  

He said he did not want to mislead anyone and say it would raise millions. He added it may balance, or less people may buy luxury cars, but Government would have to wait and see.

Opposition Senator Wade Mark accused Imbert of being a “singer” as he kept changing his tune often. Mark said Imbert had said the tax was to earn revenue but was now saying it was to change social behaviour.

“What’s the real story? He is now realising that measure won’t generate the type of revenue he anticipated. So they are merely tinkering with the system,” Mark added.

Government has ordered a full forensic audit to determine exactly how much taxpayers' money was pumped into the bail out of Colonial Life and CL Financial in light of billion-dollar discrepancies, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said yesterday.

Speaking at a post-Cabinet press conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, Imbert said the exact cost of the bailout Colonial Life and CL Financial was still uncertain.

He said so as he noted CL Financial’s majority shareholder Lawrence Duprey’s intention to take legal action against the Government to block Government’s proposed sale of CLF assets, which was reported exclusively in yesterday’s T&T Guardian. 

Imbert said he had in his possession a letter, dared March 22, written by Duprey and sent to the governor of the Central Bank.

In the letter, Duprey had asked for consideration to be given for him to have a role in the divestment of the Clico assets. 

In response, however, the Central Bank said it was unable to treat with it. Imbert said he also received a letter, dated the following day, regarding suggestions on the way forward for CL Financial, which was being examined.

“However, a lot of these details with respect to the takeover of Colonial Life and the agreement between CL Financial... a lot of these things have been shrouded in secrecy over the last five years and there have been a number of variations to the original agreement and extensions to the share,” Imbert said.

Imbert added there have been some 16 extensions to the shareholders’ agreement between CL Financial and the Government.

He said the latest one was a heads of agreement entered into on May 24, 2013, between the former finance minister Larry Howai and Roger Duprey, who represented the United Shareholders’ Company Ltd with respect to the disposal of all of the assets and a way forward.

“In that document it states that Government had advanced, by way of financial support to the affected subsidiaries, $19.6 billion,” Imbert said.

Saying there was disagreement between CL Financial representatives and the United Shareholders Company Ltd on the figure, Imbert added: 

“Based on the discrepancies between what is in this agreement and the information that is in the public’s domain, Government is owed approximately $24.5 billion... and this document speaks to $19.6 billion. There is confusion as to how much of taxpayers’ money was put into this bailout,” Imbert said.

He also sought to clarify what appeared to be confusion in distinguishing the difference between Colonial Life and CL Financial.

He said Colonial Life was taken over by the Central Bank under the emergency powers.

“And it is the Central Bank in pursuant of that responsibility that is disposing of the assets of Colonial Life, which would include policies, shares in Republic Bank and Angostura.

“CL Financial is a holding company that owns shares in Colonial Life, Angostura and Home Construction and companies like CL Marine,” Imbert added.

He said Colonial Life owed the Government $16.9 billion, of which only $4 billion was repaid.

Imbert said within the next three weeks a note would be sent to Cabinet on plans regarding the recovery of monies.

Imbert also said recent meetings with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank dealt with discussing technical assistance and not imposing any financial restrictions on T&T. 

“There was no meeting per say to go drilling down into what’s going on in T&T and to impose conditions. We simply met with experts to advise us on certain matters,” Imbert said.

He said the IMF meeting in particular was to advise on the oil and gas taxation regime and transfer pricing where multinational companies avoided paying taxes.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has contributed to the national discussion on the issue of abortion, saying Government will abide by the current laws.

Responding to questions during yesterday's post-Cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, Rowley reinforced the view by Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh that abortion was illegal in T&T.

“The law of the land is that abortion is illegal and we are all law-abiding citizens,” Rowley said.

He said discussions would continue to take place but that sometimes one had to challenge the law in order to solve problems more meaningfully.

However, unlike his Cabinet colleague, Rowley said the conversation was not over as it was one which was taking place at all levels. He is also anticipating that it will continue into the future because many women are utilising the option of abortion.

“We know it is happening, which is backyard abortions. Let us not bury our heads in the sand and pretend that in this country there are not thousands of women who take part in abortions and sometimes at the risk of their own lives.”

The Clico Policyholders Group (CPG) wants Government and the Central Bank to update the public on the Clico/CL Financial matter as soon as possible.

CPG head, Peter Permell. made the call yesterday, following moves by former chairman of Clico and CLF, Lawrence Duprey, to try to regain control of his former companies by repaying the debt to Government, which had taken control of the situation via bail out in 2009 when CLF collapsed.

Duprey had sent a proposal to the Central Bank governor on March 22 and a copy to Finance Minister Colm Imbert on March 23, reportedly exclusive in yesterday’s T&T Guardian, offering an outline proposal to settle the Clico/CL Financial debt to Government. 

Yesterday, Permell said, since Duprey’s spokesman, Claudius Dacon, had said nothing was heard from Government regarding Duprey’s proposal, “the scenario seems to suggest that his proposal is either not being taken seriously or being studiously ignored by the Government.

“When viewed against the backdrop of the secrecy, lack of transparency and accountability by successive administrations relative to the financial affairs of the management-controlled CL Financial Group to date, the CPG believes this is indeed cause for concern,” Permell said.

Also contacted yesterday on Duprey’s criticisms of the People’s Partnership’s handling of the companies, former finance minister Larry Howai said:

 “The arrangement that was in place was that CLF was managed by a board which comprised representatives of the Government (four members) and three appointed by the shareholders of CLF, so Mr Duprey's interests would have been adequately represented in decisions that were made. 

“In addition, Clico being under the control of the Central Bank also fell under the governance arrangements that the CBTT would have insisted on to ensure that all actions in relation to Clico were proper. 

“In addition, the ministry employed the services of Ernst & Young to review and assist the ministry with various aspects of this process, so I am doubtful that the companies’ business was badly handled as far as the ministry’s involvement is concerned.”

The Estate Police Association (EPA) has intervened to find alternative work for 800 security officers whose contract with the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) ended prematurely because of an outstanding debt of over $100 million.

Yesterday, vice-president of the EPA, Ancil John-Nicholas, confirmed he requested a meeting with T&T Security Services’ (TTSS) general manager, Towfeek Ali, today to try and absorb some of the workers in other security firms.

Ali on Tuesday ordered his security guards to cease duty on all of WASA’s compounds after he claimed his $146 million contract had been breached by non-payment of fees.

Since then, the workers, who were represented by the EPA, have been home.

In light of this move, WASA had to call out the army and police to guard its Navet, Caroni and Arena reservoirs and other assets.

Attorney Nyree Alfonso, who is a director of TTSS and Ali’s wife, said WASA issued a letter yesterday to TTSS, informing them they had terminated its three-year contract.

Alfonso said she was baffled by the move, since she had notified WASA since Tuesday, via email, that they would no longer engage its contract due to non-payment on their part.

“Do you terminate a contract twice? That letter sent by WASA this morning was very disappointing. If I have to take as a signal whether WASA wishes to engage with me for the purposes of reaching a settlement, I get the answer loud and clear. It is clear to me that WASA does not give a hoot. I am putting my house in order to go to court,” she added.

Alfonso said they have agreed to meet with the EPA and its executive at its Chaguanas office.

“What bothers me is that I am terminating 800 people. The families of these 800 people will also be affected. I don’t know if politicians do not take on those things. 

“Those things trouble me greatly. We are meeting to see dynamically what is the best thing that we can do. We might be able to hold on to some people (workers),” Alfonso said.

 TTSS has not paid its security officers for April which amounts to $3.5 million.

John-Nicholas said the EPA would try its best to absorb the security officers into private firms.

“These firms are always woefully undermanned and need security officers. This is one avenue we are looking at,” he said.

WASA’s chairman Romney Thomas said yesterday the company continued to engage the services of private contractors, the police and army to guard its reservoirs and facilities where water was stored and distributed.

“We have everything under control,” Thomas said in a telephone interview.

The Roman Catholic Church wants the wider national community to have its say on the call by Archbishop Joseph Harris for provisions to be made by the Government to pardon deserving prisoners, especially those incarcerated and awaiting trial for periods of time longer than what they would have served if found guilty.

The petition initially sent out to Roman Catholic churches across the country is now available online to the wider community, both Catholic and non-Catholic.

Chairperson for the Archdiocesan Year of Mercy Committee, Sr Renee Hall told the GML Enterprise Desk the archbishop has agreed to an online option which would allow anyone wanting to sign the petition to do so.

There is an option on the link for people to say whether they want their names to appear publicly or not.

Harris is hoping that “as many people as possible will sign this petition so that the powers that be may hear the desire of the people to make this land, our home, a more merciful place.”

Meantime, relatives of prisoners incarcerated for minor crimes say they fully support the archbishop’s call which can give “new hope to the poor justice system.” 

The GML Enterprise Desk spoke with relatives of inmates outside the Golden Grove Prison where we found a mix, some charged with more serious crimes, including manslaughter, possession of cocaine, but quite a few told us their relatives had been charged with possession of marijuana.

“Carl” (not his real name) told us: “Imagine my brethren in there for having a ‘lil weed’. That is a joke. I feel the jail supposed to be full of killers, rapists and child molesters.”

“Rookmin” (not her real name) had a similar view. Her son is in prison for possession of marijuana.

“I agree with the archbishop, is real stupidness that a man will get hold with weed and he in jail because he can’t post his bail. The system needs to change,” she said.

“Carl” is advocating that the authorities “decriminalise the weed. It have nothing wrong with it. Why lock up a man for having a little weed?” he asked.

He said the way the system worked was skewed against poor people because “no bailiff will tie up his property for $1,200 bail for a man charged with possession of weed. You go tie up big property for that small charge? They should introduce some kind of fine system, so every time you hold somebody with weed they have to pay a cash fine.” 

He said the fine could be increased for the person every time they are held “so if it reach $5,000 you don’t think a man will get fed up and stop committing the crime?” 

He said many of those in prison on petty crimes could afford cash bail but they have no choice but to stay behind bars because of the bail system.

Rookmin agreed. She said to get bail one needed to ensure that the property being put up was ‘clean’, meaning that the property must have no encumbrances, “that is no mortgage and that all taxes are paid.”

But she said it was difficult for a bailiff to want to put his property up for $1,200 or $1,500 bail for someone charged with possession of marijuana. Relatives, she said, could not afford to put up property “because we don’t have.”

 The direct link to the petition site is https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/year-of-mercy-tt-pardon-for-prisone...

ROSEMARIE SANT

GML ENTERPRISE DESK

Police believe the suspect who shot and killed Guyanese national Khemraj Persaud and injured another man has fled to Venezuela.

T&T Guardian was told that local police have sent out an advisory to the Venezuelan authorities to be on the lookout for the 51-year-old man who last resided at Duncan Village, San Fernando.

The suspect may have used his own boat to escape to Venezuela, police sources said.

The murder took place around 5.15 pm on Monday.

Persaud, 30, also known as “Leaf,” was renting a downstairs apartment with Sean Boodhoo, 28, and Kumar Shivprashad, at Hummingbird Avenue, Duncan Village, for over three years.

The construction worker was working in T&T for several years and sending money to help his impoverished family in Guyana. 

According to a police report, the suspect went to visit another family member in the building. Reports stated that the suspect came downstairs and urinated on a washing machine used by Persaud and his friends. 

Boodhoo told the suspect about it and they began to argue and fight. Persaud who was inside came out and intervened.

 The suspect went to his car, took out a gun and opened fire, hitting both men.

Persaud was shot twice in the head while Boodhoo was shot in the chest.

He died on the spot while Boodhoo ran to the road and collapsed. Police took him to the hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and remains warded in a stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital. Detectives interviewed him yesterday at the hospital.

 Shivprashad, also a Guyanese national, said a group of friends have been trying to raise funds to send Persaud’s back to his homeland. It is costing about $15,000. 

“We trying to get assistance for the family to carry the body back to Guyana. Friends and business people trying to help. His family is not coming down here because it makes no sense that they waste that passage.” 

He said Persaud came from an impoverished family, was an avid cricketer and well known.

The police constable involved in the accidental death of Rancho Quemado grandmother Sona Lalloo is being investigated by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).

This was confirmed by its director David West, via telephone yesterday, who said the investigation would be separate from the one started by South Western Division’s ASP Jackman. 

West said if the officer was found guilty of a criminal offence, the PCA would write to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions recommending charges be laid against that officer. If the offence was not criminal in nature, they could suggest disciplinary measures be taken against the offending officer.

“We have initiated the investigation and we will be looking into it. We are doing our own investigation and what we will do is we will ask the police for their interim copy of file to see what  they have done so far. Once we get all the evidence, then we will determine if we need to interview the officer or not. 

“Whatever recommendations we make, we either write to the DPP if it is a criminal offence or if it is a disciplinary offence, we will contact the Commissioner of Police,” West said.

The T&T Guardian was also told the officer could also be cleared of any wrongdoing. 

Lalloo, 80, died at 11.45 pm on Tuesday while undergoing surgery at the San Fernando General Hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the side of her head.

While taking bread to her son, Jamere, on Monday, she was shot by a bullet which was discharged from the service pistol of a South Western Division Task Force officer.

According to a release by the T&T Police Service’s Public Affairs Unit yesterday, officers were responding to a report from a resident that two men were seen at around 7.45 pm at Johnson Trace, Rancho Quemado, brandishing guns.

When the officers arrived on the scene, their vehicle was flagged down by the resident who pointed to the suspects.

The release stated: “A chase ensued and two shots were fired at the officers while there was an accidental discharge from one of the officer’s service revolver after he fell to the ground while trying to negotiate his way over a wire fence. The investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Ms Lalloo is continuing.”

This information conflicts with the account given by Lalloo’s son, Jamere, who said he was lying in a hammock when he saw the officer firing shots. He also claimed there was no gunmen running from the officer. He said the fence the officer claimed he fell over was down for some time.

Claiming negligence as the cause of his mother’s death, he said his family should be compensated for her death. While Lalloo’s funeral is set for 11 am today at their home, he said no one has come to offer counselling to his family. 

“Two police officers came today and watched where the bullets passed and asked questions. They did not offer any counselling. They are not treating us well at all and we told them that when they came this morning. We want justice,” Jamere said.

CoP sends condolences, offers to pay for funeral

Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams has expressed sadness and sympathy over Lalloo’s death. 

He also extended his deepest condolences to Lalloo’s relatives and has undertaken to assist with the funeral expenses through the Police Service’s Award Fund, the release said.

It also stated Lalloo was shot during a police pursuit of armed bandits in the area and that a post mortem conducted on Wednesday confirmed that the death was due to a single gunshot wound to the head.

Speed guns are to be introduced on T&T’s roads and highways on Monday in an attempt to significantly reduce the incidence of fatalities, Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds told a news conference yesterday.

The speed guns, a device used by police to measure the speed of moving vehicles, will be in effect after the legal order is gazetted on Monday.

Hinds and senior police officers are appealing to motorists to drive within the 80 kilometres per hour (kph) speed limit on the highways and 50 kph on main roads to avoid being arrested and fined.

Hinds spoke about the initiative at his London Street, Port-of-Spain office yesterday.

The speed guns will be able to take a picture and have the relevant information available to present to the offending driver instantly. If the offending driver refuses to stop at that point he will be stopped by police officers at a nearby location. The relevant information will be emailed to the second officer for presentation to the offending driver. A fine of $1,000 is the penalty for the ticketed offence.

Hinds said speeding was the cause of 55 per cent of the accidents on the nation’s roads, adding that Cabinet on Thursday approved the introduction of the devices.

Hinds was expected to sign the order yesterday. He said once the order is published on Monday, it will go into effect and police officers were being encouraged to implement it with “full force.” Hinds said many of the accidents resulted from “bad behaviour” by motorists and they can be prevented.

“The law, as of Monday, will permit the police to use these speed-measuring devices to manage bad behaviour and excessive driving on our nations roads,” the minister said. He called on citizens not to be irresponsible on the roads this weekend, adding that the speed-measuring devices were “a check and balance on bad driving” along the roads.

Hinds said police officers were “adequately and suitably trained” to use the devices and they will enforce the law “with full force.”

He said weak or non-existent law enforcement was a major cause of some of the nation’s problems and urged the police to redouble their efforts to enforce the law.

In response to a question, Hinds said he was not aware of any public outcry over the existing speed limit.

Earlier, Hinds indicated that there was a lot of “bad behaviour” on the roads and motorists must now change that because accidents are preventable.

The new device is being implemented to ensure drivers who exceed the speed limit will be captured by a camera and intercepted by officers.

Road safety non-governmental organisation Arrive Alive has been calling for this device to be introduced in this country. Yesterday President of the group, Sharon Inglefield, was unavailable for comment when the T&T Guardian attempted to reach her but at a road safety conference last week the group released statistics that indicated in 2015, there were 127 fatal road accidents in which 146 persons lost their lives. Thirty two per cent of these belonged to the 24-35 age group; 88 per cent were males while 12 per cent were female. 

Speeding was the reason behind 55 per cent of all fatal accidents, while alcohol was responsible for 30 per cent of fatal accidents.

Under the new system drivers caught driving over the limit will be given a ticket with evidence to support the charge.

Hinds advised  that motorists should not use this weekend to be taken as a free for all to speed on the nation’s roads.

According to Hinds, statistics obtained at one speed trap at an unidentified location in the country showed that when the limit was set at 80 kilometres miles per hour, more than 500 people were in violation.

Hinds said he has not heard any public call for the 80 kph limit to be increased but if it is raised it will be given the required consideration.

The security guard who was chopped to death and left at the side of the road in Bagatelle, Diego Martin, on Thursday, was employed at the Prime Minister’s official residence in St Ann’s.

Police yesterday described the killing of security officer Michael Dennis “as extremely brutal.”

According to homicide officers, Dennis, 28, who worked as a security guard with Executive Security at Diplomatic Centre, was chopped at least 25 times to the head.

The chop wounds penetrated his skull and damaged his brain, investigators said.

Police said it appeared that Dennis attempted to defend himself as some of his fingers were chopped off.

One officer told the T&T Guardian that Dennis’ face was mutilated by chop wounds.

Western Division officers said they are unclear of a motive but believe robbery was part of the reason as Dennis was killed as his Toyota car, which he worked PH taxi, was missing. 

According to police, around 4 pm on Thursday, a passer-by stumbled upon Dennis’ body along a track off Pinehill, Bagatelle in Diego Martin. Police said Dennis’ feet were tied together.

Dennis lived at Bagatelle, Diego Martin, and was last seen alive Thursday morning. Police officers said they were told by residents Dennis never got himself in trouble with the law and they were shocked to hear he was killed in such a manner.

An online report, quoted one of his friends, Kwasi Selman, as one of the last person to speak to Dennis.

Selman stated in the report that he spoke to Dennis around 1.45 pm on Wednesday and Dennis told him that he got a private job in the Diego Martin area.

“I am trying to picture what he was thinking, how he felt going through that, because he obviously went out slow and painful. And it is really wrong for that to happen to him,” the report by 96.1 WEFM stated.

“Michael was always at work. When he not working by the PM’s residence, he was on the road to make extra money. His mother left a spot for him in Savannah Terrace (Bagatelle) and he was working to build his house. He started and the first effort was burnt down,” Selman stated.

“He was hard working and loving, always smiling and always making jokes. If you had a bad day, just seeing Michael would make you laugh,” he said.

More pressure is being brought to bear on the Government and the Central Bank concerning Clico/CL Financial.

Following CL Financial’s majority shareholder Lawrence Duprey’s threat of legal action against the Government to try to regain control of his company, the United Policyholders Group (UPG) is now threatening similar action if it does not get answers on certain issues affecting those policyholders.

The UPG, comprising persons who had held policies with Clico, yesterday issued a statement saying it was unhappy with the manner in which the Central Bank and Government have been treating with affected policyholders.

The UPG stated it wrote to the Central Bank Governor and the Inspector of Financial Institutions early last week.

“We feel that the questions and matters raised on behalf of policyholders are a matter of public interest and should be publicly answered. Should there not be a timely response, we have considered our options, including judicial review.

“We also call on ATTIC and its executive to break its silence on the treatment of Clico and British American policyholders by the Central Bank and the GORTT over the last seven years and to raise their collective voice towards the protection of all policyholders, since the purpose of the Insurance Act is to protect policyholders above all others in the event of the company’s failure and it would apply to all the companies represented in ATTIC.”

UPG’s move came after the disclosure that former CL Financial executive chairman Lawrence Duprey and a new group called the Clico Stakeholders’ Alliance, which involves Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC, were formulating legal action to block any planned Government sale of CL Financial assets.

In his mid-year budget review on April 8, Finance Minister Colm Imbert signaled the disposal of certain Clico assets to recoup the $20 billion used for the group’s bailout in 2009. But Imbert said these proposals only relate to Clico and in “due course” he would report on plans to monetise other assets held directly by the group.

Duprey’s moves follow a failed bid to elicit feedback from Government to discuss a plan he has to recover his former companies and repay the outstanding debt owed to Government from the bailout. He sent the plans to the Central Bank and Government in March. Imbert said yesterday he has not yet decided to meet with Duprey’s representatives.

In the latest development, the UPG cited a letter that the group sent to the Central Bank copied to  Imbert, citing several outstanding matters raised with the Bank over the last year.

UPG contended that despite the acknowledgment by the Central Bank and Clico that there are sufficient assets to pay out all policyholders and a “plan” outlined for the payment of funds held in policies by Clico and initial payments being made as Phase I, there has been no timeline offered, not even tentatively, as to when the further phases can be expected to commence.

“It had been our understanding that the second and third phases of payments would have started by the end of the third quarter of 2015. However, not only has this not happened, but there has been no update whatsoever from the Central Bank as to when it will happen. Having declared that the statutory fund of Clico is no longer in deficit, the Central Bank and Clico have a legal obligation to act in policyholders’ interests and pay out policies without undue delay.

“In light of the above, we demand that the Central Bank publicly and immediately release the current value of cash and cash equivalents held by Clico. While these funds continue to be held by Clico at the Central Bank’s behest, the policyholders to whom these funds rightfully belong are being forced to manage without the benefit of their own property, without even the courtesy of a timely update on the situation.

The letter signed by Angeli Gajadar cited other issues including the “arbitrary basis on which the Central Bank has determined the residency status of policyholders for the purpose of upholding or denying their right of statutory fund protection.”

“This has resulted in several policyholders, who were legal residents of  T&T when the policy was purchased, being “deemed” non-resident policyholders by the Central Bank.

The letter added: “It had been our understanding that the separation of resident and non-resident policyholders with regard to their policies’ status within the statutory fund should only arise on the winding up of the insurance company.”

“Pray for the police.”

This was the advice given to the grieving family members of Sona Lalloo at her funeral service yesterday. 

Lalloo, 80, succumbed to her injuries hours after she was shot in the head by a police officer’s gun while inside her Rancho Quemado home on Monday.

The bullet came from the gun of a rookie officer who said his gun accidentally discharged twice when he fell while chasing a suspect in the area. One of the bullets went through a wooden wall of Lalloo’s home, hitting her in the head. 

Yesterday, Lalloo’s funeral was delayed for about half an hour as her grandson Keith Khan said police investigators had visited the funeral home where her body was kept to get fingerprints before she was laid to rest. 

Khan, however, said the family was very satisfied with the treatment being given to them by the investigating officers.

Snr Sup Nazrool Hosein, who is in charge of the South Western Division, attended the funeral and MP for the area, Nicole Olivierre also visited the family before the service started.

During the service, Bishop David Lewis pleaded with Lalloo’s children and grandchildren yesterday to emulate the pensioner and forgive the officer responsible for her death.

“I know if Sister Sona could come back here today to bring a message, she would say pray for the police officer, she would say ‘Don’t vex children,’” said Lewis. 

“I know some of her children make doubles, she would say do some doubles, call the police and let them eat, that was the kind of person that she was. Her death must not be in vain, even in death a victory can come and you can learn to forgive and be like your grandma.” 

Describing Lalloo as a peaceful woman, Lewis said, “This had to be a peaceful woman because even though she died in this sort of accident, her family is in peace, another family would have been making noise and carrying on today...but your grandma left peace behind for you.”

He urged the family not to pass judgement on the police officer either.

“Probably she didn’t die in a way anyone would have expected and while we know there are times of lack of judgment and mistakes, we still don’t know all and we have to give the police the support to continue to do their work.”

Asking mourners to pray for the nation as well, Lewis said, “It’s not only the police service that needs prayer, the nation needs prayer as well.”

Lalloo’s daughter, Annie, paid tribute to her in a touching eulogy, saying, “Her life wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. From an early age she toiled in the cocoa and coffee estates for a few dollars to make ends meet. When she became a mother, she ensured all her 10 children knew the value of an education.”

“She was famous for her bubbly personality and was a true role model to her children and grandchildren.”

After the service Lalloo was buried at the Erin Cemetery. 

The T&T Guardian contacted head of the Corporate Communications department of the TTPS, Ellen Lewis who said police are now waiting for the ballistic report from the shooting to confirm where the bullet that struck Lalloo came from.

Lewis said this was necessary as one of Lalloo’s sons gave a statement saying he heard three shots during the incident. 

Lewis declined to say what, if any, action can be taken against the officer if the report proves the bullet came from his gun. 

Embattled former United National Congress member Ken Emrith is mounting High Court action against the Express newspapers concerning an April 24 story about him. 

Emrith’s attorney Larry Lalla notified the newspaper of the action via a pre-action protocol letter on Wednesday.

The newspaper made allegations about Emrith three weeks ago arising from the Panama Papers fiasco. That package involved leaked documents from the law firm of Mossack Fonseca on many personalities, including businesspeople, worldwide.

Concerning the story at hand, Lalla said Emrith is seeking damages for libel, an injunction to restrain the newspaper from further publishing the said or any similar libel about Emrith, plus costs. Alternatively, Emrith is seeking an apology and an undertaking not to repeat the allegations, damages and costs.

Lalla’s said his letter to the Express was a response to a “scathing, unfounded and highly irresponsible attack contained in the article.” He said Emrith was brought into odium, disrepute and his reputation suffered irreparable damage, adding his safety as well as that of his family has also been affected.

The letter stated Emrith was “for many years a business strategic consultant to several local and international companies” and between 2003 and 2010, the CEO of the Concacaf Centre of Excellence. It stated that between 1996 and 2003 he was also the executive director of the School Nutrition Programme with an average annual budget of $107 million and spearheaded and developed a strategic plan for the programme along with the Ministry of Finance to provide daily lunches to underprivileged children.

It also addressed claims in the Sunday story against Emrith stating:

• The business transaction concerned was not a “backroom deal” nor did it constitute an act of “explosive bribery” performed by a “shady functionary”.

• Emrith was at all material times legitimately and properly engaged by Gruppo Campari to provide professional consulting services to facilitate a US$495 million-dollar international business transaction.

• The alleged “US$2.5 million kickback” fee represents the payment properly and fairly for consultation services in accordance with the terms of his engagement.

Meanwhile, Emrith was also mentioned in an April 27 Miami Herald story concerning more Panama Papers revelations, this time involving allegations that a Haitian Investment Centre official —Georges Rene—lobbied for a proposal to forge a petroleum deal with T&T and set up offshore entities that could cash in on the petroleum deal. 

The Herald claimed a Haitian delegation visited National Petroleum Marketing in T&T to discuss a possible deal for petroleum products. 

The article alleged a Panamanian shell company called Pendrey Associates was also involved. However, the article stated the alleged “oil deal between Trinidad and Haiti fizzled”. (GA)

Police are blaming neighbourhood warfare for the murder of a 22-year-old L’Anse Mitan man who was shot dead yesterday morning.

According to police reports, around 10.30 am residents of Marcel Circular, Big Yard, Carenage heard gunshots and later found the body of Antonio “Rat” Superville in some bushes off the road. 

Police said, Superville, who lived at Thompson Circular, L’Anse Mitan Road, may have been lured to Big Yard before his death. Superville was also robbed, residents said.

Relatives of Superville visited the crime scene and told the media that he had changed his life around. 

At the scene, residents seemed not to be bothered about the murder as they went along their activities, even as Superville’s body was being taken into the panel van of Guide’s Funeral Home. 

So far, 153 people have been killed for the year. 

The latest batch of 167 police graduates, who are set to hit the streets next week, have been advised not to become distracted from apprehending the real bullies of the nation who live by muscle and deadly fire power.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony at the Police Academy, St James yesterday, wife of President Anthony Carmona, Reema Carmona, described these bullies as, “Thugs who shoot, kill and maim and who control communities through fear and intimidation and who use this misplaced distrust of the police officer to keep their communities in a choke-hold.”

She said, “The ultimate in adult bullying is the cold blooded execution of a citizen by a killer with an in-your-face-attitude, cameras or no cameras.”

Carmona said fear, intimidation and distrust of law enforcement agencies had contributed to the crippling fight against crime in some communities.

She appealed to the new officers to become part of the solution to change this dynamic through the way they interacted with the public.

“Our society needs to recognise that the Police Service is not the enemy and we need to change that skewed perception. We can do so by our positive individual actions, deportment, courtesies and mannerisms,” she said.

She reminded them that personal safety was one aspect which had to be preserved.

Carmona said the relationship between police and community was a “splintered one” which needed to be repaired.

She urged the officers to engage young people in the community as one way to mitigate potentially explosive situations.

Referring to the concept of mediation which could assist in resolving volatile situations rather than brute force, Carmona advised, “In your line of work, always remember that mediation can be a greater weapon than the gun in your hand, to ensure sustainable peace, law and order. Never underestimate the power of mediation and compassionate dialogue in a dysfunctional social environment.”

She warned that “any and everything you do will be filmed and be on the internet in seconds. Your conduct and disposition must be one to be admired and respected by all.”

Carmona said with service leadership often in short supply in our society - sabre rattling and power posturing had become the ground rules of our social interaction and civil society. 

She also admitted that crime solving was a big problem, with detection rates at an all time low.

Carmona said a return to the era of the sleuth was necessary as she recalled her husband’s early advice to investigating officers that, “When it looks suspicious, it is suspicious.”

She added some criminals were opportunists just waiting to present themselves to the unwitting target, while others carefully planned their crimes.

“The keen eye must always be a weapon of choice and is the elixir of policing competence,” she warned.

Carmona said in this society where no one sees and everyone hears, “It is always just fireworks and firecrackers and not gun shots and bullets and you need to change that cultural cop out by building the community’s trust and faith.”

She urged the officers to remain true to the uniform and oath of office, “Temptation is everywhere. When you see your batch tempted, don’t join but rather guide them away because there are people out there who feel because they have a price, you have a price. They come looking for buyers, but you must always remain true to that uniform you wear. Be always a police officer, in and out of uniform.”

During his address, acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams urged the recruits to follow the right path and not fall in error.

He said while the organisation will at times be tarnished in the eyes of the public, the policing profession was still a noble one.