Panday out on $300,000 bail

Justice Anthony Carmona, presiding in the Port-of-Spain Sixth Criminal Court, granted the bail after hearing from two medical doctors — one about Panday’s medical problems, and the other about the lack of medical facilities at the Maximum Security Prison at Arouca.

Carmona named UNC’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Tim Gopeesingh and his wife Kamini as sureties for Panday’s bail. As soon as Carmona granted bail at 2.50 pm, there was a mad scramble to get the documents in order to submit them to the prison.

Carmona said Panday had not shown that his appeal against conviction is likely to succeed. But the judge was persuaded, after hearing from the two doctors, that Panday’s health was of grave concern to all concerned.

After hearing from Panday’s doctor Dr Rasheed Rahaman that Panday suffers from a series of complications, Carmona pointed out that there are no machines at Golden Grove to assist the former Prime Minister in the event of a heart attack. He also stated that the drugs needed to keep Panday alive were not available at the penal institution. Carmona said the health of a person is a major consideration in any sentencing regime. He said Panday’s health problem was not addressed or made available to Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls when he sentenced Panday last Monday.

Carmona continued, “The court cannot run the risk as the two-year sentence can be regarded as an unintended death sentence.”

The judge said he was not persuaded that there is a possibility that Panday’s appeal against conviction would succeed. On the issue of sentence, he said the story might have been different if Mc Nicolls was privy to the medical evidence. He said the criticism of the magistrate may have been unfair as he (Mc Nicolls) did not have the medical evidence.

Carmona said that based on submissions of both sides, a fair sentence for Panday was between three to six months. But he said it was not his intention to usurp the function of the Court of Appeal.

Carmona said there were several other reasons for granting bail — that Panday’s appeal is not likely to be heard before the law term closes in July, that the transcripts of the evidence in the trial were not available, and the magistrate’s reason were not ready.

The judge said if Panday remains in jail and his appeal is heard later, there is a likelihood he would have spent a great part of the two years in prison.

The testimony of the two doctors saved the day for Panday.

Rahaman, of Bamboo Village, La Romaine, said he has been a cardiologist for the past 27 years and Panday’s doctor since November 1989. He said he prepared a medical report on Panday dated April 26, but did not include all his client’s medical problems. Questioned by Desmond Allum SC, Rahaman gave full details and said Panday was at risk of dying suddenly. (The judge ordered the media not to disclose details of Panday’s health problems.)

Rahaman said a patient with symptoms like Panday needs a defibrillator. He said if such equipment was around, persons such as Justice Lloyd Gopeesingh, Andre Tanker, Sham Mohammed and journalist David Brewster may have been alive today.

Rahaman said since Panday’s jailing on Monday, no one from the prison contacted him. “I am not aware what happens in prison. But from reading the newspapers, it is not a pleasant place. I haven’t been to prison. I know it is going to be a very stressful experience. It is likely to impact on Mr Panday’s illness.”

The South doctor said hard labour would possibly burn up the oxygen in Panday’s body. Rahaman said if Panday does not get his medication, he would die. He said he saw Panday in his office last Thursday where the former Prime Minister complained about certain complications.

The next witness was Dr Vinod Mahabir, the prisons doctor. He said he met Panday on his arrival at the prison.

He confirmed that Panday was being kept in the infirmary, which has six beds and is located on the top floor.

Mahabir who looks after more than 2,500 prisoners each day said that the prison could not deal with Panday’s illnesses.

Panday was fined $20,000 on Monday, sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay $1.6 million which represented the amounts in the London account for the years 1997, 1998, and 1999.