Accused Mayor absent from court

On November 2, when Paul, 72, made his second court appearance on the charge, the magistrate set the trial date for yesterday. But when the matter was called, Paul’s attorney James Philbert, a retired Acting Commissioner of Police, informed the court that his client was experiencing chest pains. Philbert produced a letter to Magistrate Chankar who noted that the document was dated November 7.

She stated, based on the document, the Mayor was complaining of chest pains. It further stated Mayor Paul had an appointment for a treadmill test at 9.45 am yesterday.

The magistrate adjourned the case, in Paul’s absence, to next week Wednesday, the new date set for trial. A charge against the mayor, as read out in court, alleges that on October 18, at Grant Trace in Rousillac, Paul drove a motor vehicle after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath exceeded the legal prescribed limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The mayor was granted $5,000 station bail and on his first court appearance on October 20, he pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Court prosecutor Sgt Ancil Corrie noted that there are three prosecution witnesses to testify at the summary trial.