Suspended vet gets his job back

SUSPENDED Government veterinarian Dr Bhim Ramoutar got a birthday gift on Thursday. His suspension was lifted with immediate effect and he was ordered back to his job at the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources.

Dr Ramoutar was suspended on February 15, 2000 by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and placed on one charge. The particulars of the offence read “that you, Dr Bhim Ramoutar, Veterinary Officer, Ministry of Agri-culture, Land and Marine Resources, exercised your authority unreasonably when on January 2, 1999, you admitted into the Dog Quarantine Section, a brown male Cocker Spaniel instead of the black and white Cocker Spaniel for which you had received documentation and a request for quarantine.”

Dr Ramoutar, 46, of Salazar Street, St James,  was on duty at Piarco on January 2, 1999 awaiting the arrival from the United States, a Cocker Spaniel, owned by Larry Porter, the then chief executive officer of PowerGen. Unknown to Dr Ramoutar, the Cocker Spaniel which had arrived in Trinidad was switched between the aircraft and the area where the inspection took place. After taking possession of the wrong dog, Dr Ramoutar placed the dog in the quarantine section for the next six months.

Three months later, an animal attendant at the Quarantine facility attempted to blackmail Porter to the tune of $20,000 by claiming that he knew about the switching of the dogs.  This matter was submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and investigations were carried out. A tribunal was set up comprising former Magistrate Cecil Beckles, former Assistant Police Commissioner Cyracius Liverpool, and Fred Hamel-Smith. Dr Michael Diptee, and Dr Sham Bissessar, both veterinarians attached to Piarco, gave evidence on behalf of Dr Ramoutar. The man who attempted to blackmail Porter died of a heart attack in 2001, while Porter returned to the United States with his Cocker Spaniel after his stint in Trinidad.