Blake, 30, died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital after suffering from multiple stab wounds to the body.

The victim was transported by ambulance to the hospital from a Woodbrook guest house where he was found at about 11.55pm.

Andrew Felix, of Agostini Street, Elizabeth Gardens, St Joseph appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in the Port-of-Spain 8th Magistrate’s Court. He was charged by Sgt Sheldene Bacchus of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region One following instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard SC.

The accused was remanded in custody to re-appear on March 16th , 2017

The charge, as read out in courtm, stated a party of Northern Division Task Force (Area East) officers led by Sgt Haywood and including Cpl Sookram and PC Andrews executed a search warrant at a house for illegal arms and ammunition.

During a search of the said property, the officers found and seized a quantity of ammunition.

The lone occupant was arrested, taken to Arima Police Station and charged by PC Andrews. The presiding magistrate remanded the accused into police custody and transferred the case to the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court.

The warning came yesterday from Head of the Police Highway and Traffic Branch, Senior Superintendent Baldeo Nanan who also revealed that voluntary testing camps will be set up outside f?tes. Nanan said those who decide to bypass the free voluntary testing and proceed to their vehicles to drive will be greeted by officers armed with their testing kits and, if persons are found to be over the legal alcoholic limit, they will be arrested, charged and taken to court.

He said it is during the Carnival season in particular that many people “lose their senses” resulting in them consuming alcohol excessively and, in some cases, not having designated drivers thereby placing themselves and other road users in danger.

This, Nanan said, will not be tolerated since he and his team of officers have adopted a zero tolerance approach to motorists who drive while intoxicated. He said such persons need to put support systems in place to ensure that they arrive to their respective destinations safely.

Newsday was told that for the year, 750 people were subjected to a breathalyser test resulting in 59 drivers being arrested after they failed the test. Nine persons who refused to submit themselves to the test were also arrested and charged.

The exercises were carried out along the East West Corridor, South and Central.

On Tuesday the Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch received two awards for general performance and the detection for speeding. The two awards came with two checks amounting to $40,000. The awards were presented at the St James Barracks where Acting Police Commissioner, Stephen Williams, also laid out his anti-crime plan for 2017.

Yesterday, one such building was levelled at Juman Compound, Morvant by corporate citizen, Namalco Group of Companies.

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Kazim Hosein, who witnessed the demolition, told Newsday that boroughs, corporations and regions have been asked to identify dilapidated, abandoned buildings for demolition.

The removal of waste, Hosein said, was not only a public health issue, but it was meant to inculcate volunteerism and a community spirit among citizens.

Demolishing abandoned buildings, he said, could help to reduce criminal activities in an area and make it safer.

Hosein was thankful to corporate and ordinary citizens, including State entities like the army, police, and sport clubs, for the part they have played and will continue to play in the campaign. Mention was made of the police youth clubs, Milat and Mypart that cleared an unauthorised scrap yard in Laventille.

The campaign, which began in Diego Martin three weeks ago, continued in Port-of-Spain, and in San Juan/Laventille over the past week – continues in Chaguanas over the coming weekend.

In Diego Martin, Hosein said, over 80 derelict vehicles were removed and over 100 in San Juan/Laventille.

In addition, thousands of tyres were disposed.

Over 2,500 volunteers in San Juan/ Laventille took part in the activity.

“Million of dollars in equipment have been offered to us by the business community and volunteers to help clean up Trinidad, and we are using them all,” Hosein said.

They include backhoes, excavators, mini-excavators, trucks, skid equipment, and 40-foot trucks.

While he could not estimate the cost of the campaign, he said, Government was basically providing water and snacks for volunteers and most of the labour and removal costs are being borne by the corporate community. However, an estimate of costs will be provided by the corporations at the end of the campaign.

Admitting that he did not expect such an overwhelming response from the business community, Hosein said, “Over the years, they have benefitted from the growth of the economy, and now that it is down, they are coming out every weekend to give back to the country. The country needs them.”

On Friday last, Sinanan paid a surprise visit to the Licensing Authority at Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain to get a first-hand view of the operations and to ascertain how well the public is being served.

When Sinanan arrived, he discovered that only one photographer out of three were on duty and there was a large number of persons in the line waiting to have their photos taken.

When he enquired why there was only one photographer, he was told that the other two did not turn up for duty.

According to Sinanan, he is well aware that there is a backup system in place if this happens but believes that there was a lack of communication.

He described this is a management issue which needs to be sorted out. Sinanan also found that the service at the Licensing Department was not what he expected and, having spoken to members of the public, he got the impression that they accepted the poor service as if it was the norm. “They have to clean up their act,” Sinanan said.

“We have reached a point in Trinidad where we accept these things. It is not normal and we will no longer accept this behaviour.” He said, with respect to allegations of corruption at the Licensing Department, the system being used will be modernised to avoid this.

On another note, Sinanan said yesterday that he will be meeting with managers of the Public Transport Service Corporation to improve the service delivered to the public and intends to do so with all other bodies which fall under his purview.

He said the Licensing Department at Caroni is scheduled to be opened on February 13.

In a letter to the editor, SJBA president Vivek Charran said this should be in addition to Government’s warning to women to be careful while accessing transport from any vehicle not registered as a bona fide taxi or maxi-taxi.

It was “with great sadness”, Charran said, “that we hear of the death and probable murder of another young woman. This brings the terrible toll to three in just a few months.” The SJBA was concerned, he said, “not just about our mothers and wives, daughters and sisters but also the multitude of young women that in the current economic climate have taken the decision to be productive and ambitious and scour the high streets looking for work.” Young women, employed at businesses where employees are truly valued and where a bond of respect and trust developed over a period of time, Charran said, “we the employers are also considered as family.” It would be terrible to think, he said, that these young women could fall victim to predators that have been encouraged by the deteriorating containment of crime.

There are some alarming similarities in the form of public transport that murdered women, such as the schoolchild who missed her transport and the young woman looking for a job.

It was the SJBA’s opinion, he said, that an opportunity was missed to not include in the bio data finger prints of each applicants seeking drivers’ license.

Noting that the business sector was a stakeholder in national security, he said, it is becoming clearer that as people embark on their daily pilgrimage to work and home at the end of the day, they do not know what they will face.

“While this might be so from a philosophical viewpoint,” he said, “the reality on the ground is the probability of loss of life due to an illegal firearm is very high at the moment.” Charran said, “It is no longer enough to increase the number of paid unarmed security guards or CCTV cameras or alarm systems which we already have. There must be a concerted collaborative effort towards an aggressive policy regarding our current crime situation.”

Young said FATCA remaining current US law was reinforced during a recent conference on FATCA held by the Bankers Association which is calling on Government and the Opposition to pass the bill.

Al-Rawi said the JSC’s report will be laid in the House of Representatives today and, “all will be revealed.” On Persad-Bissessar’s letter to Trump, Young said, “That’s best left up to her.” Yesterday, the Opposition released a blog written by former US diplomat James George Jatras which supported Persad-Bissessar’s letter to Trump in which she asked about whether FATCA would be repealed.

Jatras,the editor of the website www.RepealFATCA.com, claimed Persad-Bissessar’s letter was “gutsy” while the Government’s position on FATCA was, “a sleazy scare campaign.”

This comes on the heels of an incident where a Mayaro school boy was hospitalised after allegedly being attacked by schoolmates.

He called on Attorney General Faris Al Rawi and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to consider bringing to the Parliament a Parental Responsibility Act which, he believes, would force changes in the society and reduce the number of young people turning to a life of crime.

Padarath also urged the Ministry of Education to implement anti-bullying measures in our nation’s schools.

He said he was deeply disturbed by the incident involving the nine-year-old Mayaro student who sustained a broken arm while in school.

Saying this incident is not an isolated one, amid reports of bullying in several of our nation’s schools, Padarath said the Ministry of Education must provide a safe environment at all schools.

“They must establish anti- bullying policies now,” he urged.

Padarath said this is also a long-term measure to deal with the escalating crime situation in terms of identifying and treating with deviant behaviour. “To ignore it and allow it to grow in the school system without addressing the issue will have greater implications later on.” Padarath said he believes incidents of bullying in schools are severely unreported and he is calling on the Ministry to provide support to the victims as well. He urged the Ministry to address the role of schools in preventing bullying, establish general rules for improving the overall school climate, including laying down the consequences of bullying behaviour and intervention at a school level, class level and personal intervention.

Last Sunday, a two-hour competition was held whereby, the trainee course designers built courses for the coaches to mentor their riders and show off their newly acquired skills.

The TTEA had two globally known FEI (International Equestrian Federation) experts who facilitated the course disciplines, Javier Jeri from Venezuela and Carol Lopicich from Chile.

Winning the competition was Asha Bansee riding Seven ahead of Gabby Marhue on Morocco. In third place was Katie Darlow aboard Cadbury while Jessica Morton on Viking and Lena Dempel wolf on Dubs were fourth and fifth respectively.

Gia Borely on Mitch participated during the training course but was unable to take part in the competition.

The participating coaches were Sandhya Moll, Errol Grant, Waheeda Muller, Keri de Freitas from Morne Chouval, St Lucia and Alicia Eiffel who was also present as an observer who audited the course.

The Course Designers were Natalie Rapier, Anja Taylor and Sara McCartney.

The TTEA expressed thanks to the Ministry of Sports and the Trinidad Cement Company (TCL) for their support.

Lewis, also president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTO C), was attending the first edition of SIGA’s Sport Integrity Forum here which featured three panel discussions dedicated to the integrity of sport.

He was speaking before the CANOC Extraordinary General Assembly in Barranquilla, Colombia, yesterday, where he sought election as the organisation’s head.

Lewis was unanimously elected on an interim basis to replace Barbados’ Steve Stoute at an Annual General Meeting in Guadeloupe in October and made his intentions clear to run for the job on a permanent basis.

Dominican Republic’s Jos? Joaqu?n Puello had launched a surprise bid for the role, with the official also seeking the presidency of the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO) in April.

The CANOC adopted adopted SIGA’s universal standards under the leadership of Steve Stoute, with the standards designed to uphold and implement the highest standards of good governance, financial integrity and sports betting integrity.

Under Lewis’ interim leadership of CANOC, which represents 26 organisations that includes 20 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), is also set to work with SIGA to provide training, education and capacity building for all its NOCs to share best practice.

Reflecting on the drive to improve governance in the Caribbean, Lewis urged organisations not to point fingers and urged SIGA to act as a bridge-builder between sporting bodies.

“I am immensely proud to be representing CANOC with my colleague Keith Joseph [CANOC General Secretary],” Lewis said here.

“Sometimes the Caribbean is taken for granted in global discussions, while people often feed and generate profit through our talents.

“History is a powerful teacher and we should be aware that sport cannot exist in a vacuum.

“SIGA must not be an ideological platform to bring through people’s own ideas, but instead it needs to help share thoughts and act as a bridge builder.

“We need to appreciate different economic realities, as some integrity issues such as sports betting might be due to a person’s need to feed a hungry child.

“We should not point fingers and while it is a time for action, we must be mindful that SIGA remains a bridge builder.” Lewis’ rousing speech was one of the concluding remarks of the first edition of the Forum, with SIGA stating future editions are planned.

(www. i n s i d e the – games.biz)