In a media release issued by SPORTT yesterday, it was revealed that representatives from eight Pro League clubs – Central FC, W Connection, San Juan Jabloteh, Point Fortin Civic, Ma Pau Stars, Morvant Caledonia United, Club Sando and St Ann’s Rangers, met with recently-appointed SPORTT CEO Adam Montserin and executive managers on Thursday to discuss financial issues at SPORTT ’s office, located at the National Cycling Velodrome in Balmain, Couva.

Police and Defence Force are exempt from the monthly subventions as their players are members of the protective services.

“Coming out of the discussions, seven of the eight Pro League teams represented received their funding, having provided the necessary documentation,” the media release said.

SPORTT chairman Michael Phillips yesterday declined to name the team which did not receive its subventions, stating that he didn’t want to hinder the club from attracting potential sponsors.

However, Montserin, in the media release, noted, “we would meet again in January to look at improving how we engage clubs and to further discuss the possibility of public-private partnerships to enable them to achieve their objectives.” Central FC owner and managing director Brent Sancho, in a telephone interview yesterday, said, “we had a meeting with the new CEO, (not me) but one of my representatives from the club (operations director Kevin Harrison).

They mentioned that they had financial challenges but they had to try and make sure that they could try and stay up to date with the subventions.” Concerning the subventions, Sancho stated, “as far as I understand, apparently they wanted clubs to be compliant. The only unfortunate thing they did is waiting until now to pay that. I’m sure that’s a bit of a blow to the clubs that need the money but I’m sure the clubs are working to become compliant.” The ex-national defender admitted that Central FC was one of the clubs which got their Christmas wish yesterday.

“We have 80-90 percent of what is required and we’re still working on others to make sure that we’re compliant,” he stated. “This is not just for Pro League clubs. This is for NGBs (National Governing Bodies) and everybody who receives monies from the Sports Company.

“The challenge of it is that some of the governing bodies and Pro League clubs, some of the things that they’ve asked for, it is a bit of a challenge for small organisations to put together,” he added. “And I’m hoping that the Sports Company works in conjunction with the governing bodies and the clubs to make sure everyone comes up to scratch and everybody is fully compliant. “From a Pro League perspective, during the two-month wait for the subventions, the clubs could have been working on the compliancy. I hope that some kind of logic comes about, while working with the clubs, and they still make sure and give them their subventions.

At the end of the day it’s Christmas and the players should get their monies for Christmas.” Asked if the subventions were from October to now or just the month of December, Sancho responded, “I think one month is missing from what I understand. I think they got up until November.” What did the clubs need to do to come up to scratch? Sancho replied, “things like your business plan, (strategic) plan, things like your constitution, accounts, all these different things that they were asking for, which is something that they’re putting into place. The problem is for some clubs it’s a bit of a challenge in trying to get those things together. At the end of the day, it is a right move (by SPORTT ).”

As gunshots rang out, frightened shoppers ran into shops in and around Queen Street. Inside the car, Sean Thomas, 33, sat slumped in the driver’s seat — his body kept upright only by his seatbelt.

Once police arrived and cordoned off the murder scene, it was shopping as usual as many resumed their task of searching for that ideal Christmas gift for their loved ones. While officers were trying to ascertain a motive for the killing, they believe it may have been gang-related.

Thomas hailed from Francis Street, San Juan.

Police reported that at about ten o’clock yesterday morning, Thomas was driving a silver-coloured Toyota Axio in a westerly direction along Queen Street. As he was approaching Duncan Street, two unknown gunmen approached the vehicle, drew their firearms and shot Thomas multiple times. As the gunmen fled, an off-duty policeman who heard the gunshots gave chase but lost the men who disappeared in thick crowds of shoppers.

A party of officers from Besson Street Police Station, the Inter-Agency Task Force, Port-of-Spain CID and the Homicide Bureau of Investigations visited the scene. A policeman had to use a baton to smash the back window of the car in order to open the doors to reach Thomas’ body. Curious onlookers crowded the corner of Queen and Duncan streets as they tried to get a glimpse of the commotion at the murder scene.

Relatives of the man were also at the scene of the crime, but were too distraught to speak to members of the media.

The relatives could have been seen weeping and holding each other as they stood among the onlookers, watching police officers process the crime scene. Although they were too emotional to speak, close friends of the deceased, who were also at the scene yesterday told reporters that the only Christmas plans he told them of, was that he was hoping to spend the holidays with his children.

Police sources said that when officers searched Thomas’ vehicle, they found four ammunition magazines but no firearm.

In an earlier incident, a 27-year-old man was shot dead a stone’s throw away from the Morvant Police Station.

According to reports, Akeem Jordan of Flamingo Street, Morvant, was liming with friends on the corner of Tapana and Kisskidee Street when at about 8.30 pm on Thursday, when a Nissan Almera pulled up in front of Jordan. Without warning four armed men alighted the vehicle, approached Jordan and shot him multiple times about the body.

The gunmen then drove off. Jordan was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The murder toll up to press time, stood at 450 with seven days left in the year.

“The regular police often complain to us that their work is made more difficult by the absence of City Police, and it’s not a manpower issue. There are a lot of City Police providing service that has nothing to do with Downtown City Ordinance and we would like to see that changed before we get into a question of adding more resources.

“Unfortunately, for Port-of-Spain and citizens for the entire country, the year is ending on the same note on which it began. We are in a constant state of lawlessness and we have yet to see any effective mechanism for law and order,” Aboud said. He added that the country needs better law enforcement and a mechanism by which officers who are performing their duties are those given priority in terms of promotions.

“What we have had are a number of speeches, a number of promises, press conferences and communications specialists making statements.

But tragically for those persons who are losing their lives and the rest who are scared, the country cannot be run with press conferences or by communications specialists.

The Police Service cannot and should not be allowed to become a place where persons decide whether or not they are going to do do their job. It should be a place where everybody is on board and everyone is doing their job,” Aboud said. “I would like to suggest that the Central Government rethink its plan about adding additional officers to the Municipal Police.

The Municipal Police Services are not at this time performing the duties that they should be performing in our towns and cities and many of them are absentees.

Many of the business people cannot tell you the last time they saw a patrol by Municipal Police, and we don’t think that we should attempt to add additional manpower resources in an area where there is such a total collapse of service. We should try to first reinstate the service and then we could think about adding more resources.

“It is a terrible story to end the year on the note which we first began, but until we get the facts, until we understand what needs to be done with respect to security service, we are always going to be having these interviews to get our reaction to what is happening in East PoS,” Aboud said. Aboud said since the increase of crime in East PoS, the East PoS Development Company has not been able to attract a single investment because of these very conditions.

“What we have to guard against is allowing these conditions to spread westward. We need to address the condition of East.

People of East Port-of- Spain are entitled to police service, surveillance and law and order in the same way that everyone else is. The citizens are a valuable attachment to East PoS; they represent not only a customer base but also our staff,” Aboud said.

According to reports, at about 11 pm, Richardson was walking towards the front gate when he was confronted by the four gunmen who ordered him inside his yard.

The men snatched a gold chain from Richardson’s neck valued $4,000 and then robbed him of an iPhone.

They then robbed him of a small quantity of cash and later tied him up.

He was then ordered to hand over the keys to his home and the four men proceeded to ransack the house in search of cash and jewelry before fleeing the scene.

Richardson untied himself and ran towards a nearby gas station where he alerted employees who flagged down a police vehicle on patrol in the area.

A party of officers led by Cpl Rambarran responded and took a shaken Richardson to the Arima Police station where he gave a report and description of the four suspects. He was later medically examined and was said to be shaken by the incident.

Richardson later contacted relatives and related his ordeal to them and returned to his D’Abadie home yesterday but complained of being terribly affected by the incident.

Following the robbery, a party of officers led by Senior Supt Mc- Donald Jacob and officers from the Northern Division combed several areas in search of the suspects but they were not found.

Fingerprint experts were yesterday trying to lift prints from the crime scene to assist them in their enquiry.

Police believe Richardson was followed home by the men who then pounced on him.

Yesterday, officers advised members of the public especially those persons driving high end vehicles who travel late at night to be extremely cautious and alert relatives when they on their way home. They also called on the public to be alert at all times.

No arrest has been made and investigations are continuing.

That was the warning yesterday given to a crime-weary nation by Acting Commissioner of Police at a police briefing. He reiterated an earlier call by the TTPS for citizens to be vigilant at this time of year, when doing their Christmas shopping. He also revealed that the TTPS is in the final stage of a new three year strategic plan, though he didn’t reveal the details of that plan.

“We are asking the members of the public to be careful out there.

There are persons who are set, just as a police officer goes out to work, there are individuals who are set on going out to work in committing crime. Persons will be seeking to target shoppers out there as it relates to larceny and robberies and we are really asking members of the public to be conscious, conscious as you go out in the various shopping locations to make yourselves what we call hard targets. We are seeing reports over this week where people are not considering some of the key tips that we’ve had throughout the year, such as simple things.

Commissioner Williams gave an example. “You go to the bank, you make a large withdrawal of cash. You go the vehicle, you put it into the glove compartment and you go back into a mall and shop.

Persons are monitoring you. Persons will in fact, break your vehicle and steal the money. We have those incidents continuing to take place as recent as yesterday at one of the malls. We share with the members of the public that if you are business men and women, you have large deposits to make at the bank, please do not go to the bank alone.” He said businessmen should share the information with the police and officers will provide support and a level of protection to ensure that the businessman can get to the bank and make their deposits safely. Same thing goes by way of having to pay, by way of payroll, he said. “We generally focus at this point in time to do everything possible from a policing perspective to make the place safe.” The top cop repeated that there will be an increased presence of police officers in all key shopping areas, including Port-of-Spain, San Fernando, Arima and all shopping malls especially today – the final shopping day before Christmas.

Williams noted that 2016 was a “reasonably good year” for the TTPS and a year which saw greater support from the media as evidence in more positive stories about the work of the TTPS, and an increased level of cooperation from citizens of the Trinidad and Tobago.

As a result of the increased cooperation with the public, Williams said, the crime detection rate of the TTPS has improved.

With regard to policing strategies for the coming year, Williams said, “We are putting things in place from day one January 1, 2017 to focus on the violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

While we see in some instances reduction in crime types, we have a situation of an increase in murders in 2016 compared to 2015.

Overall though, we have seen a small reduction in violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago.” But that slight decrease is not enough.

“What we need to see is a significant drop in the levels of violence in Trinidad and Tobago so that the public can be conscious of the change that is taking place in the context of safety and security.

That is what will be our focus from day one, January 2017… We are just in the completion stage for a new strategic plan for a three year cycle which will run 2017 to 2019.” Calling 2016 a reasonably successful year for the TTPS, Williams said that there has been a two percent decrease overall in shootings, woundings and murders, a one percent reduction in serious crimes generally; three percent reduction in rapes and other sex related offences; a 34 percent reduction in kidnappings; a 19 percent reduction in larceny of motor vehicles and a ten percent reduction in road death.

When questioned about whether or not he felt David West, head of the Police Complaints Authority should resign, he said he didn’t think he should comment on his resignation, but that West has made irresponsible utterances.

The latest attack took place shortly before 2 am at Stackhouse Company Limited, a wholesale outlet located at the corner of Pointe-a-Pierre and Circular Roads in San Fernando. Police investigations said that business owner Truman Lochan Dass, closed the business at about 11 pm on Thursday after securing the building.

Stackhouse is a whole liquor and dry goods store. At about 2 am yesterday, security officers on duty at the compound heard an explosion and on checking, saw the front of the building on fire.

Two men dressed in dark clothing were also seen running away, according to police investigators. Within minutes, officers from the Mon Repos Fire Station responded and contained the fire.

There were no reports of items missing, however there was visual structural damage caused by the fire.

Dass yesterday told Newsday that he received news of the fire while on his way home and immediately returned to his businessplace.

The businessman said he was still assessing his losses.

He added that a newly purchased motorcycle which cost $150,000 was destroyed by the fire. Only on Monday last, at about 1. 45 am, arsonists maliciously set fire at Sookhoo’s Supermarket Limited and Liquor Store located along Union Road in Marabella. Upon checking, the owner Dave Sookhoo who lives with relatives behind the businessplace, discovered three vehicles on fire. The vehicles, together value $750,000, were parked in front of the building and belonged to the Sookhoo family.

The concrete walls at the front of the supermarket were damaged by the fire.

Similar arson attacks have taken place in north Trinidad where in at least one instance, a grocery in Barataria was looted in broad daylight after it was set on fire.

“God is good we will survive,” said 82-yearold Bassie Teeka, owner of the house. “The house and what was in it is material things. We have to be thankful for our lives.

We would have been worse off if someone died in that fire. I am just thanking God that everyone is safe.” Newsday understands that Tunapuna Fire officers responded to a report of a fire at #5 Rapsey Street, Curepe at about 7.40 pm on Thursday, but when they arrived on the scene the house was already engulfed in flames. Fire officers could only contain the fire and stop it from spreading to neighbouring homes, as the blaze burned the two storey building to the ground.

Teeka told Newsday yesterday that when the fire started, she was tending to one of her sons, Anthony, who was bed-ridden after a fall crippled him seven years ago. Along with the bed-ridden man, six children and two other adults were at the house when the fire ignited. All ten of the occupants of the house safely escaped the blaze, but lost everything that they owned.

“By the time the fire trucks came everything was burnt down. Not a single thing was saved.

Everything burned to ashes,” said Teeka. The woman and her family – now homeless – had to depend on the kindness of two neighbours, the Mohip and Jashwah families, to shelter them on the night of the fire.

Teeka expressed concern for her bed-ridden son, who is being cared for, while staying at one of the neighbours’ houses.

“To tell you the truth it would be easy for me, because I could go by one of my nephews, but I have to see about my son and he is bed-ridden.

I have to take care of him on the bed. So it is hard for me to go anywhere,” Teeka said.

Up to press time yesterday, the Fire Prevention Unit were still trying to ascertain the origin of the fire.

According to reports, the girl was seated in the front passenger seat of her father’s vehicle outside the St Helena branch of the fast food outlet at about 8.35 pm, while her father left to purchase KFC.

Police reports revealed that a security guard employed at a nearby hotel allegedly placed a knife to the girl’s throat and demanded her cellphone.

He then unfastened one of her shirt buttons and proceeded to fondle the girl’s breast. The victim began screaming, resulting in her father and other KFC customers rushing to her assistance. The suspect fled to the nearby hotel where he was employed and proceeded to hide.

He but eventually cornered and handed over to the Cunupia police.

The suspect remained in custody yesterday and is expected to be placed on identification parade. Several charges are expected to be laid against the man.

Police also believe they may be able to solve a series of larcenies in the St Helena district as a result of the arrest of the La Horquetta guard

“Not only are businessmen in danger, but they are being put in expense, because we have to spend money to take out extra security measures. Crime is really getting out of hand,” said Mohammed, in a conversation with Newsday.

Mohammed told Newsday yesterday that at about 4.10 am, relatives living above the supermarket heard a loud crashing noise. When they checked, they saw men running out of the building with electronics, televisions and surround sound systems.

The police were immediately contacted and a party of officers responded, but not before unknown persons made off with tens of thousands of dollars in items and cash.

Newsday understands that CCTV footage has been handed over to investigators for review, in an attempt to get further clues as to the culprits of the early morning burglary.

Mohammed said that his supermarket had been in the area for more than 26 years.

He said it was the first time in recent times that his business had been broken into. His supermarket opened an hour later than it would usually open because of the break in, but he said that he would continue business, because persons in the area depend on him to supply foodstuffs, which they would definitely need during the holiday season.

Investigations are continuing.

Little Jenice of Morocoy Extension Road in Whiteland on the outskirts of Gasparillo, died on November 24, following a beating in which she sustained multiple blows to the head and stomach area. She was a pupil of the Whiteland Early Childhood Learning Centre. An autopsy performed by forensic pathologist Dr Eslyn Mc Donald-Burris, days after the death, revealed that the child died as a result of blunt force trauma.

Police were initially told that a female relative found Jenice unresponsive on a mattress at her home at about 9 pm on November 24.

The child was rushed to San Fernando General Hospital where she died.