COMMISSIONER of Police (CoP) Hilton Guy yesterday called a press conference at Old Police Headquarters to report on the effectiveness of his three-month intense assault on crime.

The following is a list of crime statistics for the first four months of the year, as provided by Commissioner Guy.

MURDERS

JANUARY – 17 murders committed; six murders detected; 22 persons charged (Out of the 22, 10 were charged for murders committed last year while one man was charged for a 2001 murder).
FEBRUARY – 15 murders committed; six murders detected; eight persons charged
MARCH – 25 murders committed; six murders detected; four persons charged
APRIL (as of yesterday) – three murders committed; two murders detected; two persons charged.
TOTAL: 60 murders; 20 cases detected, leading to 36 persons being charged.

KIDNAPPINGS

JANUARY – 31 kidnappings; two kidnapped for ransom; no victims rescued by police; four persons charged; one child kidnapped; total ransom demanded: $500,000; total ransom paid: nil
FEBRUARY – 17 kidnappings; two persons kidnapped for ransom; 15 persons abducted eventually escaped; three persons charged; no children kidnapped; total ransom demanded $3.3million; total ransom paid out: $1,050,000
MARCH – 13 kidnappings; five persons kidnapped for ransom; three victims rescued by police; seven persons charged; two children kidnapped; total ransom demanded: $13,430,000; total ransom paid: nil
APRIL – four kidnappings; three persons kidnapped for ransom; no victims rescued by police; no persons charged; total ransom demanded: $3,515,000; total ransom paid: $227,000.
TOTAL – 65 persons kidnapped; 12 persons kidnapped for ransom; three children kidnapped; total ransom demanded: $20,745,000; total ransom paid: $1,277,00
CoP Guy stated that the figure reflecting the amount of ransom paid, were provided by relatives of kidnap victims and as such, do not reflect the final amount in terms of ransom paid, since not all relatives of victims disclosed if they paid a ransom or not.
PERCENTAGE RATE OF KIDNAP CASES SOLVED BETWEEN
1997 –2003
1997 – One kidnapping; case solved; ransom demand: $5million; success rate 100 percent
1998 – Four persons kidnapped; all cases unsolved; ransom demanded: $4,360,000; total ransom paid: $900,000; success rate: nil
1999 – One kidnapping; case unsolved; total ransom demand: $4million; total ransom paid: nil; success rate: nil
2000 – Four kidnappings; one case solved; total ransom demanded: $4.5million; total ransom paid: $410,000; two persons released without ransom paid; success rate: 25 percent
2001 – Six kidnappings; three cases solved; two persons released upon payment of ransom; total ransom demanded: $1,860,000; total ransom paid: $275,000; success rate: 50 percent
2002 – 29 kidnappings; 13 cases solved; total ransom demanded: TT$41,450,000 and US$2,120,000; total ransom paid: TT$6,922,000 and US$30,000; total amount of ransom money recovered: TT$127,000; seven victims rescued while four victims were released without payment and four escaped; success rate: 44.8 percent.
2003 – 12 kidnappings; four cases solved; total ransom demanded: $20,950,000; total ransom paid: $1,270,000; success rate: 33 percent.

FIREARMS SEIZED

JANUARY – five pistols; eight revolvers; one shotgun; 1,067 rounds of ammunition; 82 persons charged.
FEBRUARY – three pistols; eight revolvers; five shotguns; 180 rounds of ammunition; 51 persons charged.
MARCH – five pistols; six revolvers; one shotgun; 387 rounds of ammunition; 134 persons charged
TOTAL: 13 pistols; 22 revolvers; seven shotguns; 1,634 rounds of ammunition of varying calibre; 267 persons charged.

ROBBERIES
JANUARY – 298 cases; 32 solved
FEBRUARY – 127 cases; 12 solved 
MARCH – 87 cases; 24 solved
APRIL – 14 cases; none solved
TOTAL: 526 cases; 68 solved

Commissioner Guy has launched a new three-month assault on crime from April to June. He also promised that during the new crime assault, police would be focusing more in ridding the nation of illegal firearms and bringing perpetrators to justice.

POLICE COMMISSIONER Hilton Guy yesterday expressed concern that bandits and gangsters are using kidnapping for ransom as the crime of choice.

For the year to date 65 persons, including three children, have been abducted. Ransom demands totalling $20.74 million were made for 12 of the victims. Guy said two members of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad are leaving soon for a special course on kidnapping and the AKS is being strengthened with more personnel and electronic devices. “Through our intelligence, we have seen a shift in the crime structure, especially whenever ransom are paid. We are seeing criminals turn from their usual trade and gravitate towards kidnapping and we view this as a very worrying trend,” Guy said.

“When relatives of kidnap victims pay ransom, they unwittingly encourage and nurture the crime of kidnapping. And while I know my statement will not go down well with relatives of kidnap victims, I am warning the public that payment of ransom does not necessarily guarantee that victims will be returned alive.” Guy was speaking at a press conference yesterday morning at Old Police Headquarters where he unveiled a new three-month intensive assault on crime, with emphasis on ridding the nation of illegal firearms.

Guy expressed concern that two previously unheard of illegal narcotics — heroin and ecstasy — have infiltrated the local illegal drug trade. Guy also gave a breakdown of crime statistics including the murder and kidnapping rate for this year and a report on the success of the first three-month crime crackdown between January and March. Commissioner Guy said although criminals perceived kidnappings as a lucrative and safe means of making large sums of money, the Police Service had major successes in solving the crime. He said that in many countries, including the United States, the success rate for solving kidnappings was low, but in this country, the success rate was around 35 percent.

Guy pleaded with the public and relatives of kidnap victims to cooperate with the AKS and not pay ransoms. “A relative of kidnapped persons would be in a very emotional state. As such, I advise that any and all negotiations with the kidnappers should be done by the trained AKS officers.” He also pleaded with kidnap victims and their relatives to support the police when the cases reached the courts. “We have to send a stern message that kidnapping is not and will never be a legitimate means of earning money in a civilised country such as ours.”

Guy said while he could not make any pronouncements on proposed new legislation to strengthen existing anti-kidnapping laws, the Police Service would support any new legislation which would make penalties for kidnapping more painful than existing ones. Regarding San Juan/Barataria MP Dr Fuad Khan’s launch of a civilian based, community oriented anti-kidnapping unit to carry out surveillance work, CoP Guy said he had no problem with the group once they operated within well-established Community Policing guidelines. Guy later said the success of the first three-month crime assault was evident in the generally crime-free Carnival season. He thanked all who supported the police during the three-month crime attack and promised to continue with the plan.

An attractive-looking young mother of two from central Trinidad appeared in the Scarborough Magistrates’ Court yesterday afternoon charged with the murder of her husband.

Leela Ramdass-Singh, 21, of Dow Village Settlement, California, appeared before Magistrate Joan Gill in the Second Court on a charge of murdering Larry Singh, 35, also known as Larry Poori, of Coryat Village, Cocoyea, San Fernando, at Lowlands, Tobago, on April 5. Ramdass-Singh was charged by Detective Cpl Sterling Roberts, of the Old Grange Police Station. The decomposing body of Singh, who was reportedly employed with a maintenance company at the nearby Tobago Hilton, was discovered in an apartment at Lowlands late Monday afternoon after neighbours were alerted by a foul smell.

The body was reportedly in a pool of blood with wounds to the head. An autopsy performed Tuesday by pathologist Dr Hughvon desVignes revealed that the victim died from “blunt cranio cerebral traumatic injuries”.  The victim was last seen alive on Saturday in the company of a woman. Ramdass-Singh was detained for questioning by police in Trinidad and returned to Tobago on Tuesday where she was further interrogated. The couple had been reportedly living in Tobago with their two children for the past 11 months.

Yesterday, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) issued instructions that she be charged with Singh’s murder. The accused, mother of two infants — a boy and girl aged two years and four years respectively — appeared in court dressed in a black low-cut jersey type blouse, purple and brown tye-dye skirt, and wearing rainbow-coloured rubber slippers. She was expressionless and appeared to be in a daze. The accused was unrepresented by an attorney and made a formal application for Legal Aid. She was remanded in custody and is to reappear in court on April 15.

PROMINENT Curepe businessman Ganesh Maharaj, 70, owner of Grand Central Billiards Hall, and close relative to General Secretary of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Sat Maharaj, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his St Augustine home yesterday afternoon.

Police who visited the scene told Newsday that while suicide was strongly suspected, they were looking at “all angles”, and are awaiting the results of an autopsy to be done today. According to police reports, around 3.30 pm, Maharaj was at his home with his son, off the Eastern Main Road, St Augustine. His son later heard a loud explosion and when he ran to his father’s bedroom, found Maharaj slumped on his bed, bleeding from his chest.

A report was made to the St Joseph police and a team of officers led by Supt Leon Anthony and including ASP Errol Dillon, Homicide Bureau detectives Sgt Hendron Moses and Sgt Johnnie Abraham visited the scene. DMO Dr Vinod Mahabir arrived shortly afterwards, viewed the body and ordered it removed to the Port-of-Spain Mortuary. An autopsy will be done at the Forensic Sciences Centre. Maharaj, a father of four and grandfather of 12, survived three heart attacks and was said to be ailing for some time. His wife died about five years ago. Family members were too distraught to speak to Newsday. A licensed pistol was found near Maharaj’s body and was seized by the police.

NEW YORK: As US troops take over Baghdad and jubilant Iraqis dance and cheer in the streets, the question lingers: Where is Saddam Hussein?

There are rumours the Iraqi president escaped a massive airstrike and is hiding in the Russian Embassy as part of a deal between Washington and Moscow. Some whisper that he and his sons, Qusai and Odai, stole away to his hometown of Tikrit; others say they were wounded and one of the sons is dead. The building where US intelligence officials thought the Iraqi leader might be meeting with his sons and top advisers is just a hole in the ground now, smashed to rubble by US bombs minutes after coalition commanders received the report.

It’s not clear who was killed, and US officials have yet to examine the site because Saddam loyalists still control it. Three bodies – of a boy, a young man and an elderly man — were recovered Tuesday, and rescue workers said the death toll could reach 14. Baghdad’s rapid slide into lawlessness has convinced many that the regime has fallen and its leader is dead. But Britain’s Guardian newspaper quoted an unidentified intelligence source yesterday as saying Saddam “was probably not in the building when it was bombed.” The Times of London also quoted an unidentified source, who said: “We think he left the same way he arrived in the area, either by a tunnel system or by car, we’re not sure.” When asked about the reports, Britain’s Foreign Office conceded, “It is possible that he escaped.”

American officials said US intelligence had solid information from multiple sources that Saddam went inside the building and didn’t leave before it was struck. One intelligence source was believed to be an eyewitness who watched him go inside. No one would discuss the identity or characterise the credibility of the witness. When US President George W Bush was asked about the airstrike Tuesday, he said simply, “Saddam Hussein will be gone. It might have been yesterday, I don’t know. But he’ll be gone.”

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri hinted yesterday that Saddam might have taken shelter at the Russian Embassy in Baghdad as part of a US-Russian deal. “Why did the Russian ambassador return to Baghdad? What did (US National Security Adviser) Condoleezza Rice do in Moscow?” Berri asked reporters. “Is Saddam Hussein in the Russian Embassy in Baghdad?” Russian Ambassador Vladimir Titorenko left Iraq on Sunday, but his convoy came under fire on the way to Syria. He returned Tuesday to fetch a wounded embassy driver who had been treated in an Iraqi-controlled hospital. Rice said she met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to reassure him that Washington valued its partnership with Russia.

“We had a wide-ranging discussion,” Rice told reporters Tuesday. “We talked about a lot of different elements of US-Russian relations, but we also talked a little bit about the post-conflict Iraq situation and about trying to move constructively from where we are now to in the future.” Officials in Washington and at the Russian Foreign Ministry denied Saddam had taken refuge at the embassy. It’s still unclear who fired on the convoy. SESAR, a Turkish think tank that specialises in strategic analysis, said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press bureau in Ankara that “credible sources” in Baghdad reported that Saddam was hiding in the Russian embassy.

The think-tank suggested that Moscow and Washington were apparently bargaining over the fate of Saddam and Russian interests in postwar Iraq. The report could not be verified independently. Turkish government officials would not comment. The Moscow correspondent of Arab news channel Al-Jazeera quoted a Russian source as saying a US-Iraqi deal for a ceasefire was in the works, and that Saddam’s safe exit from Baghdad had been assured in return for a halt to Iraqi resistance. The source, a ranking military intelligence officer, said CIA elements who were in Baghdad before the start of the war were trying to arrange the deal, Al-Jazeera reported. But even without a secret deal, Saddam has survival skills honed by decades of concern over assassination attempts by enemies at home and abroad.

Some say he and his sons were evacuated 145 kilometres 90 miles north to Tikrit, the Sunni stronghold where Saddam’s clan is from. The dusty desert town, which has yet to be captured by coalition forces, holds some of Saddam’s largest and most elaborate presidential compounds. If he went into hiding there, he could easily vanish in the labyrinth of underground tunnels believed to be linking those sites to the eastern banks of the nearby Tigris River. The town has been hit repeatedly by coalition airstrikes. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two main Iraqi Kurdish groups opposing Saddam, claimed Tuesday that he and his sons and many top aides moved to Tikrit soon after the fighting intensified in Baghdad. Other reports say they arrived with injuries, that Qusai is dead, that Saddam and Odai were spirited farther north to the city of Mosul, where US Special Forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters are advancing. Others said Republican Guards had escorted Saddam to Syria.

A White House source dismissed the idea that Saddam had sought refuge in Syria. “No. He had his opportunity to leave the country,” the source said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He did not take it.”

A TRINIDADIAN doctor who was found guilty of serious professional misconduct in England last year, has lost his appeal before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The Privy Council, comprising Lords Steyn, Millett and Sir Phillip Otton, handed down its decision on Tuesday against Kevin Francis Gangar, an island schol winner, who was found guilty of serious professional misconduct on January 25, 2002 by the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) of the General Medical Council in England. The PCC investigates allegations against medical practitioners in the United Kingdom. Anyone dissatisfied with decisions can appeal directly to the Privy Council.

Sir Phillip Otton, who delivered the judgment, said the Board dismissed the appeal with costs and agreed with the decision of the General Medical Council that Gangar’s registration as a medical practitioner should be conditional on the appellant’s compliance, for a period of three years, with certain requirements specified in the direction. Jean Ritchie QC appeared for Gangar, while Mark Shaw QC represented the General Medical Council. According to the Privy Council, Gangar has had an impressive career in medicine. He was born and educated in Trinidad winning a scholarship to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He did his clinical studies at Addenbrookes’ Hospital, Cambridge, qualifying in 1980. He attained Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in May 1986 and membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in March 1987. He was appointed consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at Ashford Hospital, Middlesex on December 1, 1993.

Gangar faced a number of allegations spanning almost three years in the course of his work as a consultant at Ashford Hospital. He admitted most of the allegations before the Professional Conduct Committee. At the end of the Committee’s deliberations, the chairman said: “Your behaviour over a three-year period was a gross departure from professional standards. The charges reveal evidence of deficiencies in your clinical skills, research skills and integrity, and severe deficiencies in your interpersonal skills. “In view of the findings, the Committee are in no doubt that your conduct fell far below that required of a medical practitioner and you have therefore been found guilty of serious professional misconduct.” The Committee directed that, both for the protection of members of the public and for Gangar himself, for three years, his registration shall be conditional.

In one instance, the Committee heard that Gangar put pressure on a female doctor to change her notes. Further, it was alleged that Gangar threatened to adversely influence the woman’s career. Gangar’s attorney challenged this allegation, but the Privy Council did not budge. The Privy Council found that the Professional Conduct Committee acquitted Gangar of the more serious allegation of pressurising a colleague to change her medical notes in order to deflect criticism from himself. Sir Otton added: “In doing so, the PCC did not step into the role of prosecutor or in any way compromise its independence.”

Evidence also showed that on May 3, 1996, Gangar behaved in an unprofessional manner towards members of the North West Surrey Local Research Ethics Committee who were considering his application for approval of a research protocol in relation to the effects of Tamoxifen on carotid blood flow. It was also alleged that between February 1996 and November 1997, Gangar delegated to Vanessa Dutton duties in relation to the performance and reporting of diagnostic ultrasound scans at the Early Pregnancy Unit. That delegation, according to the PCC, was inappropriate  in that Vanessa Dutton did not have adequate training, qualifications or experience in the use of diagnostic ultrasound scans in early pregnancy.

Concerns as to misdiagnoses were raised at a radiologist meeting, but according to the PCC, Gangar became hostile and aggressive towards his colleagues, stating that a “trained monkey” could perform the scans. It was also proved that Gangar failed to ensure that Vanessa Dutton ceased to carry out scans after the meeting.

PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning announced that Government is revolutionising housing in Trinidad and Tobago by providing new homeowners with certain basic items as part of their mortgage arrangements.

Addressing a sod-turning ceremony for the Green Street Housing Development in Tunapuna on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said Green Street and its sister housing project, El Dorado Gardens, as “merely a small aspect of the most revolutionary and expansive National Housing Policy ever to be undertaken in this country”. “On this project, we will initiate our housing policy which says we will provide as part of our houses certain chattel items. Fridge, stove, washing machine dryer all as part of one mortgage arrangement,” Manning declared.

He stated that as Government undertakes “the systematic and organised physical transformation of Trinidad and Tobago wherever this is required”, it was not a question of just providing housing “but decent and affordable homes that would provide a testament to our human dignity”. “What the home is to the individual and the family, is at a certain level a microcosmic reflection of what our national buildings, cities and municipality structures would mean to the national community and to Trinidad and Tobago,” the Prime Minister said. Manning indicated that the study rooms in the new units would “find its compliment and extension within the walls of the NALIS building in Port-of-Spain”.

He noted that until recently there was a considerable neglect of housing and for 15 years, the demand was allowed to outstrip the supply. “Since the Government reassumed office we committed ourselves to a position that the housing situation in this country must never again be allowed to deteriorate to that point where so many of our citizens are without decent living accommodations and where so many tenants remain the subject to the dictates of unscrupulous and difficult landlords, and where squatting becomes the ultimate and singular ambition in the life of so many where unplanned and unregulated housing distort national planning and other agencies of development and progress,” Manning declared.

The Prime Minister also disclosed that the Inter-American Development Bank has given “the green light for subsidies and loan grants in respect of key aspects of the Government’s housing policy, with a view to alleviating the burden of the poor and those below a certain income threshold in Trinidad and Tobago”.

AGRICULTURE MINISTER John Rahael yesterday said there was no truth to rumours that Government had retracted its Voluntary Separation of Employment Package (VSEP) offer to workers of Caroni (1975) Limited. The Minister also said he intends to get Cabinet approval to investigate the under-funding of Caroni’s pension fund for daily-paid workers to the tune of approximately $300 million.

Speaking with reporters at the Hilton Trinidad, Rahael said he was unaware of Caroni’s memo allegedly circulated amongst daily-paid workers saying the VSEP had been withdrawn. “I am not aware of that. This is a matter that is in front of the court. The latest position is that the court has granted an injunction to Caroni to stop accepting any applications with respect to VSEP. I am not aware of any document that you are referring to. “Nothing can be done until the court matter is resolved. We are waiting on that right now,” the Minister stated.

Rahael also expressed concern about reports that the pension fund was under funded. “I am really trying to find out first why that should have happened and why that is so because of the fact that is quite a lot of money for a pension fund to be under funded,” he said. The Minister added that he will bring the matter to the attention of Cabinet. Asked about the status of the 2003 sugar crop, Rahael said the crop may fall a little short of its 100,000 tonnes of sugar target but “we will be sufficiently producing enough so that we will provide the quantity that is required for export markets where we have a guaranteed quota and a guaranteed price”.

The Minister also spoke of conversations he had on Tuesday with some Caroni workers who complained about the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union (ATSGWTU) preventing them from handing in their VSEP packages. According to Rahael, those workers said the ATSGWTU’s actions have not been sanctioned by the majority of Caroni’s labour force.

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce is calling on Government to help out cash strapped airline BWIA.

In a relaease yesterday, the Chamber said other airlines, like Air Jamaica, Air Canada and American Airlines, have received support from their governments. “We believe the unprecedented state of the airline industry worldwide needs to be taken into careful consideration as BWIA has been affected like all other airlines,” the Chamber said. “We think the best laid plans can change quickly given the unusual dynamics of the airline environment at the present time.”

BWIA’s management presented a survival plan to Government on Tuesday. Prime Minister Patrick Manning has said Government would allow the airline to fold if it cannot could not come up with a viable plan. It is now up to the Government to decide whether the plan merits financial help. The Chamber noted that BWIA had three profitable years before the terrorist attacks in 2001 and that it contributes to the local economy, spending over $460 million annually. It also noted that BWIA is a net earner of foreign exchange since 80 percent of total gross revenue is earned outside Trinidad and Tobago. The Chamber also said BWIA is important as a national carrier. “We cannot leave our airlift up to foreign carriers that can come and go at their pleasure and at prices that will suit them,” the Chamber said.

THE WAR in Iraq has badly wounded the world’s travel and tourism industry, but Caribbean tourism planners should remain focused and upbeat of a rebound in US travel to the region, said Lelei LeLaulu, President of Counterpart International.

The head of one of America’s top international non-governmental organisations said with declines in advanced Caribbean bookings, the region ought to continue working collectively and aggressively to pursue business, even if there are no major results in the short run. “To everything there is a season,” LeLaulu said, encouraging tourism officials to stay focused in anticipation of a future harvest that’s sustainable. “The Caribbean is better positioned than many other regions to emerge from a crisis in travel and tourism, still the world’s largest generator of wealth and jobs,” said LeLaulu whose Counterpart International produces the biannual Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx).

A recent survey by Fodor’s Travel (March 19-22), revealed that 76 percent of American respondents were not changing their travel plans and are continuing on their previously scheduled trips. Interestingly women are more likely than men to continue with their travel plans now that America is at war. “It is understandable for Americans to feel uncertain given the current political situation, but people are still traveling,” comments Bonnie Ammer, President of Fodor’s Travel Publications. “We’re seeing travellers planning but not confirming their trips until closer to their departure date. Many of our guides to places like Italy, Ireland, and the Caribbean continue to sell very well which is a positive sign of what’s to come. “We are a nation of travellers and I think that people are doing their best to maintain some sort of normalcy.”

LeLaulu reacted positively to the survey’s findings and applauded regional efforts to promote the Caribbean as a single destination. He cited the “Life Needs the Caribbean” television campaign and Go Caribbean booking engine as key tools to fuel tourism business in the months ahead. Last fall, the Caribbean Hotel Association Charitable Trust (CHACT) launched a US$16 million campaign to market and promote the Caribbean as a single destination. The Trust, a public/private sector alliance, united major hotel chains, airlines and credit card companies with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Caricom and non-Caricom nations. The second phase of its extensive US television campaign was recently completed.

Eighteen destinations participate in CHACT’s marketing campaign: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Maarten, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and the United States Virgin Islands.