According to a police report, at 4.30 pm on Wednesday, a man walking along the beach came across Arjoon’s body lying face up. His mother Sumintra Bachoon, 56, of Bois Bourg, Cedros was inconsolable yesterday crying that she had not seen her son for a year and now has to deal with his violent death.

“I wanted to see him and was planning to go and look for him. Up to Saturday last I told the taxi driver I going to look for my son this week because I have not seen him in over a year,” said the weeping mother of four. “Everyday I sending messages for him to come and see me. I even sent him my phone number but he wouldn’t call or come. Now the first time I seeing him in over a year is as a chopped up corpse!” “I don’t know why they would kill him because he was a nice child,” she said. Arjoon of Icacos Village was unmarried and had no children. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James but up to press time, no result was forthcoming. No arrest has been made.

Lorenzo’s body was found at Clifton Hill in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday morning. The 25-yearold man who lived at Upper Bombay Street in St James was shot no less than 15 times, an autopsy performed yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre revealed.

Asked if they think the police would ever prosecute anyone for Lorenzo’s murder, a relative said, “as far as the family is concerned, this is going to be treated as just another murder,” said the relative. “Look around and ask yourself, ‘how many murders have been solved in this country?’ The police are clueless.

“It almost seems as if police just jot down information in a book and then move on. It’s like if they put these cases in a file and then dump it in some drawer like garbage. There will be no justice, this we know,” the relative added.

According to reports, residents of Clifton Hill were awakened by gunshots at 1 am on Wednesday and the police were contacted. Officers arrived on the scene but saw nothing untoward. At 7.30 am on Wednesday, persons walking along the road found Caesar’s body in a drain at the side of the road. No arrest has been made.

“When I came in as Mayor, the Prime Minister indicated that the city of Port-of-Spain was not in a well state. He said the streets were filled with a lot of homeless people who seem to be living in our parks and on the streets.

“That’s not good for the city, it’s affected a lot of people. What I understand from corporate citizens is that they are frustrated with what has happened with the homeless.

They have taken over the parks in downtown Port-of- Spain and that is not a good sign,” he said.

Martinez was speaking to members of the media yesterday after the City Corporation’s first statutory meeting at the Council Chambers, Port-of-Spain City Corporation, City Hall, Knox Street.

The mayor said Port-of-Spain had homeless people like every other city in the world and how one treated their homeless people, how they dealt with them, was up to those in charge.

“We are the leaders, we have to deal with it. I am the new Mayor of Port-of-Spain, I have just come in, I have a mandate to assist in clearing up the city and to make it clean.

And part of making it clean is to make sure people are not defecating on the streets, and urinating on every wall, and sleeping on the streets and eating out of the garbage and spewing the containers all over. You have to have law and order,” he said.

Martinez said to do that, they had to take care of the homeless, adding that there are different categories of homelessness. He said there are people who had fallen through the cracks,those who had been displaced, those who had been deported and had nowhere to go and some who are drug addicts and there were those who were mentally ill.

“The mentally ill persons pose a challenge to the right thinking citizens who walk down the street.

They feel affected that at any point in time, one of these mentally people can attack them and there is really no redress.

Citizens feel uncomfortable.

These (homeless) people are vulnerable … but we have to implement rules, and make sure they are taken off the streets,” he said. Martinez said he has been in touch with the Social Development Ministry, Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Health and the Attorney General’s Office. He said Social Development Minister, Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn, has laid out a plan to go forward and has asked that a task force be set up so they could treat with the issue once and for all.

“We want to do it in a very humane manner and in a civilised way. We want to bring all the NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and everybody who can possibly help together, even the merchants,” the mayor said.

“I walked out the road with her and waited till she got a PTSC bus. When she reached into San Fernando she called to inform me,” Cristal said.

She said her daughter would then take another bus to travel to the Mt Hope area.

“From Mt Hope she has to take another transport to reach to the El Dorado Secondary School. She called me again when she reached Mt Hope and said ‘Mummy I am in Mt Hope and going to get a car to go to school now,” the mother of five said. Baptiste said she waited for another telephone call that her daughter had arrived in front the school, but there were no further calls. “I assumed she forgot to call me until she did not come home from school that day.

When her father (Roy Lezama) and I contacted the school, we learnt that Mariah did not show up to school that day.” Cristal said calls to Mariah’s cell phone went unanswered. “The cell phone is switched off. I don’t know where she is or if someone has her. I just don’t know what to think, but I am so sacred. How would you feel as a mother to know that your daughter left home in her school uniform and you put her in a bus to make sure she was safe and then you get the news from her teachers she never made it to school?” She described Mariah as a very intelligent girl who performs well academically.

“I believe that someone has her against her will. Please send my daughter home.” A report has since been made at the Fyzabad Police Station. Up to late yesterday officers of the Anti Kidnapping Squad were expected to visit the family. Mariah’s disappearance comes weeks after the body of 16 year-old schoolgirl Rachael Ramkissoon was discovered in a track along Balata Trace, San Raphael. She was still dressed in her North Eastern College school uniform. An autopsy revealed that she was strangled

He made the comments during a media interview after delivering letters of appointment to the National Schools Dietary Services board at the Education Towers, Port-of-Spain. He was responding to a suggestion on Wednesday by Senator Rodger Samuel at a Public Accounts Committee meeting that students should have to pay for damaged furniture.

Yesterday Garcia said that it is an idea that is worth exploring and pointed out that, at times, furniture are damaged not because of the students, but from the paucity of manufacture.

“I know from personal experience that in many cases we have furniture that were supplied by manufacturers that were substandard,” he reported.

He said when children sit on it for a prolonged period, the joints came apart and, after a term or two, it is no longer serviceable.

“So I will not make a broad statement that the student needs to pay for damaged furniture. It all depends on the circumstances that led to the damage,” he added.

Asked about cases of wilful vandalism, Garcia said the children “will be held responsible” and the child or the child’s parents will have to pay for it.

On security at schools, Garcia said it is a concern and recalled there was a time when schools only required a night watchman.

“I would love to see the day when we don’t have to have all these security personnel in our schools and we would not be saddled with a large security bill,” he said.

On the issue of literacy problems with children, raised the previous day by Minister in the Education Ministry Dr Lovell Francis, Garcia said he found it “unacceptable” that a child could spend seven years at primary level and not be able to read or comprehend or do mathematics properly.

He reported they will be launching “a frontal attack” on this problem starting at the level of standard one which is a transition stage that is challenging to some of their teachers. He said that they will be giving additional resources to standard one and form one levels and tracking performance.

This was announced yesterday as Education Minister Anthony Garcia delivered letters of appointment to the new National Schools Dietary Services Ltd (NSDSL) at Education Towers, Port-of-Spain.

He said children must have healthy bodies and the new board will ensure their nutritional needs are met.

He reported that there have been outcries from sectors criticising programme and some making the bold claim that it had been discontinued which he said was “totally and completely false”. He said that there was no budgetary cut in the programme although there was a reduction in the allocation.

“Our children continue to be fed in our schools, those who are in need of some additional sustenance,” he said.

He reported that daily 58,226 children benefit from the breakfast meals and 88,348 students from lunch. Garcia said Cabinet, with the urging of the Health Ministry, took a decision to ensure a lessening of the sugar content.

He pointed out that from international studies and local dieticians, there have been advisories about excessive sugars leading to conditions like obesity and diabetes.

NSDSL CEO, Stacy Barran in her remarks said they have been looking at their juices and are working with their companies, including SM Jaleel, to reduce it. They currently serve 30 percent juice and have been mandated by the Health Ministry to serve 100 percent juice which would raise the cost.

Speaking with reporters after yesterday’s inauguration of the new THA at the Assembly Legislature in Jerningham Street Scarborough, Minority Leader Watson Duke stated that based upon a scientific study done and data garnered, crime should be the top priority.

“Crime affects everyone and every single thing,” Duke said.

“It affects tourism, it affects agriculture, it affects education, it affects health and, for the year, we already have two gun-related murders and about six shootings. So we would really want to see a plan of the PNM (People’s National Movement) and see if we can ballast to that plan some ideas of our own.” Duke said his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), while campaigning for the THA election, had been garnering views from several people and has developed a mandate.

“We have a perspective on crime, so if we are able to unify or harness the ideas together, we would be able to come up with a good crime plan that would be able to arrest the ills in Tobago and give the people some level of comfort to now prosper.” Duke said with an opposition in the house, it signals good things to come for Tobago as there would now be balance within the Assembly.

“It is comforting to know that at least Farley (Augustine), Faith (B.

Yisrael) and myself, we are in the house representing a large majority of persons out there, who either did not vote or voted and did not get the results they wanted.

Duke added that the current term will be short because when the new act for Tobago’s internal self governance is passed, a new THA election will be called.

“The PNM you see in the Executive Council here at this time, you would only see them for a short while because we would be here readying ourselves to take over at the drop of a hat.

Both Duke and Augustine won their seats in Monday’s THA election as they defeated the PNM candidates in those areas while the PNM won 10 seats retaining control of the Assembly.

According to Carmona, Tobagonians have voted, the electorate has spoken and the process of democracy and the rule of law must be respected.

This as he admonished the members that the people of Tobago have determined that they should be the guardian and the servants of the laws for the next four years.

“Democracy however, does not begin and end with elections, and its actualisation will take different forms or invariably will be judged by your actions in and out of this hallowed assembly,” Carmona said.

He warned members that the campaigning is over and it is now time to work together for the betterment of the island and its people.

“I welcome this sense of calm, harmony and celebration which is realised by this ceremony of substance.

I am confident that all of us in this Assembly can now face the future and its challenges as one

Stewart-Phillips was sworn-in yesterday at the 10th Inauguration ceremony of the THA by President Anthony Carmona.

Speaking with Newsday after the ceremony, which took place at the Assembly Legislature in Scarborough, Stewart-Phillips indicated that she resigned her post as senator with effect from Wednesday. Contacted for comment, former diplomat and head of the public service Reginald Dumas noted that while he was unaware of Stewart Phillips’ resignation, she had to resign as there was no way she could hold the two portfolios. Stewart-Phillips is being tipped to be sworn-in as the Secretary for the Division of Tourism and Culture at a ceremony scheduled to be held this morning.

Forde-John, presiding in the San Fernando First Magistrate’s Court, passed the sentence on Ian Kurt Kuar, 57, yesterday when he re-appeared for sentencing.

Police arrested Kuar, of no fixed place of abode, in a room of the cafeteria on Friday when they also retrieved tools including a hammer and a wrench.

PC Mohess of the San Fernando CID laid the charges.

Kuar also known as “Wayne” first appeared before Forde-John on Monday when he pleaded guilty to the offences and she had remanded him into custody to reappear today for tracing.

Police prosecutor Sgt Chanardath Jhilmit had told the court that on Friday last at about 3 pm ,the owner of the cafeteria at the College at Park Street, San Fernando, secured the business and went away.

The prosecutor added that the owner returned a few hours later, at about 8 pm, when he discovered the business broken into and several items, together valued $152, missing.

Entry into the cafeteria was gained via cutting a hole in the eastern side of the building.

The owner reported the matter to the San Fernando Police Station and PC Mohess together with other officers visited the cafeteria where they arrested Kuar in a room.

The prosecutor added that the officers recovered all the stolen snacks and retrieved housebreaking implements namely a hammer and a wrench.

When the officers questioned him about the report, Kuar responded, “Boss I really break into the place and I was really hungry (sic).” In a separate and similar matter, Kuar also appeared before the same magistrate on Monday charged with house breaking and larceny.

He had also pleaded guilty and prosecutor Jhilmit said on July 20, 2016 at about 9 am, Duane Diaz of Circular Left in Pleasantville secured his home and went away.

The court heard Diaz returned shortly after noon, discovered the house broken into and observed Kaur leaving the premises.

Checks revealed that a quantity of jewelry and cologne, together valued at $28,700, was missing as well as US $300.

Diaz reported the matter to the Mon Repos Police Station where Cpl Crawford and other officers visited the house and obtained “workable prints”.

On Saturday, the victim positively identified Kaur at the San Fernando Police Station and Cpl Crawford charged him with the offence.

Yesterday, the court heard Kaur had several convictions for similar matters.

On the two housebreaking charges, the magistrate sentenced him to 12 months each and for possession of the house breaking implements, 30 days in jail.

The sentences are to run concurrently.