Witness: Dhanraj found $500,000 was too much to kill Sumairsingh

The initial figure requested for the hit on Hansraj Sumairsingh was $500,000. But former Government Minister Dhanraj Singh, who wanted  Sumairsingh dead, thought that sum was too much and solicited the services of Elliot Hypolite, a member of the Muslimeen whose Muslim name was Abdullah. Hypolite, the State’s key witness, started his testimony yesterday before Justice Paula Mae Weekes  in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court where Dhanraj is charged with the murder of Sumairsingh, Chairman of the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation. Hypolite was granted immunity to testify against Dhanraj.

He told the Court that Dhanraj ordered him to “give Sumairsingh a jokey blowout, or warning. But did not say why he wanted him dead.” Hypolite said,  Dhanraj  was “mad” when he, Steven Cummings (also called Chen), and another man  failed to kill Sumairsingh on the first occasion (December 27, 1999).  He said:” Dhanraj was mad when I entered the office. He had a mad face. He said; All yuh miss the man  last night. All yuh is jokey bad boys,’” and slammed his hand on his desk. However, Hypolite said  Dhanraj promised that he would fix it right the next time, that he will arrange for Sumairsingh to go to his (Sumairsingh’s) beach house and  when Sumairsingh is there he will contact Chen. Dhanraj described Sumairsingh’s beach house to Hypolite and gave the address as Eccles Road, Grand Lagoon, Mayaro. Hypolite recounted to the Court how, on arrival at  the beach house, he tied a handkerchief over his face and Chen pulled his hat with a mask over his face and went into the yard. He said Chen pointed his gun through the kitchen door, fired two shots and then ran. Shortly after, he also ran, but not before taking up a cellular phone.

Dr Hughvon des Vignes, who performed the post-mortem on Sumairsingh, said that the deceased was discovered on the floor of the  living room in a sitting position, near to an exit door with a puncture wound on the right shoulder. He was wearing a white t-shirt and purple shorts. There was vomit  over his body and shirt. A bullet entered his right shoulder and moved sharply downwards penetrating the right pleural cavity, the right hemi-diaphragm and perforating the right lobe of the liver. Another gunshot wound was over the lateral surface of the upper thigh, entering right to left.
Hypolite said when Dhanraj offered him the contract, Dhanraj told him that Chen wanted $500,000 but that was too much. Hypolite  demanded money for the hit, but although no figure was agreed upon, Dhanraj gave him $2,000. He later received $5,000, but was never given $60,000 which he wanted to use to flee the country after the police questioned him about the killing.

Earlier, he related how Dhanraj had described the home address of Sumairsingh, after which he went on a reconnaissance expedition to locate the house. On another occasion he had to ask information from his brothers in the mosque for Dhanraj’s address at Williamsville. He said he had Jamaat friends such as deceased Mark Guerra, Jamal and Andy. The prosecution team is being led by Sir Timothy Cassel QC and includes Assistant DPP Devan Rampersad, Angelica Teelucksingh and Cheron Raphael, while Karl Hudson-Phillips QC leads the defence team including Ravi Rajcoomar, Prakash Ramadhar and Jennifer Hudson-Phillips. When hearing continues today, Hudson-Phillips will start his cross-examination of Hypolite.

Hitman tells of plot to kill Hansraj

By FRANCIS JOSEPH

ELLIOT HYPOLITE, the State’s main witness, told a jury yesterday about his meeting with former Government Minister Dhanraj Singh in which he received a down payment of $2,000 to kill Hansraj Sumairsingh, the then chairman of the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation. Hypolite, who was originally charged with Sumairsingh’s murder, was granted immunity from prosecution on the condition that he testify against Singh; that he not leave Trinidad without the DPP’s permission, and that he be subjected to protection from the State. Singh is before Madame Justice Paula Mae Weekes in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court charged with the murder of Sumairsingh on December 30, 1999 at Eccles Road, Mayaro. When hearing resumes this morning, Hypolite will be cross-examined by the lead defence attorney Karl Hudson-Phillips QC.
The following is Hypolite’s evidence-in-chief:

CASSEL: Is your name Elliot Hypolite?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir
CASSEL: Were you present when Hansraj Sumairsingh was killed?
HUDSON-PHILLIPS objects: That is the most misleading question, my lady. There is no such evidence on the deposition. (Objection overruled).
CASSEL: Let me ask you again. Were you present when Hansraj Sumairsingh was killed?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir.
CASSEL: Is it true that you were charged with his murder and the proceedings were discontinued by the then DPP?
WITNESS: Yes Sir.
CASSEL: Were you granted an immunity from prosecution?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir
CASSEL: Can you produce it?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir
CASSEL: Is this the document you were given by the then DPP?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir.
Cassel reads the document into the record.
Fitzgerald George
Police Sergeant No. 9287
vs
Elliot Hypolite also called Abdullah
for
MURDER
I, MARK MOHAMMED, Director of Public Prosecutions, pursuant to the provisions of  Section 90 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and all powers in that behalf enabling, do grant immunity from prosecution to ELLIOT HYPOLITE also called ABDULLAH relative to this matter, subject to the following conditions:
1. That the statutory declaration made by ELLIOT HYPOLITE also called ABDULLAH and sworn to on the 22 day of February, 2001 is true to the best of the knowledge and belief of the said ELLIOT HYPOLITE also called Abdullah.
2. That the said ELLIOT HYPOLITE also called ABDULLAH shall give evidence in accordance with the statutory declaration referred to herein, when required to do so.
3. That the said ELLIOT HYPOLITE also called Abdullah not leave the State of Trinidad and Tobago without the permission of the Director of Public Prosecu-tions.
4. That the said ELLIOT HYPOLITE also called ABDULLAH subject himself to arrangements made by the State for his protection.
This immunity will be withdrawn in the event of a deliberate breach of any of the above conditions and not otherwise.
Dated this 22nd day of February 2001
MARK MOHAMMED
CASSEL: Do you understand the conditions of the immunity?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir
CASSEL: Do you know the accused Dhanraj Singh?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir
CASSEL: Could you tell us when was the first time you met the accused?
WITNESS: I first met him in September 1999. I met him to do some work at one of his offices in Tunapuna. My employer was Mr Khalif Saif, the Programme Manager for URP in that vicinity. I was working under the URP. I was to build some burglar-proof in the accused’s office. I had been working at the Tunapuna office for a week.
CASSEL: Could you tell us how you met the accused?
WITNESS: I was engaged in installing the burglar-proof when the accused introduced himself. He asked me if I was Abdullah. I said yes. He told me he heard that I was a good man for the job. I said yes, I am a good man for the job.
CASSEL: What did you think he meant by that statement?
WITNESS: I was making him feel I was a good man for the burglar-proof job. He said he asked some other brothers and bad boys to do a job for him. I understood brothers to mean his friends or mine. Before that, I asked him what kind of job it was and he said it was to deal with a man. He did not elaborate at that meeting.
CASSEL: When was the next time did you see the accused?
WITNESS: I saw him again at the office. He came back and forth. The office was not opened to the public as yet.  Dhanraj Singh mentioned the job again. He did not disclose more details about the job. He said he asked other brothers and bad boys to do the job for him. He said they are jokey bad boys.
CASSEL: How long did you work at the Tunapuna office?
WITNESS: I was there for about two to three weeks.
CASSEL: When was the next time you saw the accused?
WITNESS: I next saw the accused at the sod-turning ceremony at the Rum Bond. I cannot give an approximate day but it was some time between September and November 2000. The Rum Bond was situated next to the Success/Laventille School. I was invited to the ceremony because it had eats and drinks. I was invited by the Programme Manager Khalif Saif and the brothers who were URP. They were members of the Jamaat. I was a member of the Jamaat. There were other brothers there like, Andy, Jamal, Mark Guerra and others. There was a ceremony when speeches were made. I remember the accused and other officials. After the speeches, the officials were mingling. I spoke to the accused and Steve Cummings, who was known as Chen. He is not with us again. He was a member of the Jamaat. The accused called me in the presence of Steve Cummings. He asked me if I was ready to do the job he told me about.
CASSEL: Did you know anything about the job?
WITNESS: Yes, I know the job was to deal with a man. When the accused asked me the question, Chen was present. But the accused did not want to say what the job was. I went to the side with Chen and we spoke. I went back to the accused and asked him what he wanted. The accused said he wanted Hansraj dead.
CASSEL: Did you know who Hansraj was?
WITNESS: I did not know who Hansraj was. The accused did not tell me who Hansraj was.
CASSEL: How did you react?
WITNESS: When the former Minister laughed, I laughed. I told him if he wanted Hansraj dead, he (the accused) would have to give me some money. He told me to come by his home for the money. No sum was mentioned at the ceremony. The accused told me he wanted the job to go down in a few days because he was going out of the country.
CASSEL: Did you go to his home?
WITNESS: Some time had passed and I went to his home. I did not know where he lived, so I asked some of the brothers from the mosque. As a result, I went to his home in Williamsville. This was sometime in December, the beginning of December. I cannot tell you the exact address, but I know the place.
CASSEL: Was this visit arranged, or did you just turn up?
WITNESS: I just turned up. There were two Indian security guards there. They were dressed in green sweater and green pants. I spoke to the guards and they went to the accused. I was allowed to go in. I entered the house. I passed through the garage and into the kitchen, then to the living room and into an office which was at the back. The accused told me to sit in a chair. He started to talk about the work to be done on the Rum Bond. He then told me more about Hansraj Sumairsingh, that he wanted him dead. He told me Hansraj was the chairman of the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation. He gave me a description of Hansraj Sumairsingh, and said Hansraj was a fattish man. He told me that one of Chen’s men went to Hansraj’s office and gave him a blow-out.
CASSEL: Did the accused tell you why he wanted Hansraj Sumairsingh dead?
WITNESS: No, Sir. After he gave me more details about Hansraj, I asked him how much he was going to pay for the job. He said Chen wanted $500,000 and that was too much money. He reached into a drawer of his desk, took out some money and gave me $2,000. He gave me an address of 100 Tabaquite Road where Hansraj lived. I was about to leave his office when the accused showed me three guns in a bag. I looked at the guns — one was a .38 revolver and the other two, were nine millimetres. The accused told me when I located Hansraj, he would give the guns to Chen.
CASSEL: What did you do next?
WITNESS: I went back home. Some time passed and I went in search of Hansraj at Tabaquite. I went in my own car and I located the house. I did not see anybody at the house.
CASSEL:What happened next?
WITNESS: Chen contacted me some time later. This was just after Christmas. We went to Hansraj Sumairsingh’s home.
CASSEL: Who is we?
WITNESS: It was myself, Chen and another man who is unknown. We met in Chaguanas. We used a red 323 Mazda sports car. I never saw that car before that day. I did not see that car before that day. I never saw the other man before. Chen brought him.
CASSEL: Did you ever try to find out his name?
WITNESS: I asked, but I never got his name. He is not a brother, he was African, stockily-built, and five feet four inches. Chen had two guns, he gave me the nine millimetre, and he kept the .38 revolver. I did not know if the unknown man had a gun. It was just after 5 pm when we left Chaguanas. We arrived in Tabaquite around seven o’clock. I identified the address to them. Chen came out and spoke to some one in the yard.  It was a fattish young lady. I could not hear what they were saying. They spoke very short. Chen came back in the car and we left the front of the house. We stayed in the area for about 45 minutes.
CASSEL: What did you do next?
WITNESS: We went back to Hansraj’s home. I saw Hansraj coming home. He and his wife were getting out of their vehicle. Chen got back out of the car, but I called him back. Mr and Mrs Sumairsingh went into their home. We left and headed back to Chaguanas. When we reached Chaguanas, I gave the gun back to Chen. My gun was fully loaded.
CASSEL: Could you tell what happened next?
WITNESS: The following day, I went to Port-of-Spain URP office which is opposite to the market. I had just turned up when I saw Steve Cummings. We spoke and I left Port-of-Spain and went to the accused’s office. I saw the accused in his office on the third floor. The accused was mad. When I entered the office, he said ‘all yuh miss the man last night.’ He slammed his hand on the desk. ‘All yuh is jokey bad boys’ He said we are not capable doing what he want. He said he will fix it right this time. He will arrange for Sumairsingh to come to his beach house. This was the first time I heard about the beach house.
The accused said he would contact Chen and make arrangements for the beach house.  The accused told me that the beach house was at Grand Lagoon, Eccles Road, Maraval. I know the area. I knew where Eccles Road was. He gave me a description of the house and that there was an empty lot at the side of the house. I then went home.
CASSEL: Did anything happen after that?
WITNESS: Chen contacted me about 4.30 to 5 o’clock at my home by telephone. I went to KFC, Chaguanas. Chen was there with the unknown man. We stayed there for about 10 minutes before we left for Mayaro in the same red Mazda car. Chen and I were armed with the same guns. We went to Eccles Road where I identified the house. I recognised Mr Sumairsingh’s vehicle. There were people in the yard. I heard music and loud conversation. We went further down the street, turned around and went to the ‘Guaya’ area and stayed for a while. We stayed there for about 30 to 45 minutes. We then went back to Sumairsingh’s home. When we got there, only Sumairsingh’s vehicle was there. Music was coming from the car and the two front doors were open. The car was parked in the garage.
CASSEL: What did you do next, if anything?
WITNESS: We turned the car around. I put on a black sweater and a kerchief on my face. Chen had a hat which he transformed to a mask. The unknown man took the car further up the road while Chen and I walked. We had our own guns. We entered Sumairsingh’s yard and went towards the house.
Chen was in front of me. There were two doors. I saw Chen place his finger on his lips, telling me to keep quiet. Chen went to one of the doors and I saw him raise his hand and I heard two explosions. I did not see anybody in the line of fire. If there was a person, he would have been out of my vision. Chen turned around and ran into me. I saw a cell phone on the table. I picked it up and ran to the car. Chen had already run.
CASSEL: Why did you pick up the cell phone?
WITNESS: So Mr Sumairsingh wouldn’t call the police. I ran to the car and drove off. We stopped at the Ortoire Bridge. Chen and I got out of the car. He took out two empty shells from his gun and threw them in the river. I wiped the cell phone and threw it in the river.
CASSEL: Why did you wipe the cell phone?
WITNESS; I did so because my prints were on the phone. We eventually reached Chaguanas. I gave Chen my gun and I went home. I never fired my gun.
CASSEL: Did you speak to any one about this incident some time later.
WITNESS: No, Sir.
CASSEL: Were you detained by the police in this matter?
WITNESS: Yes, sir.
CASSEL: Could you say when this happened?
WITNESS: This could be in January 2000. I was detained by the police for some hours well. I was then released.
CASSEL: What happened after you were released?
WITNESS: I went to see the accused at his office at Kent House, Maraval.
CASSEL: What is there at Kent House?
WITNESS: That is the Local Government Minister’s office. Chen and I just turned up there. I spoke to the accused in the car park.
CASSEL: How did you manage to meet the accused?
WITNESS: The accused came down and met us there. We asked for the money for doing the job. He said things were hot and let them cool down a bit. I said okay. This meeting was very short, because Chen was mad and I was mad. I left the country for six months. I returned in September 2000. In October 2000, I went to the accused’s home in Williamsville. I just turned up. I saw the security guards. I spoke to them. I saw the accused.
He came to speak to me at the side of the house. The accused was surprised to see me. He asked me why I came back. He wanted me to leave very quick. He told me to go to the Marabella office. I went there and the accused came there after. He came with somebody and went into a meeting. I later met the accused who said he was surprised to see me back in the country. I asked him for my money. He gave me $5,000 in cash at the office. I said my name was calling in the murder. The accused said his name was also calling too.
He said he did not tell “all yuh fella” to go and do anything.
I told him that the money was not enough. I said I needed $60,000 to take my family out of the country. He told me to come back another day. When I turned up that day, he never came. This was about two to three days later.
CASSEL: Did you ever see the accused again, except in court?
WITNESS: No, Sir.
CASSEL: Have you been paid any more money?
WITNESS: No, Sir.
CASSEL: After the proceedings started in the Magistrates’ Court, the DPP discontinued proceedings against you?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir.
CASSEL: Have you been looked after by the police since then?
WITNESS: Yes, Sir.
Cassel completes his evidence-in-chief at 12.48 pm. Hudson-Phillips will cross-examine the witness this morning.