A Guyanese woman is calling for an investigation into Ste Madeleine Police Station officers over their handling of a 17-year-old schoolgirl who was reportedly abandoned by her mother this week. 

Rhonda Daniels said she was introduced to the teenager while visiting the police station on Monday afternoon. 

“I walked into the station and saw her sitting next to the front desk. I spoke to an officer and they told me her mother had put her out of their house and she had nowhere to go,” Daniels said. 

Daniels said after having a brief conversation with the girl, the female officer asked her if she was willing to allow her to spend a night at her home in Gasparillo.

The mother of three said she contacted the teen’s mother that evening and she (the mother) refused to allow the teen to return home. 

“She said her daughter was giving trouble since she turned 16 and she decided to put her out after she broke a television set at their home over the weekend.

“I can’t believe a mother could be so heartless,” an emotional Daniels said. 

The hairdresser claimed that since taking in the teenager, she contacted police several times for them to intervene between the mother and daughter.

“I can’t afford to have her live with me permanently but I won’t just throw her out on the street,” Daniels said. 

She said she contacted officials from the Children’s Authority on Wednesday for their intervention in the teenager’s case. 

“They sounded very concerned but they said the case needs to be referred to them by the police,” Daniels said. 

She said she wanted to highlight the issue as she was frustrated by the constant inaction by police and felt that public exposure of her plight may prompt them to take the case seriously. 

“I just want what is best for the child and for her to find a safe home and for her to complete her education,” Daniels said.

RALPH BANWARIE

Salybia villagers were both sad and angry yesterday evening, after father and son, Lloyd and Ryan Ramkissoon, were shot dead during an argument with a neighbour.

Police were assisted by soldiers during a manhunt for the suspect in the forest off Langusta Trace after the attack, but he managed to elude them and was still in hiding up to last night.

According to police reports, Lloyd, 47, and Ryan, 19, were shot several times about the body by the suspect around 7.45 am yesterday, during an argument with the suspect over his pitbulls, which were attacking their rabbits and ducks and villagers because they were being allowed to roam free around the village.

One of the dogs attacked Ryan on Thursday night and bit him on his buttocks, but family members went to his rescue and he was taken to the Sangre Grande Hospital, treated and discharged.

Yesterday, family members told the T&T Guardian, the Ramkissoons stopped the neighbour as he drove his Navarra pickup along Langusta Trace. They told him of the dogs’ attack on Ryan, villagers and their animals and asked that he secure his dogs in future. The man reportedly became angry and an argument started. Things became so heated that the man, a farmer, pulled out a gun from his waist and shot Lloyd and Ryan several times.

Lloyd was shot in his back, shoulders and chest and when Ryan tried to intervene he was shot in his legs. As Ryan fell to the ground the neighbour shot him in both shoulders and the chest. The neighbour then got into his vehicle and drove off.

Father and son were taken up by relatives, placed in the tray of a van and rushed to Sangre Grande Hospital. They both succumbed to their injuries in the operating theatre.

A party of police led by ACP Surujdeen Persad, Supt Phillip, ASPs Joseph and Robain, Ag Insp Lutchman, Sgts Vekash Ramkissoon and Christopher Edwards, Cpl Kassiram and PCs Dave Bhagan, Rodney, Ali, Gadar and Mootilal visited the scene. 

They were joined by officers attached to Homicide Region II, based in Arouca and led by Cpl Jones, and soldiers. However, their search was unsuccessful.

A distraught Joanne Ramkissoon, Lloyd’s sister, was still trying to come to terms with the brutal attack yesterday when the T&T Guardian visited their home. She blamed the police for their deaths, however, saying villagers had made several reports about the pitbulls’ attacks to the Matura Police Station but nothing was done.

She said the neighbour had constantly threatened to shoot her relatives when they made reports to the station, adding the man was well known to police but they refrained from taking action against him. She said Lloyd and Ryan were fishermen and part-time farmers who were family men and never troubled anyone. 

“Some people feel they are above the law because they have money and this is how the poor are taken advantage of. This shooting is one good example and police must learn from this and act on reports of threats,” she said.

Relatives Christine Mahabir and Vasthi Maharaj were stunned at the attack in broad daylight.

“We could not believe the news and only realised that they were both dead when we saw their bodies being taken to the mortuary. Only last night we were having fun with Ryan. Life is strange,” they said.

Relatives were also upset that they were not allowed to see Lloyd’s wife, Tara, when they went to the Matura Police Station to comfort her.

“This was inhumane. A woman in distress, frantic and traumatised in the police station. This is unwarranted,” Tara’s brother Harry Sookoo said.

They said when they told the police she needed medical attention, a female officer said that was their (police’s) responsibility.

Sookoo said he also accompanied police and soldiers during the search for the killer and was disappointed by their actions. 

“They make a half search and return with some soldiers sitting in a shed. They received news that the killer was seen on the beach and the response by the officers was disgusting; they drove on the beach and never alighted or go into the bushes and make a search for the killer,” he said.

The Ramkissoons called for swift justice, adding they hoped there would be no cover-up in the matter. At the same time, they said they remained fearful for their lives as the gunman could return and attack them. 

Contacted last evening on the family’s complaint, ACP Persad said he had asked senior officers attached to the Eastern Division to supply him with the police station reports. But he said when the senior officers requested the information, they were told there were no written reports of any such incidents recorded in the station diary.

On Sookoo’s claim that the joint search party failed to come out of their vehicles when they visited the beach where the suspect was seen, Persad said he was leading the search. 

He said they drove along the shores of Salybia looking for the killer, but eventually abandoned it after realising they had received false information.

“We did all in our power to find the killer, responding in the quickest possible time,” Persad said.

Public Services Association (PSA) president Watson Duke may have to relinquish his duties if he is eventually charged by police in relation to an allegation of rape made against him by a lawyer attached to the union this week. 

Duke, who was held by police after surrendering for questioning on Thursday, remained detained in a cell at the Central Police Station, St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, up to late yesterday. 

Police sources close to the investigation said detectives at the Port-of-Spain Criminal Investigations Department (CID) had already interrogated Duke on the allegations and are expected to approach the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) later today to determine if he should be charged. Duke will remain in police custody until this determination is made. 

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, former PSA general secretary Nixon Callender explained that in the event Duke is charged, the union’s general council and the management of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), where Duke was employed before becoming the union’s leader, would have to determine if he should be suspended. 

Callender, who himself was not suspended after he was charged with assaulting a group of colleagues during a fracas at the PSA headquarters several years ago, noted that even if the general council voted to allow Duke to continue his duties, WASA’s decision may still force him to relinquish his role. 

“If the officer in WASA is suspended from work all privileges are revoked, including the full time off for trade union business. Therefore, the PSA would have to release him because he would no longer be able to carry out the duties of a full-time officer,” Callender said. 

According to police reports, the victim, a 33-year-old attorney from Central Trinidad, claimed the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, after Duke invited her to accompany him to a meeting at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain. 

Duke and the victim went to a room at the hotel, where she alleged he overpowered her and had sex with her against her will. After the incident, the victim allegedly returned with Duke to the union’s office and then went home. Hours later she reported the incident to the Cunupia Police Station. 

Speaking on Wednesday, Duke denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was being framed by the victim. 

ASP Ajith Persad of the Port-of-Spain CID is leading the investigation.

More than 12 hours after gunshots were reported in Marabella, the body of a man was found on the seafront at Bayshore yesterday.

Police believe the deceased, identified only as Joel, aka Bighead or Shortman, was shot close to the Gulf of Paria, a short distance from where he lived. His body bore three gunshot wounds to the head and two shots to the chest.

Residents said Joel came to the area about two years ago and lived in a house close to the seaside. He kept to himself most of the time but accepted odd jobs as a handyman, they added. Another resident said he had a son who lives in Pleasantville. It is believed Joel was a cocaine addict.

Around 4 pm, police received a tip-off that a body was spotted on the shore. A party of officers led by ASP Ramdeo and including Insp Don Gajadhar, Sgts Ramroop, Teeluck and Cpl James visited the scene. No spent shells were recovered at the scene, but police believe Joel could have been shot sometime on Thursday night. No motive has yet been ascertained for the crime. Anyone with information on the shooting can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has given the assurance that although the External Patient Programme (EPP) is under review it will not be stopped, as it continues to benefit citizens by improving the quality of their lives.

He made the comment at the ministry’s weekly press conference in Port-of-Spain yesterday, even as he dismissed claims that approximately $60 million had already been spent on the EPP.

Addressing the issue during the ministry’s weekly media briefing in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Deyalsingh presented a comprehensive breakdown of the EPP’s operations as he said only $26 million had been allocated to the programme. He said approximately $15 million had been allocated to cover the cost of dialysis while $11 million was allocated to the surgery wait list.

He said the figure of $60 million which was being tossed about in the public domain was a combination of allocations directly related to the EPP as well as other services not connected to the programme.

Seeking to contextualise the EPP, Deyalsingh said it was initially developed to help transform the public health system and assist those requiring immediate medical care such as dialysis and certain types of surgeries but who were unable to afford treatment privately.

Restarted in 2014 via a series of Cabinet notes after it was stopped in 2009, Deyalsingh said the EPP had “noble intentions” but was overtaken by expediency, as it was originally set up to deal with a particular cause and treat with a certain number of people, but had deviated from its specific mandate as policy protocols were not enforced.

Denying that there was a “medical mafia” operating in T&T, Deyalsingh said, “I think it is an unfortunate term and the broad brush approach used to describe it is unfortunate.”

He was referring to claims by the National Workers Union, which has called for the EPP to be abolished as they allege it is corrupt. They have specifically questioned the criteria used to select private institutions to provide dialysis and other services, claiming that there was a group of special doctors who were benefiting from it.

However, Deyalsingh later confirmed they had discovered one case in which a doctor from south Trinidad had been directly benefiting due to his operations in both the private and public sector and the matter was under investigation.

On another note, he predicted the ministry’s costs will continue to rise “exponentially” in the next few years as the number of people accessing dialysis services continues to balloon every year. In 2012, there were 220 people seeking treatment, in 2013, 235 and in 2014, 653, he noted. But the figure was already 577 during the first four months of this year.

He attributed the rise in dialysis treatment to the fact that affected patients were now enjoying a better quality of life as a result of the EPP.

He said it now costs the taxpayer approximately $136,000 per year to provide dialysis services to a patient and Government will soon be facing a huge increase in this area, as non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardio-vascular diseases continue to take their toll.

“We are projecting that for 2014/2015, this is going to possibly go up to $50 or $60 million and the projection for 2015/2016 is $75.5 million,” he said, noting that while this financial burden was in the area of dialysis alone, they also had to factor in monies for the surgery waiting list component of the EPP.

The minister also said although they had inherited a “messy situation” relating to the construction of two dialysis centres at Mt. Hope and San Fernando, they were now working through the contractual red tape in order to get the buildings completed. This, he said, would ultimately help them reduce bills they currently have to settle with private institutions which provide dialysis services on government’s behalf.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says a private motion for the House of Representatives to express its loss of confidence in Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi was filed in the Parliament yesterday.

If approved it could be debated in about 12 days.

Persad-Bissessar said the motion was filed in the wake of the passage of the Strategic Services Agency (Amendment) Bill in Parliament.

The bill gives the SSA an expanded mandate to monitor, via the interception of calls, people suspected of engaging in serious crimes, including treason and money laundering.

The Opposition said there were insufficient checks and balances in the legislation to prevent abuse by the SSA. 

Speaking during a news briefing at the Opposition Room, Tower D, Waterfront Centre, Port-of-Spain, yesterday Persad-Bissessar said once the amended bill was proclaimed the Opposition would initiate legal action to have it annulled.

She said the motion was filed in the name of MP for Oropouche East Dr Roodal Moonilal. It also seeks to have Al-Rawi’s appointment revoked by Prime Minister Keith Rowley.

Persad-Bissessar said the motion was based on Al-Rawi’s conduct of the Malcolm Jones matter, which related to the discontinuation of a case in the High Court against the former executive president of State-owned company, Petrotrin.

She said the decision lacked transparency and accountability and caused the State to lose more than $1.2 billion.

Persad-Bissessar said the motion was also brought because the AG “gave unsound and unfounded legal advice in the Parliament” when he said there were no privacy rights in the country.

She said Al-Rawi has compromised the Office of the Attorney General.

Persad-Bissessar also said Al-Rawi ought to have known that former temporary Independent senator Justin Junkere was on the payroll of his ministry. She dismissed Junkere’s claim that the 2015 state brief was offered by AG Garvin Nicholas. 

According to the former prime minister it mattered not which AG offered the brief as what was important was that he voted while still employed in the Office of the AG.

Speaking with the media outside the Parliament minutes later, Al-Rawi said he welcomed the motion if and when it was debated in the House of Representatives. He said Persad-Bissessar was using the matter to distract public attention from an alleged attack by Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen on the former temporary Independent senator.

He said he was “absolutely confident that anything that the UNC brings, I will not only be capable of answering but very pleased to answer.”

He said he will “trounce” Moonilal’s motion “by simply presenting the facts.”

Al-Rawi said those facts include that the Malcom Jones matter was dealt with by the Petrotrin board and the SSA bill has passed through debate in the usual form.

On the issue of the privacy law, Al-Rawi told reporters that “there is a deliberate attempt to misconstrue the statement in relation to privacy. The law of privacy is quite clear. This is nothing more than a distraction.”

Also speaking at the impromptu briefing Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds responded to a claim by Persad-Bissessar minutes earlier that the Government was uncaring and insensitive to the needs of children with cerebral palsy. 

The parents, who did no work, were paid under the URP Social Initiative.

Persad-Bissessar said yesterday the Government “had no clue about people-centred development.”

She said the Government was attempting to attack the parents of those children. She said the Government was removing the human face in an attempt to get dollars and more taxes.

She said citizens who receive food cards depend on the card for day-to-day survival. Persad-Bissessar said the Government should say what means were being put in place to assist those in need.

But Hinds said Persad-Bissessar will have to explain that initiative during a forensic investigation into the URP Social Initiative.

Former temporary Independent Senator Justin Junkere has made it clear that he never took up the position on the Airports Authority of T&T’s (AATT) board when his name was announced as part of AATT’s board last year.

Junkere’s name has been at the centre of some controversy following his support—and Independent Senator Ian Roach’s—for the much debated Strategic Services Agency (Amendment) Bill. Their two votes aided passage on Tuesday.

On October 1, 2015, Communication Minister Maxie Cuffie had announced Junkere among members of the new AATT board headed by Roland Baptiste. Cuffie had named other members including Nigel Ferguson, Robert Tang Yuk, Ramesh Lutchman, Kent Moore, Navin Maharaj, Joseph Granville, and Vindra Parmesar.

Junkere’s name was reported by the media the following day, as part of the AATT board. However, Junkere told T&T Guardian yesterday, “I never applied for the appointment and never took up it up. I’m not a member of the ruling (PNM) party, and I felt it wasn’t right to accept such an appointment to a state board, so I stood down from the post.”

He noted that it had not been announced that he hadn’t taken up the post.

Parliament yesterday confirmed that Junkere began serving as temporary Independent senator from October 20, 2015. President’s House sources also confirmed state board members aren’t normally chosen as Independent senators.

Junkere said it seemed to be a common thing where people were named for boards publicly, but it wasn’t always announced if they didn’t take up the appointment. Cuffie didn’t immediately reply to calls yesterday.

On Thursday, the Opposition United National Congress stated Junkere had been retained by the Office of the Attorney General in a lawsuit and therefore he was unfit to hold the post of Independent senator. In response, Junkere said he accepted a brief from former AG Garvin Nicholas and was entitled to do so. He said, if given an opportunity, he would again support the amendments to the SSA Act.

Chief Justice Ivor Archie said yesterday that the current crime rate, coupled with prison overcrowding, continues to place considerable pressure on the criminal justice infrastructure. 

He said such a situation was simply unacceptable.

Archie admitted that accused people being held without trial for long periods was also testimony to the fact that the system was not operating satisfactorily.

He was speaking yesterday at a breakfast seminar hosted yesterday by the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Westmoorings. It was titled A Restorative Dialogue.

Saying that restorative justice may be viewed with scepticism by some given the high level of brutality in the society, Archie said it was key, however, to delivering "justice that heals." 

And a necessary part of ensuring there was modern infrastructure was the Criminal Procedure Rules which are expected to be fully implemented in January next year.

These rules focus on improved and aggressive case management which would assist in reducing the time matters take in the criminal courts.

On drug treatment, Archie said, the more the Judiciary could divert those guilty of minor non-violent offences towards programmes that addressed anti-social behaviour, the greater the possibility of reducing prison overcrowding, the cost burden to the State and recidivism.

He said Goodyear hearings, where prisoners are made aware of the maximum sentence they would get if they plead guilty, could also assist in speeding up the process, Archie said.

He said last year there were 49 such hearings of which more than 50 per cent led to guilty pleas.

Plea bargaining, Archie added, was another measure which could reduce the backlog of pending cases.

Regarding the recent call made by Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Harris for specific prisoners to be pardoned, Archie said he strongly believed that nobody should remain in pre-trial detention for longer than was absolutely necessary.

Archie also announced that the judiciary's flagship project, two juvenile courts, were expected to be on stream by September, as well as a peer resolution centre.

"The juvenile court project is the judiciary's response to an outmoded juvenile justice system in T&T.

"Youths in custody for criminal offences wait inordinately long periods for matters to be heard," Archie said.

In addition there was a system of institutionalised gender bias as girls in detention were not afforded the same opportunities to continue their education and pursue programmes as boys since there were no such facilities for girls.

Archie said the Children Court Rules had been drafted and were being reviewed by the Rules Committee of the Judiciary.

The draft rules were also being used to inform the re-engineering of internal court processes.

The Judges' Rules for Children, Archie said, were also nearing completion.

OUT OF POCKET

During the question and answer segment, Reginald Armour, president of the Law Association, asked when would full financial autonomy be given to the Judiciary as promised in last year's Budget.

Archie said there were issues being dealt with, adding this should be on stream within the next 18 months. In giving an example, Archie said he was expected to leave the country on official business on Sunday and had to pay for his hotel room using his personal credit card.

"But I have to send a note to Cabinet to spend $30,000 and it has to go before a travel committee. It didn't go to Cabinet until yesterday (Thursday) so I am hoping I can get that approved when I leave here so that the hotel room that I paid for with my credit card I could put back some money in my account. "It is kind of ridiculous that somebody at my level should be going through that," Archie added. The Chief Justice is the third highest office holder in T&T, after the President and Prime Minister.

A plot to rob, idol worshipping and a multi-million dollar inheritance formed part of the evidence heard by a jury in the San Fernando High Court, at the beginning of the murder trial of the man accused of killing prominent businessman Dr Ravi Maharaj.

Ten years ago, Maharaj, 63, was brutally beaten in his Chacon Street, San Fernando, home and on Thursday, Pleasantville resident Roger Greene, 38, went on trial before Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas charged with his murder.

The murder took place on January 11, 2006. 

In his opening address to the jury, state attorney Trevor Jones spoke of accused Roger Greene confessing to his neighbour about the murder. 

Jones also listed several injuries inflicted upon the doctor’s body, including a broken neck and head injuries.

Jones said Maharaj was last seen alive around 6.30 am by his common-law wife Sumatee Enal. 

She left him sleeping in the library, went to the gym and then to his businessplace in San Fernando. 

Maharaj was supposed to call Enal, Jones said.

And when she did not hear from her husband, Enal tried calling his phone several times without success.

She became worried and returned home, said Jones. She found several louvres missing and the burglar proof “raised.”

Jones said Enal found her husband lying face down under a desk in the library. 

His hands were tied behind his back and a cloth was in his mouth. 

She called the police.

When he arrived at the hospital, Maharaj had a pulse, Jones said, and for 40 minutes CPR was performed on him without success.

Jones said Greene’s neighbour, Brian Worrell, who was one of three suspects in the case, told police that Greene confessed to him. 

Jones told the jury they will hear from Worrell, who was granted immunity by the Director of Public Prosecutions in exchange for his testimony against Greene. 

Worrell will testify that the day before Maharaj’s murder Greene hired him to take him to a house in Couva where he met a man. 

On their way back from Couva, Worrell claimed Greene told him he had a “job to go on.” Greene told him there was a safe in a house with $100,000 to $150,000. 

Greene hired Worrell to transport him, and the following morning Worrell dropped him at the corner of Chacon and Penitence Streets, near the doctor’s home.

Jones told the jury when Worrell picked up Greene in Vistabella that afternoon, Greene told him the man did not want to tell him where the safe was located. 

Greene allegedly told Worrell the man was an idol worshipper because he worshipped Hare Krishna and God don’t like idol worshipping. 

Worrell, Jones said, claimed Greene gave him $500 and gold rings in a bandana to keep for him. 

Worrell said he hid the items and a few days later Greene returned for them.

Greene was arrested by Cpl Curt Simon in February 2006.

Jones said an autopsy revealed death was due to multiple blunt traumatic injuries, including a broken neck and fractured cervical spine. 

Maharaj’s niece, Roshini Singh, was the first witness to testify. 

Under cross-examination by Greene’s attorney Kwasi Bekoe, she claimed her uncle lived alone when he was killed.

Singh said there was a legal battle over her uncle’s body after Enal, his worker, claimed to be his common-law wife. 

She said her uncle owned several “extremely valuable” businesses, including three properties in San Fernando and two in Toronto, and Enal benefited from this inheritance. 

Sgt Gregory Hood, an official police draftsman, testified yesterday and several drawings of the crime scene were shown to the jury. 

He was cross-examined by Bekoe’s instructing attorney Jared Ali. 

The trial continues Monday.

High Court Judge James Aboud will rule on whether the United States Government should be allowed to join, as an interested party, in a lawsuit filed by former Fifa vice president Jack Warner challenging his extradition, on June 17. 

During a hearing in the Port-of-Spain High Court, Aboud yesterday heard over four hours of submissions on the issue from attorneys representing the US and Warner, who is wanted in the US to face trial on fraud and money-laundering charges arising out of his over two-decade stint in Fifa. 

British Queen’s Counsel James Lewis, who is representing the US interest, told Aboud that his client should be granted permission as it stood to be affected the most by the eventual outcome of the case. 

In his lawsuit, Warner is asking the court to declare Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi’s decision to sign off on his extradition in September, last year, as unlawful. 

Warner’s lawyers are claiming that Al-Rawi acted unfairly as he failed to give their client an opportunity to respond to the US’s extradition request before making his decision.

“These proceedings are a challenge for the extradition proceedings themselves. It will be nothing but an advantage to this court to hear the applicant on the extradition itself,” Lewis said. 

He said that while attorneys representing Al-Rawi’s office were defending his decision, they would not be in a position to provide the court with information on the US’s extradition request, about which Aboud would need to make a final decision. 

In response, Warner’s lead attorney, Fyard Hosein, SC, said the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) required that an interested party prove that it was sufficiently affected to become a party to the proceedings as opposed to being merely directly affected.

In response, Lewis submitted: “Direct interest is nothing more but the highest form of sufficient interest...If you have direct interest you automatically have sufficient interest.” Warner is also being represented by attorneys Rishi Dass, Anil Maharaj and Sasha Bridgemohansingh. Douglas Mendes, SC, and Michael Quamina are representing the State.

About warner’s case

Warner, 72, of Cynthia Drive, Five Rivers, Arouca, is accused of 12 charges related to fraud, racketeering and engaging in illegal wire transfers. The offences are alleged to have taken place in the United States, T&T and other jurisdictions between 1990 and June 2011 when Warner quit Fifa. 

He is one of 14 former executives of world football’s governing body who were indicted on a series of charges after an investigation into corruption in football, conducted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice.

Warner surrendered to police in May after a provisional warrant was issued for his arrest when US authorities announced the conclusion of their extensive investigation. 

Warner spent one night on remand at the Port-of-Spain state prison before he was able to access his $2.5 million bail. Warner’s extradition proceedings have been put on hold pending Aboud’s judgment in the judicial review case. 

It took US authorities almost their entire 60-day deadline to foward their official request to the Office of the Attorney General. The documents arrived in T&T in late July. Former AG Garvin Nicholas failed to sign off on the Authority to Proceed during his brief tenure. Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi requested an extension to consider the documents. In 2013, Warner resigned from his post of national security minister and UNC chairman after the publication of a report from Concacaf’s Integrity Committee showing financial mismanagement during his long tenure as the regional body’s president. Warner also resigned as Chaguanas West MP but later regained the seat in a by-election. 

He then formed the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) but resigned as its leader after it failed to secure any seats in the September 7 general election. 

As Government moves to rein in undocumented food cards currently in circulation, affected members of the public have complained that they were being “embarrassed” when they visited the grocery and were forced to walk away empty-handed as their cards were being declined due to a lack of funds.

Speaking minutes after visiting the Food Card Division, Tunapuna, a man from Lopinot said, “I not in any bobol, but it have other people who using this and don’t need it.”

The 52-year-old man claimed he had not received any money during the month of April and that he had come to the office in order to ensure that he received the allocation for the month of May.

Confirming that he had come to “sort out this nonsense,” the man, who asked that his name not be published, added, “There are genuine people who need the help but it really have people who doing they business underhanded and making it bad for all of us.”

The man said he had now registered for the new biometric card which features the name of the applicant as well as their picture and fingerprints. An unemployed middle-aged woman and mother of three said she was accustomed to using the card but had been forced to return her groceries after the card was declined last week.

Earlier this week, Social Development and Family Services Minister, Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn, confirmed that approximately 11,800 food cards had been deactivated up to May 1.

She said it was done in an attempt to update the ministry’s records and ensure that those who really needed it were able to access the government grant under the Targeted Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (TCCTP).

The minister said the hold which had been placed on the cards would remain in effect for the next three months.

Prior to the move, advertisements were issued in the electronic and print media inviting the public to visit the various offices to register for the biometric card but these were largely ignored.

Although Crichlow-Cockburn said the public’s initial response was slow in coming for various reasons, officials at the Tunapuna office said they were now battling the overwhelming public response as hundreds of people were coming in daily to regularise their status after they were unable to use the card.

Opting not to provide their names or positions, well-placed officials said, “It was ridiculous as to the number of cards that were in operation, that were undocumented and still not known.”

Although the programme came into effect in 2006, officials said many of the accounting systems were never enforced. One official said, “Many persons received cards through their churches, temples and MP’s that we do not know about.” 

Revealing that under the last regime, all 41 MP’s were provided with 40 temporary food cards each to be distributed at their discretion, officials stressed that it was “a one-time use.” However, it was not certain if this guideline was followed.

Unaware if this arrangement was still in place, the officials denied it was a political move to cut people from the programme. The officials claimed that the Tunapuna office was serving a large catchment area which included parts of St Ann’s East, Arouca, Caroni East, St Joseph, St Augustine, Tunapuna and Lopinot/Bon Air. 

Asked to provide a profile of their applicants database, one official said it consisted mainly of single mothers.

A household comprising between one and three persons would qualify for $410; while a family with three to five persons would receive $550; and a group of six or more persons would receive $700.

Estimating that each division racked up a monthly expense of approximately $2 million, the officials said with 13 divisions throughout both islands, it was a huge government bill that had to be met even during this time of recession.

JOEL JULIEN

It was a bloody Black Friday (Friday 13) with four murders, one police killing and a fatal road traffic accident all taking place over a three-hour period across the country. The son of a deceased “Laventille Don” and a robber were among those who were shot dead in separate incidents on Friday night.

The bloodshed began around 8.30 pm when two armed robbers attempted to rob a Chinese restaurant at Bamboo Settlement No 2, Valsayn. The robbery was, however, thwarted by an off-duty policeman who was inside the restaurant at the time. According to reports, the two men entered the restaurant and inquired if the roulette machine there was working.

When the men were told that the gambling machine was not functioning they pulled out their guns. An off-duty policeman from the Morvant Crime Suppression Unit was buying food at the time. The policeman took out his service revolver and shot one of the robbers dead. The other robber then surrendered.

The dead man was identified as 25-year-old Simon Cummings. The second robber is currently in police custody. Two firearms were recovered at the scene. 

Around 8.50 pm in Chaguanas the first murder of the night was recorded. According to reports, officers of the Chaguanas Hot Spot Patrol were responding to the report of a shooting incident when they discovered a man lying in a pool of blood on a pavement at the corner of  Crown Trace and Circular Drive, Enterprise. 

The deceased was identified as Ryan Derron Hercules, 39, of 11 Circular Drive, Enterprise. Hercules is Mark Guerra’s son. Guerra, a former top-ranking official of the Jamaat al-Muslimeen, was gunned down at his farm in Wallerfield on March 23, 2005. 

Guerra, also known as Abdul Jaleel, lived in a mansion in John John, Laventille, and was considered the area’s “Don.” PC Chinapoo of Homicide Region III is continuing investigations into Hercules’ killing. Around 10 pm, a double murder occurred in Couva.

Meanwhile, best friends Jakan Lezama, 22, and Abdiel John, 31, were shot at Lisas Boulevard in Couva. Around 10.30 pm a road traffic accident occurred on the Uriah Butler Highway.

Kathy Ann John, the front seat passenger, died on the scene. The driver David Changwai and the four back-seat passengers were taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope for treatment. Around 11.15 pm, Marvin Bascombe, 29, was shot dead near the Merrytones Steel Orchestra’s panyard in Diego Martin.

Bascombe lived on Bagatelle Road in Diego Martin, next door to the panyard. According to reports, Bascombe was liming with a group of friends near the panyard when several gunshots were heard. Bascombe died at the scene.

Officers of the Western Division said Bascombe was known to them. Homicide Region I detectives are continuing investigations. 

A week before he and his best friend were shot dead, 22-year-old Jakan Lezama told his pregnant girlfriend Crystal Ramsaran that he did not want any other man raising their child. Lezama made Ramsaran promise that in case he died, she would never marry.

Lezama, of Noel Street, Couva, and his best friend Abdiel John, 31, of Capildeo Street, were both shot multiple times about their bodies at Lisas Boulevard, Couva, shortly after 10 pm on Friday. They both died at the Couva District Hospital.

Lezama and John played football together. It is believed that after a football game, the friends went to buy marijuana at a known drug block at June Street, when they were fatally shot. The drug block was run by a retired police officer, a source disclosed.

During an interview yesterday, Ramsaran said she loved Lezama and was looking forward to having their baby. She said Lezama was supposed to start a job at KC Confectionery next week. Saying Lezama was misled by his friends, Ramsaran said she was trying to be strong for her baby.

“They told me that if I cry, I will frustrate the baby so I am trying to hold back my tears,” Ramsaran said as she gazed down at her trembling fingers. She said she met Lezama while watching football at the nearby savannah. 

Ramsaran’s mother, Natasha Ramsaran, who owns Tasha’s Bakery in Couva, said Ramsaran and Lezama moved in together in October last year. Wiping away tears, Natasha recalled, “My daughter told me that she was grown up now and I had to let her go. She wanted to move out. She is my only daughter.” 

Saying Ramsaran grew up too fast, Natasha explained, “She had responsibilities in the shop from young. I am hoping that when my grandchild is born, I will get back my daughter.” 

Asked to describe Lezama, Natasha said she did not approve of his friends.

“I never had a quarrel with him. I did not like him being with my daughter because things were moving too fast and I felt they were too young. When they started to live together we rented a place for them and we opened a bakery shop for them,” Natasha added. Now that Lezama was dead, Natasha said they were hoping that Ramsaran would move back home and allow them to help her with caring for the baby.

Meanwhile, one of John’s friends said he too was misled by bad company. He said both John and Lezama limed a lot and used to smoke marijuana. John and his brother Matthew rented a house at Capildeo Street, Couva. A resident from the area who requested anonymity said it was sad that the boys went astray. 

“Too many children are falling through the cracks. We need to have stronger institutions to help our young people so they will not go astray,” the resident added. 

Woman Insp Corbette-Viarruel, Sgt Nash and PC Ramoutar of the Couva Police are continuing investigations.

• Anyone with information on the double murder can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.

Any PNM party member who runs afoul of the law in any way won’t be among the PNM’s local government selections.

PNM chairman Franklin Khan has made it very clear that running afoul of the law will be a major hindrance for any party member seeking selection as a nominee.

Meanwhile, UNC Couva/Talparo corporation chairman Henry Awong who also works at the UNC’s Tabaquite constituency office has confirmed he’s seeking nomination. 

Such was the state of play within the ruling PNM and Opposition UNC as parties began looking towards local government polls expected before year-end, according to Khan’s count. 

Last Thursday, Khan said that local polls—due between October 21, 2016, and January 21, 2017—will “very likely” be held before year-end and “under no circumstances” will they be postponed. He said it would be kept within the three-month period, as Tobago House of Assembly elections are due January 2017.

Last Friday, Parliament debated a motion on the draft Election and Boundaries Commission’s order on local government boundaries. That cleared the way for polls to be held, Khan said.

Out of the 136 electoral districts, the PNM currently holds 84 areas in eight corporations. The Opposition holds 46 in six others and three areas each are held by the COP and ILP. 

The polls, likely to come a year after the new Rowley PNM administration took office, will measure the government’s performance and popularity levels, as well as that of the Opposition which will be seeking to regain ground lost in its 2015 general election defeat. 

While the PNM will be fighting to retain its political lead obtained in the September 2015 general election, the Opposition will also be seeking to recoup lost ground from inroads made by former member Jack Warner’s ILP in the last local government poll of 2013. Warner is no longer ILP leader.

The election will come four or five months after the COP elects a new leader (or interim leader) and the COP’s new leadership will have to decide if it will contest solo or in an arrangement with other groups.

Khan, who is also Local Government Minister, says the PNM hasn’t started seeking nominees or even “mobilising significantly, but we’re always on the ground.”

The PNM has had a head start due to its 14 local government reform consultations over the last two months where reform plans have been outlined. Even if not fully in gear, the PNM is clear on the sort of nominees it wants—top-notch.

“Once people run afoul of the law in any way, that would be a major hindrance in anyone being selected or screened for the PNM,” Khan declared.

He said so when asked about incumbents/ prospectives who may have matters before the courts, like the south corporation councillor reported in the media last year as being involved in an alleged vehicular accident with a south businesswoman.

The PNM is putting its house in order for the polls by holding party and constituency unit elections between this month and next month.

The Opposition UNC has advertised in the media seeking local government nominees. The deadline for nomination is today. UNC chairman David Lee didn’t immediately reply to requests for a comment. Former whip Roodal Moonilal said the election will be a referendum opportunity for people to pronounce on the new administration.

“This will be the people’s chance to send a message on how they feel about losing jobs, having to pay more for a tin of tuna, losing their food cards and being unable to help their kids who have cerebral palsy—having to fight for survival. The PNM has manufactured a recession to disguise incompetence. We have a record of delivery and by now the people must see it.”

Concerns about Awong

Meanwhile, concerns have been expressed among certain UNC members about Awong serving “two masters”—the MP and the corporation.

Awong is listed among employees at the UNC Tabaquite constituency office from 2010 to 2015. Fixin’ T&T on Tuesday released information on constituency office employees, which was received from the Parliament. The Parliament pays constituency office employees’ salaries. Fixin’ T&T sought the information under the Freedom of Information Act. 

Awong is listed as working at the constituency office from 2010 to 8/9/2015. The salary listed from 2010 to 2013 is $3,000 monthly, and $4,000 from 2014 to 2015.

Awong said, “I don’t see any conflict there, the work I do at the constituency office is part time and it’s special assignments. I also live in Tabaquite...

“I’m sure other chairmen or mayors also have other jobs...”

UNC Tabaquite MP Suruj Rambachan also confirmed Awong had worked in his constituency office for five years and can do that job as well as hold the post at the corporation.

“He was a part-time field officer and he’s still with the office..that won’t mitigate against him.

“He does a lot of work for me,” Rambachan said.

Wailing inconsolably that her murdered daughter was calling her, a distraught Erica Thomas chased in vain after the hearse taking her body away yesterday afternoon.

Thomas and her mother Linda Thomas both had to be restrained as the body of Patricia Fletcher-Thomas was brought out of her Phyllis Lane, Enterprise, Chaguanas, home and placed in the back of the hearse. Fletcher-Thomas, 26, was killed in her living room yesterday morning, one day after celebrating her 26th birthday. 

As she chased the vehicle, Thomas shouted, “Patrice calling me, Wait! Wait! Wait!” but the driver never stopped. Thomas also tried to hold on to the driver’s door before he pulled off, but her fingers were prised loose by her relatives. 

Amid chaotic scenes, one man, said to be an uncle of the deceased, shouted this message as the vehicle drove off: “Watch the kinda man allyuh picking up”.

Relatives of Fletcher-Thomas said a man now in police custody threatened to carry out the very act on her birthday. She spent her last hours alive partying with members of her dance group and returned home around 5.30 am yesterday. Less than six hours later, her semi-nude body was found on her living room floor with a gaping gash to the neck. 

Fletcher-Thomas was a dancer at Nationwide Cultural Performers, a best village queen, a supervisor at Francis Fashion Shoe Locker and a mother. Her daughter, Kimora Roopnarine, was beaten to death three years ago. Her autopsy said she died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen. No one was ever arrested for that. Her cousin, 15-year-old Conan Celestine, was killed Christmas night last year. He was shot in the house adjacent to where Fletcher-Thomas was killed.

As the community came out, mostly out of anger, some out of sadness and disbelief, one man shouted that death has been following the woman for some time. A fellow dancer told the media Fletcher-Thomas was regarded as a “Ranker” because she worked for all she wanted and never depended on anyone. 

Police officers had to protect the man in custody from an angry crowd of neighbours, who blamed him for the killing. Intent on vigilante justice, they tried to get to him to beat him up. Relatives told the media that on Fletcher-Thomas’ arrival home, she saw the man’s car and alerted them. When he showed up after her body had been discovered, relatives, aware that he had been at the house earlier, tried to pounce on him, but the lawmen stepped in.

Fletcher-Thomas’ daughter was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility suffering from an asthmatic attack yesterday and is said to be with relatives resting comfortably. 

Fletcher-Thomas is the 13th woman killed so far this year and one of eight people killed in the Central Division between Friday and yesterday.

There were nine people killed between Friday afternoon and yesterday morning, taking the murder toll to 178 for the year. However, of that nine, seven took place in the Central Division.

In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Snr Supt Jayson Forde, head of the Central Division, said all is being done to bring safety and security in the division. 

Forde said of the seven killings since Friday, one can be “cautiously” regarded as gang-related. That murder is the Friday night slaying of Ryan “Daewoo” Hercules, 39, a security guard of John John, Laventille, who was shot and killed at Crown Trace, Enterprise. Hercules was the son of Mark Guerra, a former gang leader who was killed in 2003.

Forde added: “It is unfortunate when any human being loses his life, especially in the manner that they lost theirs. We are collaborating with all agencies to go after all lawbreakers. We are thankful for the support of the public who have been giving helpful information.”

Forde added that on Friday morning three men, all of whom they want to question closely about criminal activity in the Central Division, were arrested. 

According to police, between Saturday and yesterday there were four murders in the division, including that of 26-year-old mother Patrice Fletcher-Thomas. The murders included a 59-year-old drug addict, a taxi-driver and PH taxi-driver.

According to police reports, around 8 pm Saturday, Dirk Ramkissoon of Chin Chin Road, Cunupia, was standing at the front of his home with a friend when a man, wearing black jersey, black pants and black mask, came up from behind and shot him in the head. Police said Ramkissoon ran a short distance before he collapsed and died. Police believe that there could be a drug connection to his killing. 

About four hours earlier, constables Sampson and Jaikaran responded to a report of a man found, slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle at Mt Moriah Road, Welcome Road, Cunupia. Police said when they arrived they found Dhanraj Rajpaul, 54, in his red Mitsubishi Lancer at the side of the road. Police said the vehicle was found with the engine running and several spent shells in the back seat of the vehicle. 

In the final killing, police arrested a neighbour of Gowrie Sankar-Choon, who was found bludgeoned to death at his Persad Avenue, Mon Plasir, Cunupia, home around 6 am yesterday.

Police said the suspect was held at his home, adjacent to the victim’s, sleeping. A jacket, said to be worn by the killer, was seized. Police said Sankar-Choon, 59, was a known drug addict and are unsure about why he was killed. 

Homicide Region Three and officers of the Central Division are continuing investigations into the killings. 

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi is promising an exposé on money laundering and corruption in T&T to be released to the public soon.

Speaking to reporters after attending a Naparima Girls’ High School fund-raiser dinner at Omardeen’s Building in San Fernando on Saturday night, Al-Rawi said there was a low detection and conviction rate for money laundering and corruption in T&T, but that over the past seven months, he has been heading a team from the AG’s office and several other institutions to gather data on money laundering and corruption. 

“Our second public fact-giving will be on the criminal justice system and our third will be on money laundering and corruption,” Al-Rawi disclosed. Asked whether he planned to reveal the names of politicians and other high-ranking officials of T&T who are involved in money laundering and corruption, Al-Rawi said his quest was not to expose people based on their status or political allegiance.

“Let’s just say one ought not to focus on personalities when you apply the law. Really it is that the law must be equally applied,” he pointed out. 

He added, “It is my intention to apply the law with due process and fairness. I am not interested in an adhominem attack on anyone. It really is irrelevant who they are and where they come from. Where their political allegiances lie is the last of my inclinations. What I am interested in doing is as an enabler to the law. I will make sure that the systems are operationalized appropriately in the fashion that the AG is allowed.”

The AG added, “We have done a significant amount of work in civil asset forfeiture. My goal is to leave a mark of having brought the AG office into the light using our ability to put statistics into the public domain and showing what we did about it.”

He also said, “I am pleased about the progress we have made so far and I owe a debt of great gratitude to all of the players in the system who have leaned in to give support.” 

While piloting the Strategic Services Agency Amendment in the Senate last week, Al-Rawi revealed that of the $3.6 billion which is monitored by the Financial Intelligence Unit, only $250,000 was forfeited. He said there were 69 seizures and only ten money-laundering cases were before the court.

Stories by 
JOEL JULIEN 

The Government will receive the motion of no confidence against Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi with “great glee,” said a combative Prime Minister Keith Rowley on his return to T&T on Saturday night from a two-week trip abroad. He said he wasn’t surprised by the opposition threat to file such a motion.

Rowley also said as far as he knows his Government had done nothing wrong in its handling of the situation with temporary Independent Senator Justin Junkere. On Friday Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said a private motion for the House of Representatives to express a loss of confidence in Al-Rawi was filed in the Parliament. 

If approved it could be debated in about 12 days. Persad-Bissessar said the motion was filed in the wake of the passage of the Strategic Services Agency (Amendment) Bill in Parliament.

“I think the Attorney General can defend himself very well, but I will tell you one thing, we will receive that motion with great glee because it is of no surprise to us that the UNC (United National Congress) has no confidence in the Attorney General. You know the kind of attorney general that they have confidence in and our Attorney General does not fit that measure so we are not surprised at all,” he said.

Rowley was also asked about the concern raised by Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen about Junkere following news of Junkere having a state brief from the AG’s office. Junkere was one of two Independent Senators who voted with the Government to pass the SSA bill. Rowley went on the attack against Ramdeen himself.

“I just find it a little offensive to be receiving queries from Gerald Ramdeen. Gerald Ramdeen is a person of great interest to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and I have some questions for him too, and one of them is whether in fact the people of Trinidad and Tobago should support what they represent and to the best of my knowledge this Government has done nothing inappropriate with Mr Junkere. 

There are some appointments that we make and some that other people make and I don’t know that we are having to answer any questions from Mr Ramdeen, who as far as I know the last time I heard his name he was under criminal investigation, a series of them,” Rowley said.

Junkere’s state brief was received under former People’s Partnership attorney general Garvin Nicholas.

Al-Rawi said Ramdeen and Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge have amassed a bill of state briefs from the AG’s office, amounting to more than $26 million and $10 million, respectively.

‘My drivers won’t be doing more than 80’

PM Rowley is “very scared of fast driving” because “speed kills” and as a result of this his security detail will adhere to the country’s speed limits. He was responding to a question of whether his entourage would obey the speed limits.

“My entourage? They had better because I’m very scared of fast driving,” Rowley said. “The drivers will tell you if they get beyond my comfort zone they will know about it,” he said.

Within recent weeks speed guns have been introduced in this country and enforcement of the speed limits on the nation’s roadways, including the 80 kilometres per hour maximum limit for the highways, have been met with some criticism from motorists who have called for a review of the laws.

During last week’s post-Cabinet news conference Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said an increase in the speed limit for highways to 100 kmph was being reviewed. 

Rowley was asked about the situation on Saturday night. He said while he would leave the determination of the country’s speed limits to the “experts,” in his view “different roads should carry different speed limits.”

“When I got my licence, whenever that was, that’s how it was. There were 30-mile zones and 50-mile zones and so on. We have different qualities of roads in the country and they certainly require, from a safety standpoint, that they carry different speed limits. The speed limit on the Solomon Hochoy Highway certainly ought not to be the same one on the Eastern Main Road,” Rowley said.

COY ON RESHUFFLE

Asked if there were any plans for a reshuffle of his Cabinet, Rowley said:
“You can never be satisfied with everything. There is always room for improvement across the board.”

“I don’t want this country to lose sight of the fact where we came from... we have come from a place of great chaos.”

“We have a Cabinet made up of a lot of new people, young people and some experienced people. The majority of people are new and they are finding their feet and we are a whole lot better off than when we came in.

“The government of Trinidad and Tobago in September 2015 was a disaster zone and we have systematically set about in a very sane and sober way to give governance in Trinidad and Tobago that gives us the best chance to succeed and that will continue and when the time comes for adjustments to be made to the Cabinet, we will make the adjustments.”

JOEL JULIEN 

The level of violence in this country is “just too high and unacceptable,” Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has said. Rowley said this country is labelling itself as a “violent society” in which a person can lose their life “for the slightest thing.” And this is not something that the Government can “flick a switch” and turn off, Rowley said.

“At the end of the day the level of violence in Trinidad is just too high and unacceptable. And what is the Government’s role in this?

“In many instances the Government’s role does not begin until after the crime has been committed so we have to ensure that we do nothing to encourage the growth in this kind of behaviour,” Rowley said. 

“To take your point that in so far as economic stress may contribute to personal behaviour that we work towards lowering that stress by improving the economic circumstances. But even as economic growth attended us we did have unacceptably high levels of crime so one does not exclude the other.

“It is just a question that it is a problem of violent conduct. Our society is labelling itself as a violent society and one could lose one’s life for the slightest thing and that is not a matter that the Government can come and say, ‘Okay I’m going to flick a switch and turn it off’,” he said.

Rowley said the Government will intervene where it can to make the society more law-abiding. 

“Where we can do things we will do. For example I understand that the speed guns...I understand it’s having an effect but there are things that we can do and at the end of the day the national security agencies and the Government at large have a responsibility to bring about a feeling of safety in the national community and to secure the national community and those things we will keep on doing on a sustained basis,” he said.

For the year so far, there has been 178 reported murders. There was a total of 410 murders for 2015.

Hazel Brown, co-ordinator of the Network of NGOs of T&T for the Advancement of Women, says the United States needs to fix their house before anyone else’s.

Brown was speaking in response to the United States Ambassador to T&T John Estrada’s recent Guardian interview in which he stated that his policy priorities in T&T included human rights—the rights of women, LGBTI and combatting domestic abuse.

Brown was a recipient of the Medal for the Development of Women (Gold) for her dedicated work in advancing women’s rights and issues in 2011.

She said the first issue that the United States needed to handle was to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, and is often described as an international bill of rights for women.

In a brief interview,  Brown said: “The first thing we would want to put to the Ambassador is that the United States government is the only one of three countries that has not signed onto the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).” 

Browne said the first thing the United States has to do is to join the lobby to sign the CEDAW. 

“You can’t promote when you not doing it in your own country. Iran and Afghanistan are the other countries that did not support women rights,” she said.

On the other hand, she said the United States Embassy has always been open and had a good working relationship with the organisation.

“We want them to continue the support given for sharing and understand what is done.  They supported workshops and seminars and we hope they continue the good work that was done. What he (Estrada) is doing is nothing new that he came up with.”

Grim picture
Reports by the Police Service revealed that altogether there were over 15,000 reports of domestic violence against women between 2004 and 2014,” she said. 

Head of the Victim and Witness Support Unit, Margaret Sampson-Browne, says that there were 163 women murdered between 2005 and 2015, according to CAPA statistics. She said that was one too many and there were thousands of reports of domestic violence during that time.

Browne said she was seeking assistance for a brochure that would be put in police stations to educate the public. Another problem she mentioned was the lack of shelters for the victims.

“We don’t have a lot of shelters and one of the reasons that the victims don’t want to come is because of the inadequacies of the homes. There are many reasons they don’t make reports to the police stations.” 

Gay rights
Executive director of The Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) Colin Robinson says legislation for the rights of LGBT was necessary as T&T was still under archaic law.

“We are subject to universal period review by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. I was in the middle of that process and it raises questions of our records against torture, children and women and gender-based violence. It got crazy. 

He said T&T was congratulated at the Disability Convention for their efforts made and credit for improvement in other sectors.

“We have to put all that in place. We are doing well and one of our remaining challenges is that we don't allow our citizens to go international when it comes to human rights,” he said.

 Robinson said T&T needed to be accountable to a common state of standards.

“That is human rights. We don't allow our citizens to go international and we have to make sure our protections at home are strong and issues are raised,” he said. He said a lot of our laws were old and there should be a lot of changes in legislation.

“We passed the Children’s Act in 2012 and we also criminalised children who have sex with each other and want to send them to jail for life. Rights are rights for everybody and not one set of people. Children need to be done in a different way because they can suffer. Gay rights is to be treated as everybody else,” he said. 

Reports by the Police Service revealed that altogether there were over 15,000 reports of domestic violence against women between 2004 and 2014.

Serious crime statistics
Violence against women in the following years:
    2013    2014    2015    2016
Sexual offences/rapes
    550     829     625      52
Serious Indecency
    71    80    70     7
Total Number of Murders in T&T
    408    403    420    121
Number of women murdered
between 2010 and 2014:
2010    48
2011    26
2012    41
2013    34
2014    9