Business group warns Gov't:

PRESIDENT of the San Juan Business Association (SJBA), Gail Merhair, yesterday warned that there will be drastic action if Government fails to deal with the worsening crime situation. Speaking at a memorial service for murdered businessman Gerard Mazely, she said: “The SJBA would like to send a message to the Government that we had enough. We are going to formulate and respond.”

Merhair offered no further details on the action planned by the group, except to say that executive board members of the SJBA had already met and discussed the measures that would be implemented if no action is taken by Government.

“We are asking for joint army/police patrols, enhancement in community policing, and the police must be provided with necessary equipment and manpower,” she said.

Mazely, a director at the Trinidad and Tobago Manufac-turers Association (TTMA), was gunned down by bandits as he left the San Juan branch of Republic Bank. Mazely was held up by three armed men as he left the bank. He shot at the bandits with his licensed revolver and was shot dead when they returned fire.

Mazely, of Alyce Glen, Diego Martin, was a father of three and was the owner of Trinidad Brushwear Limited, a manufacturing firm located at the Fernandez Compound in Laventille.

At his memorial service, Reverend Arthur Yorke, father of High Court judge Alice Yorke Soo-Hon, called for the Government to declare a state of emergency.

“There should be a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am. We need to have a complete shutdown! Action must be taken,” he said.

Yorke Soo-Hon and her family were tied up and robbed of their valuables and ATM card at their St Augustine home last week. Also speaking at the memorial service were Pundit Sahadeo Maharaj, Imam Imitaz Ali, IRO representative, and Pundit Bramdeo Parishad.