THE AUNT of one of the pupils beaten by gang members of the Cedros Composite school says she intends to take legal action against the pupils who attacked her nephew. Darius Rajkumar, 16, a form five pupil, underwent emergency surgery at the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday for a broken jaw. He was subsequently discharged yesterday evening. Inside sources told Newsday that 30 pupils believed to be part a gang are expected to face suspension as of next week. Pending investigation by the Ministry of Education, some of them may even be expelled, sources said. Four pupils are also expected to face criminal charges. The pupils involved in the incident returned to school yesterday accompanied by their parents and were told that this course of action (criminal proceedings) may be taken against them.

The Ministry launched the investigation after parents shut down the school on Wednesday, in protest. They used a burning barricade to block the road in protest of the gang members, who the parents claimed were “bullying” younger children at the school. The gang members are pupils from Point Fortin and neighbouring areas. Cedros police investigators told Newsday that fights among the pupils were not unusual, but they normally take place after school hours. They said the pupils from Cedros and those from other areas fight among themselves over girlfriends and turf. When Newsday visited, Rajkumar’s aunt Angela Jerome said she would not be taking this incident lightly. “I am trying to find out what legal action I can pursue against these children. I am not taking this so,” she said.

Describing Rajkumar, fondly known as “Boboy,” as a cool, shy person, she said he told her that he was having lunch when 40 to 50 boys attacked him with chair parts. “He couldn’t even walk. His friend, Eldon Brown, tried to help him and he was beaten too,” she said. Adding that: “these things always happening. The Point Fortin children don’t want the Cedros children in the school. This is not the first time he was bullied. They always tapping him or taking his money,” she said. When Newsday visited the school yesterday the principal, Jean Barcus, refused to comment on the incident, referring the media to the Ministry of Education.

Transport Minister, Franklyn Khan yesterday warned Arima maxi taxi drivers that they could lose their PBR passes if they continue the “dishonest” practice of charging passengers $5 to go to Port of Spain and then drop them off at stop points before that destination. Speaking at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, Khan said he hoped that this threat would bring back some level of “sanity” on the roads. He suggested that passengers should report such cases to his ministry giving the number of the maxi taxi.

At the briefing Khan also revealed that the various stakeholders of the two Diego Martin Secondary Schools (at Westmoor-ings) which caused much controversy met yesterday under the aegis of UdeCott to formally discuss the lay out and the new traffic arrangements needed to make the school a reality. On the traffic plans for the Diego Martin schools, Khan said  there would be an overpass across the Diego Martin highway so that people could access the schools from Diego Martin without having to go through Westmoorings area.“We have now conceptualised all aspects of that major project which we  think that this would transform the Western Peninsula and all parties are proceeding apace to bring it into fruition — that is the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Works and Transport,” he said. Khan also announced that the traffic management plan, was expected to be complete by the end of October. 

MANAGEMENT Executives of Erin Meat Packers Limited have announced several initiatives to prevent a re-occurrence of a deadly bacteria being found in several packaged meat products and which prompted a recall of these products from supermarket shelves over the past week. The company was forced to recall three of its top-selling brands-Chicken Franks, Spiced Ham and Turkey Ham, after traces of the bacteria Lysteria Monocytogenes, was discovered to have contaminated certain batches of these meat products. During a press conference held at Cara Suites, Claxton Bay yesterday, managing director Rupert Leong Poi said that while the company had the “most stringent temperature control systems in place,” preliminary investigations seemed to indicate that the close proximity of the meat processing plant to a pig farm, may have caused the contamination of the meat products.

“Research into the Lysteria bacteria has shown that pigs are among the animals which carry the bacteria and one theory, yet untested, is that there may have been some type of ventilation breach at the plant which permitted some bacterial entry and contamination,” Leong Poi said. He added that one solution was to move the plant away from the pig farm, and revealed that the company had already identified a possible site some two-to-three miles north of the existing facility. When asked about the time period involved, Leong Poi said the company anticipated the move would take approximately one year. However, he also said the company expected to resume operations at the facility as soon as a “Certificate of Clearance” was issued by the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Division and UWI’s Veterinary Public Health Laboratory. “We expect to get back the test results on Monday and we expect them to be negative. So once we receive the Certificate of Clearance, we will once again resume operations,” Leong Poi said.

He also stated that both institutions had recently toured the plant and “expressed satisfaction with the safety measures” in place by the company. Also attending the press conference was director/processing plant manager Ronald Leong Poi, who was asked whether the company had complied an estimate of losses due to the recall and subsequent plant closure. Leong Poi said while the company did not have a definite figure, he estimated losses caused by the recall of the contaminated products to be $250,000 “and rising.” The plant employs some sixty workers and has over forty products on the market. However, Leong Poi (Rupert) noted that the company had advised supermarkets to “give a full refund to customers.”

Owners of Store Bay’s popular local food outlets suffered serious losses on Monday night when five out of the six premises were broken into, items taken and the kitchens vandalised. In what would appear to be a criminal rampage, a gift shop was also broken into and vandalised. Police officers from the Crown Point Police station were on the scene early Tuesday morning and forensic investigations were being carried out. A source revealed that this was the fifth time for the year that the offices had been broken into and that despite meetings with the tourism secretary, administrator and other officials, security at Store Bay remained inadequate.

Tourism Secretary, Neil Wilson, stated that immediate steps had been taken to secure the area more efficiently and as of Tuesday night, a private security firm was posting guards to protect both the businesses operating at Store Bay as well as the THA’s administrative offices. He indicated however that this was only a short-term measure as a motion to establish its own security service would be tabled in the next THA plenary session.

Leader of Executive Council Business, Hilton Sandy, first made the disclosure at last Thursday’s post Executive Council media briefing in response to queries over several recent break-ins at THA offices. The police are still investigating the thefts of computers and other office equipment which were stolen from the Education and Social Services Divisions within a one-week period. Sandy reported that he had already held talks with the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Tobago), about getting assistance in the formation of the “THA Police Service.”

The Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT) yesterday refuted the reason given by Head of the Anaesthetics Department, Dr Anand Chattergoon, for elective surgeries being cancelled on Wednesday. In a television interview, Dr Chattergoon said a morning meeting called by Medical Chief of Staff, Dr Austin Trinidade, for the Anaesth-etics Department encroached on the time allotted for surgeries. In a media release, MPATT said the primary reason for the cancellation of operating lists on Wednesday was the shortage of the drug Anectene, which is essential for surgeries, general anaesthesia and emergency cases. “The meeting held for anesthetics officers was not called by Dr Trinidade, it was in fact requested by officers of the Anaesthetics Department to address the ongoing problems of staff shortages as well as numerous other deficiencies within the department.” MPATT said the emergency meeting was called on Wednesday because Dr Chattergoon said he could not attend the meeting held last Friday.