Panday jailing, big news in C’bean

The Barbados Nation and the Jamaican Observer newspapers both led with the story, while the Stabroek News out of Guyana and the Jamaican Gleaner included the story as part of their lead headlines.

The Observer carried a file photo of a smiling Panday with the headline “Former T’dad PM jailed ... Panday gets two years, fined US$10,000 in secret bank account case.”

The story noted that Panday led Trinidad as Prime Minister from 1995 to 2001 and was this country’s first PM of East Indian descent. It further pointed out that Panday, 72, was also facing a charge of accepting a US$45,600 bribe in an airport corruption scandal, here in TT. That matter will be heard next month.

The Barbados Nation carried a large photo of Panday leaving the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court. He was surrounded by police officers. The headline read “Off to Jail..Panday sentenced to two years hard labour”.

On the Jamaican Gleaner, the verdict was among the top headlines on the front page.

It read; “Former Trinidad PM jailed...Panday sentenced to two years hard labour.” The story pointed out that the verdict was “unprecedented”.

On the front page of the Stabroek News, the leading daily in Guyana, one of the main headlines read “Panday found guilty...two years in prison with hard labour.” And in the Latin America and Caribbean briefs in the Miami Herald, the lead story from Trinidad read “Ex-Prime Minister gets two-year sentence.”

Panday is being held at the Maximum Security Prison at Arouca. He has since filed an appeal, but his lawyers yesterday failed in their attempts to secure bail before a judge in chambers at the High Court.