Barry Dabie, 48, of Debe, near Penal, received the sentences after it was discovered that he had two previous convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol

In fact, as recently as August, Dabie had been fined and banned by a magistrate from driving for three years. Prior to that, in November 2015, Dabie was fined $8,000 by a magistrate for driving while intoxicated, which was his first such offence. On Sunday Dabie was arrested along the SS Erin Road and charged __ his third such offence. He pleaded guilty yesterday before Magistrate Natalie Diop who was told by prosecutor, Sgt Kasieram Lutchman, that it was at about 7 pm when Police Constable Guerra was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Dabie along the SS Erin Road

Guerra detected a strong scent of alcohol emanating from Dabie

Guerra identified himself as a police officer. Diop was told that Guerra asked Dabie to drive to the Debe Police Post where he was asked to produce his driver’s permit. However, Dabie replied, “Officer, I was banned from driving. I does pay somebody to drive.” Questioned further, he said he had been drinking beers

A breathalyser test revealed that Dabie’s breath contained 50 microgrammes of alcohol which was 15 mg over the legal limit

Lutchman told the court that on November 23, 2015, Dabie was slapped with the $8,000 fine which he paid to avoid a sixmonth jail term

Then on August 25, a magistrate fined Dabie $15,000 and he was also disqualified from driving for two years and his driver’s permit taken away

Asked yesterday by Diop what he had to say for himself, Dabie said, “I’m very sorry for my actions

“I am unemployed and my only income is from driving

Since I was expelled, somebody else does drive for me but I take a chance on Sunday because I needed some money to pay a debt.” In passing sentence, Diop told Dabie that the law becomes harsh in circumstances where a person registers his or her third conviction since the intention is to send a strong message to that person that their conduct cannot be tolerated. In addition to the jail sentence, Dabie was also permanently disqualified from driving

The man is scheduled to appear before a Sangre Grande magistrate today following which the matter is expected to be transferred to the Rio Claro Magistrates Court.

Last week, the child reported to her mother that the ex-officer sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions.

The victim claimed that she recognised the person and attempted to ward him off. However, the man held down both her hands and proceeded to rape her .

Following the act, the woman made a report to police and the 36-year-old suspect was detained .

Selwyn Ragoonanan, 44, of Hermitage Road, Debe, pleaded guilty to the offence in which a breathalyser test revealed that he was over the prescribed legal limit by 50 microgrames per 100 milliliters of breath.

Magistrate Natalie Diop read the charge to Ragoonanan who pleaded guilty.

However, the police prosecutor, Sergeant Kasieram Lutchman, told the court that he did not have the file containing the statement which outlined the circumstances surrounding Ragoonanan’s arrest at Palmiste, near San Fernando.

The charge was laid by PC Sujeet Ramcharan.

Ragoonanan is a Standard Two teacher at the Macaulay Government Primary School.

Diop postponed the hearing to January 9, 2017

Pathologists at the Forensic Science Centre in St James will today attempt to determine how the baby died.

Barrow’s parents, Kevin and Natalia, told Newsday yesterday that the autopsy, which was expected to be performed yesterday, was postponed to today.

Newsday was told that on Wednesday last, when Revelation was born, he was discharged from the hospital and he went to his home at Indian Trail Village, Couva.

But his parents noticed that the child’s eyes were red.

When he died two days later, morticians at the San Fernando General Hospital noticed evidence of internal bleeding in the baby when an autopsy was initiated.

The autopsy was immediately stopped and the baby’s body was ordered removed to the Forensics Science Centre.

This declaration was contained in a statement, from the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, released ahead of yesterday’s sitting of the House of Representatives where Finance Minister Colm Imbert was in the process of winding up the debate last Friday after the Opposition staged a walk out. The walkout by Opposition MPs occurred after Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George rejected a request by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to adjourn the House to debate, what Persad-Bissessar described as, Government’s failure to address an unprecedented number of murders and missing persons in TT. Persad-Bissessar stood up and protested Annisette-George’s decision. Other Opposition MPs left the Parliament Chamber after Persad-Bissessar obeyed Annisette-George’s instruction to leave the Chamber.

In the statement, the ministry declared, “The Government is adamant that the greatest impact on the scourge of crime will be made by following and stopping the profit of crime.

No other Government has focused so significantly on taking the profit out of crime.” The ministry further stated the passage of this legislation, “is critical in our fight against the illicit movement of funds and the financing of criminal activity, as it allows for an exchange of account information between tax authorities.” With the bill being a critical aspect of this part of the battle against crime, the ministry declared, “The Opposition’s refusal to agree to expose foreign accounts as proposed by this law is inexplicable and intolerable.

The ministry reiterated positions articulated last Friday by Attorney General Faris Al Rawi and Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young that in 2013, the former Persad-Bissessar administration had an international legal obligation to enact this legislation but failed to do so.

Recalling that the Opposition raised concerns about six clauses in the bill, the ministry said only one clause remains to be dealt with.

The ministry said contrary to claims from the Opposition, yesterday’s sitting was the fifth time the Opposition had an opportunity in the last four months to voice its concerns and propose amendments.

The Opposition collectively left the House last Friday after Speaker Bridgid Annisette- George declined their call to debate crime on the heels of the recent murder of bank clerk, Shannon Banfield, but instead debated FATCA the latter which the Opposition deemed to be less important.

Lee yesterday bemoaned that Finance Minister, Colm Imbert, has been on his legs, currently winding up the FATCA debate. Lee said, “There’s no longer a debate”. He said things now depend on whether Imbert accedes to the Opposition’s long-standing call to send the Bill to a joint select committee (JSC) for a lengthier treatment than merely by the House sitting in committee on the Bill.

“We hope good sense prevails. The JSC is a win-win for Government and Opposition, and for the country and the stakeholders.” Saying a JSC allows for input from consultations and Independent Senators, Lee asked Imbert to state his concerns about a JSC.

He said the Government needs Opposition votes, the bill can only be passed by a special majority. The Bill contains some draconian measures and so it first needs stakeholder input.

Of that 32, none of them are in a position to meet the hangman.” Underscoring that, “under the laws of TT, the punishment for murder…a conviction of murder is that you shall hang until you are dead,” Al Rawi cited various reasons why none of these persons can be executed at this time. “Some because of the application of the rule in Pratt and Morgan which says five years after your sentencing, you are going to have it commuted to murder punishable by hanging being off the books and you’re now moving to life imprisonment,” he stated.

Al Rawi explained other persons are, “not ready to face the hangman because their appellate process is still ongoing.” He said their processes are taking place before the Court of Appeal in TT, the Privy Council in London and the Inter-American Committee on Human Rights. “Those three courts sit on the appellate function and we are tracking each and every one of them. So I can guarantee you that those 32 files are on the desk and constantly reviewed to see what the position is,” he said.

Noting this was an urgent question which Chaguanas West MP Ganga Singh has posed to him to answer at yesterday’s sitting but did not because the Opposition boycotted the sitting, Al Rawi found it strange that the Opposition was talking about crime when Government was dealing with the Tax Information Exchange Agreement Bill 2016 which deals with “taking the profit out of crime.” Disclosing that this bill will join others directed at the same objective in January in Parliament, Al Rawi said Government believes, “the larger more effective medicine to be applied” to combat crime is, “to chase the money…”

The PNM and United National Congress (UNC) each won four elected seats and each was subsequently allotted two aldermen, maintaining the tie.

Young alluded that the party seemed unswayed by a letter from Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, for a collaborative approach to ending the deadlock so as to reflect the fundamental pillars of democracy.

“Our position remains the same.

“We’ll follow the letter of the law,” he said. “We sought and obtained advice from eminent senior council.

We don’t see any legal difficulties.” Re-stating his previous view that incumbent chairman, Terry Rondon, has a casting vote to resolve the tied corporation, Young reasoned, “Until a new chairman is elected an incumbent chairman remains in place”.

According to reports, Heather Barriteau, from Sobo Village, La Brea, went out with with a friend in San Fernando on Saturday evening and has not been seen since.

She was reportedly last seen wearing a grey sweater, a black vest and purple leggings.

Her husband, Devon Paul, is asking anyone with information to call 291- 3470 or to contact the police on 555 or 800-TIPS as soon as possible.