Even as a Manpower Audit aims to untangle the “tangled system” of the TT Police Service, he said that under the law he cannot direct the police how to act. “I too am angered by some of the things I see,” Rowley said. He added it is a long way for crime to reach to an acceptable situation but Government is on the job.

Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon, hoped the use of DNA would help boost the country’s paltry 18 percent detection rate for murders. He expressed frustration at bandits being on bail and bemoaned that when police hold a bandit with a gun he/she quickly gets bail from a magistrate and gets another gun to go out to commit more crimes, to get money to pay his attorneys to keep him out of jail.

He said a message must be sent to those persons bent on destroying TT. While the largest section of the incarcerated consists of persons of remand — suspects who are yet untried — he hopes to free up the prison population by use of electronic tagging whereby inmates would be restricted to certain locations outside jail.

Rowley urged zero tolerance for police misconduct, saying the public must trust the police to give them information on criminality. Saying Acting Police Commissioner, Stephen Williams has been told to weed out bad officers, Rowley if citizens are afraid of the police the war on crime will be lost.

Attorney General (AG) Faris Al-Rawi later said this is the 17th year of the Preliminary Inquiry into the Piarco Airport scandal, as he expressed frustration at how the PI goes from High Court to Appeal Court to Privy Council, then a judicial review of the PI can follow the same tack, after which the case itself once underway could also follow the same three tiers.

Crime also featured heavily in the question session. Asked about the Citizen Security Programme, Dillon said it is under evaluation, but was not thrown out. A man asked how quickly could death row inmates be hanged, to which Rowley replied that the death penalty is not in the hands of Government alone because certain other structures are in place. He said if only ten percent of murderers are ever apprehended, any focus on the death penalty will not affect the majority 90 percent.

Al-Rawi said that of the 33 persons on death row, 11 are ineligible to be hanged as their appeals exceed the five year limit set by the Privy Council in the Pratt and Morgan judgement.

The officer was ordered by Deputy Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle to pay $9,000 forthwith and the rest within six months.

Prosecutor Krishna Jaglal led evidence that the officer was charged with two counts of soliciting $700 and then $600, from Gary Maharaj on May 29, 2013.

The court heard that prior to demanding the bribe, the officer led Maharaj to believe that he was the wrong party in a vehicular accident.

Maharaj testified that the officer first asked for $700 to forego prosecution. Jaglal later led evidence from Sgt Deodath Seepersad and Cpl Lawrence Joefield of the TT Police Service’s Professional Standards Bureau. The court heard that a ‘sting’ operation was planned with the money being purposefully marked to be identifiable.

The officer and Maharaj met at a store in Princes Town where the former handed over the case to the latter. Undercover officers moved in, identified themselves to the policeman, searched and found the $600 in the officer’s pockets. The officer was at the time stationed at Princes Town Police Station.

Prosecutor Jaglal was instructed by State attorney Kieara Kanhai.

On being arrested, the court heard, the officer told policemen, “Boss, I eh receive salaries in a few months now.” Defence attorney Subhas Panday put it to Maharaj that he placed the money in a box of chicken and chips and shoved the box towards the officer.

But Jaglal, in challenging this claim, asked the lawyer why did he not go to the nearby Princes Town Police Station and enter a report that Maharaj had attempted to bribe him. At the end of the summary trial, Magistrate Earle- Caddle found the officer guilty of two counts of soliciting $700 and $600 and one count of accepting $600.

On the first two counts, she fined him $10,000 each or 18 months in jail. On the third count of receiving, the magistrate fined him $20,000. The officer was granted six months to pay the remaining $31,000. The maximum fine for a police officer soliciting and receiving a bribe is $500,000 and a term of imprisonment

According to reports, Clifton Moses who was charged with the offences recently made his first court appearance was refused bail and ordered to return to court yesterday afternoon. It is reported that while in the holding bay at police station, at 1 pm, Moses managed to make his way out of the cell and escape via a back entrance.

Officers in the charge-room as well as their colleagues from the CID section attempted to apprehend him but failed. A manhunt was, up to press time, ongoing in Eastern Division. A report on the escape was sent to Divisional Head, Senior Superintendent John Trimm who ordered one of his senior officers to carry out a detailed probe into the circumstances leading to the escape.

As the nation’s stickmen gear up to try and literally knock Odle from his throne, the champ who hails from stick-fighting headquarters Sixth Company, Moruga says the artform receive little to no assistance from the State.

As he prepares to defend his title, which he had held for the past three years, Odle said stick-fighting has the least earnings in all competitions within Carnival.

“Stick-fighting has received the least funding in Carnival,” Odle said, adding that his prize money amounted to $30,000 last year.

He said that just as wrestling and boxing are huge money earners in other countries, stick-fighting which is indigenous to TT, can – if properly nurtured – be a major tourist attraction not only during Carnival but throughout the year.

He believes that for the dedication and literal shedding of blood, sweat and tears, stick-fighters deserve a better compensation/prize earnings of no less than $100,000 for the champion and smaller but still attractive amounts for the second and third placed winners plus a standard appearance fee for the rest.

Odle said that stick-fighting risks becoming an extinct artform if no support is given to it since potential stars of the artform may be turned away by the fact that they are not properly compensated for putting their life and limb on the line.

The champ added that after he paid his coach and other assistants from his $30,000 winnings, he had very little left over for himself. “That just can’t be right,” he said.

A press release from the pan body’s Public Relation’s Officer Michael Joseph, said the current impasse between itself and the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, via the NCC was, “very unfortunate given the kind of outstanding contributions the steelpan fraternity has made towards the recognition and development of Trinidad and Tobago at home and abroad for over 50 years.” The release sought to dispel information in the public domain namely the president of Pan Trinbago’s salary and the reason/reasons behind the lack of construction of its headquarters.

“The president is not now or ever was in receipt of a salary of $75,000 plus perks to the tune of $20,000,” the release stated. The NCC, Pan Trinbago stated, rented vehicles for Pan Trinbago Central and Regional executives, “knowing it to be an integral tool in the operation of the organisation…it is strange the organisation evolved to the point of being able to rent vehicles for its operations, according to its needs, we are accused of squandering by those who have not now or ever done an assessment of our needs.” The release added that the “skeletal remains” of the proposed pan headquarters has been a victim of “political gerrymandering” when former prime minister Basdeo Panday was voted out of office.

Panday, the release stated, gave it the parcel of land off the Churchill Roosevelt Highway and promised to build the headquarters.

The release stated that Pan Trinbago and its line minister always had a close and cordial relationship and asked, “what gave rise to the kind of adversarial position that now seems to exist between this new and youthful minister (Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly) and the organisation?” “Tanty Joan (Yuille-Williams) or Big Sister Marlene (McDonald) would have applied more class and style in their dealings with groups under their charge. Dialogue would have been the very first intervention. Not bacchanal and scandal in the public domain,” the release added.

“It is like it says in that song, the playground has become a battlefield. All of us grew up as friends, playing together. Now your friend is the one who is killing you.” said a relative yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Relatives believe that he was murdered in retaliation to the shooting which occurred on Sunday afternoon. Two men were wounded in that incident, and they were treated and later released.

Trimmingham, 35, was murdered on Upper Hillcrest Avenue at about 7 pm.

Residents discovered his bullet- riddled body at the side of the road after a volley of gunshots were heard. Police officers at first thought the body was that of murder accused Marlon Trimmingham, however relatives yesterday confirmed that it was his brother.

Newsday understands that today they will be attempting to request that his second brother, Earl Trimmingham, who has also been accused of murder, be released from prison to take part in Sheldon’s funeral service. The date of the service has not yet been announced. Family members, while admitting to Trimmingham’s chekered past, said he changed his life for the better two years ago, and he did not deserve his death. Trimmingham is the father of four. The youngest of the four is only two months old.

“I’m not gonna say that he was as saint. He had a past.” said relatives, “But as far as we know that last time he was involved in anything was two years ago. They took this man from his children.

He didn’t deserve that.” An autopsy performed at Forensics confirmed that he died from multiple gunshot wounds

Antonio is said to have resided at Upper Nelson Street, Port-of- Spain.

According to reports, PC Neptune and PC Garcia of the Inter Agency Task Force (Duncan Street Post) were on duty at the corner of Duke and Picadilly Street, Port-of-Spain on Monday.

At about 9.30 pm they noticed a man of African descent, later identified as Antonio, walking toward them.

He drew a firearm and began shooting at them. The police officers returned fire, and he was shot in the head and leg.

Police officers rushed him to the Port-of-Spain hospital, where he remains warded. During a search, 8.6 grammes of cocaine was also allegedly found on his person, along with a Luger 9mm pistol, a magazine and eight rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Port-of-Spain CID are investigating.

According to reports, the girl’s 39-year-old mother reported her disappearance to the Four Roads Police Station and on Sunday at about 5.30 pm the girl was found at the home of the 18-year-old.

The schoolgirl was taken to a District Medical officer where she was medically examined and the suspect was charged yesterday by PC Williams of the Child Protection Unit with one count of sexual penetration.

The schoolgirl is expected to receive counselling from the Police Service’s Victim and Witness Support Unit.

According to Sinanan, only seven of the 37 buses at the PTSC compound are working and he pointed out that mechanics from Trinidad were sent to the island and it was discovered that a person or persons were leaving the gas tanks of the buses open which allowed water to be mixed with the gas.

He said that this resulted in most of the buses emitting smoke and thus becoming non-functional as a result of the sabotage.

He said that it seems that there is someone or people intent on ensuring that the service is inefficient and he has instructed that the new security arrangements be put in place so that it will stop the deviant behaviour of those responsible.

According to the Minister,new buses have been ordered by Government to replace the old fleet both in Trinidad and Tobago and 15 of those new buses will be deployed to Tobago to ensure that people are properly served.

He added that every effort is also being made to ensure that the service becomes more efficient to service all the routes in Tobago so that the citizens there could receive an ease where public transportation is concerned.

The Minister assured that the time for sabotage, inefficiency and other ills associated with the Public Transport Service Association will come to an end in a short space of time.

Reminding senators that customs duties were increased on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products by 20 and 15 percent respectively, Imbert said the excise duties on these products were increased on these respective products by similar percentages. He said the increased duties could provide an additional $60 million in revenue to the country and it costs taxpayers $500,000 per year, “to treat just one lung cancer patient.” Comparing figures from October- December 2015 to October- December 2016, Imbert said there had not been any real change in revenues collected from taxes on beer or cigarettes.

In the case of beer, Imbert said revenues $47 million in 2015 and $54 million in 2016. He said revenues from cigarettes were $50.8 million in 2015 and $58 million last year. However Imbert said the noticeable change was in revenues collected from rum and spirits.

Indicating it was too early to know the real reason for the decline from $57 million to $36 million, Imbert said his preliminary research suggests that rum and spirits retailers chose to “exhaust their inventory” over the Christmas period. He said this resulted in rum and spirits being sold at the old prices. Imbert indicated that by the first quarter of this year, there should be an increase in revenue from taxes on alcohol and spirits.

Senators laughed when Imbert remarked, “Rum and spirits have a long shelf life. This is what I have been told. This is something that I cannot say I have a lot of experience in.” Indicating that price increases in alcohol have not reached the level to curb consumption of these products, he said this was because consumers, “don’t have any option, unless you get involved in some sort of illegal activity.” Stating this speaks to the issue of inelastic taxes, the minister disclosed that prior to the removal of taxes on hybrid vehicles in 2015, less than 20 of these vehicles were imported into TT. He said once these taxes were removed, “453 hybrids came into the country.” In his contribution, Opposition Senator Wade Mark reiterated his charge that the taxes being imposed were illegal. He called for the motions to be withdrawn or for Imbert to “withdraw from the Cabinet.” Last November, in response to the same claims by Mark, Imbert said the taxes outlined in the 2016/2017 Budget are all “perfectly legal.” At that time, he referred to a legal opinion from the Treasury Solicitor which he received on this issue as well as on the online tax announced in the Budget.

Mark yesterday said the Opposition got that opinion by “innovative means” and wondered whether Imbert consulted with the Parliament’s officers regarding the contents of that opinion.