Businessmen horrified by latest kidnapping

The business community is in a state of shock over the abduction of 20-year-old Brandon Montrichard around 2 am in Westmoorings yesterday, which occurred less than 24 hours after the businessmen declared they would not accept promises or await passage of legislation for crime to be brought under control in Trinidad and Tobago. Montrichard’s father Brian is the owner of Xante and Xanadu Private Members Clubs, and Credit Chex Ltd — all of which are located in Woodbrook. The Montrichard family also owns Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain businesses — Montrichard Ltd (MAD) and Montrichard WA Enterprises Ltd.

TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Christian Mouttet yesterday expressed his horror at the news of Montrichard’s abduction. Mouttet told Newsday that this latest kidnapping further underscores the call issued by business organisations to Government, Opposition and the Police Service to get their act together and deal with crime. The chamber president said, “Every kidnapping bothers us (business community)” and the business community’s concerns about crime were not limited to any one person or group in the society.

Asked if the business community would now exercise any of the options it alluded to on Thursday to increase pressure on the authorities to act, Mouttet said there must be a time-frame during which the authorities’ response could be measured before business organisations make their move. TT Manufacturers Association president Paul Quesnel said crime affects all citizens, regardless of socio-economic status, and lamented the attempts by certain sections of the media to misconstrue this fact. “The average citizen is the one who is affected,” he declared.

Quesnel reiterated that the 36 members of the House of Representatives must remember that they owe their parliamentary status to the population, and must put aside partisan politics and deal with crime. Mouttet and Quesnel confirmed that members of the business community will be meeting with National Security Minister Martin Joseph on Monday. Joseph said law enforcement agencies are using problem-oriented policing strategies to allocate resources to fight crime, and emphasis was being placed on gang-related homicides and kidnappings. At Thursday’s post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall, Joseph said police need to be at the crime scene to deal effectively with the problem, and there were five police station districts that were responsible for homicides in TT.