ALFRED HINDS, alias “Calis,” a 27-year-old father of one, became the country’s 172nd murder victim for the year, when he was executed outside his Clifton Street, East Dry River home in full view of his wife around 3.30 am yesterday.
Hinds’ murder means that TT has now reached last year’s murder toll in September as, during the period January to December last year 172 persons were murdered. There are three months remaining in the year and police officers believe that the murder toll could cross the 200 mark, bringing a record high number of murders ever committed within the last ten years. Police investigators told Newsday they have information that the execution was ordered by a woman who is in possession of a hit list and has already ordered the deaths of five persons. The last two persons who were reportedly ordered executed by the woman were Damian Balasco and Ian White. The two were shot dead hours apart on September 18. Reports revealed that around 3.30 am, Hinds was asleep at his home in company with his wife Stephanie when they were alerted to a crashing sound and the smell of smoke. Hinds and his wife made a check and discovered that a molotov cocktail was thrown into their house. Hinds went outside of his home to fetch water to extinguish the fire when he was felled by a barrage of bullets. The bullets struck him in the abdomen. Hinds reportedly ran down the steps leading to Clifton Street where he collapsed and died.
When Newsday visited the area yesterday, there blood was still on the roadway, and on the steps leading to Hinds’ home. Neighbours of the dead man described him as a simple, honest person who was not involved in any illicit activities. Even police officers at the Besson Street Police Station described Hinds as a quiet person with no criminal record. They admitted that some of his relatives were suspects in several shootings and a murder. The grieving wife of the dead man told Newsday that she was standing about five feet away from where her husband stood when she realised that he was shot. Stephanie said that her husband never complained of being threatened and she was unsure why her husband was killed in such a violent manner. Newsday learnt that the homes of two neighbours were also firebombed shortly after Hinds was shot dead. Hinds was employed as a contractor at Paramin and was not linked to the Beverly Hills NHA project, which is under army guard. Cpl Barnabas Grant of the Besson Street Police Station is investigating.
THE body of the man which was found in the middle of the Queen’s Park Savannah on Sunday was identified yesterday as McDavid Lawrence of Toco. Police officers were able to identify the body based on fingerprints on file on the criminal record of the deceased.
Lawrence had been charged with several counts of wounding. He was also an outpatient of the St Ann’s Hospital. Police officers investigating his murder said they felt that Lawrence was lured to the Savannah by someone he knew. They claimed that he may have been sexually assaulted before being killed. An autopsy will be carried out today at the Forensic Science Centre and relatives of the dead man were contacted yesterday. When the body was discovered on Sunday, it had 16 stab wounds. The victim’s hands were tied, his throat was slit and his mouth gagged. Up until late yesterday, no one was arrested in connection with the murder, but investigators were able to secure statements from several persons who claimed to have seen Lawrence with two men.
The Dhanraj Singh murder trial is being plagued with unexpected interruptions.
A juror who reported ill on Monday and caused hearing to be adjourned, continued to be sick yesterday and will not be able to return to court until next Monday, said a doctor’s report. But even as trial judge Justice Paula Mae Weekes moved to discharge that juror and replace her with the number one alternate, another problem forced the court to take an adjournment until tomorrow. As the State was about to call its last witness, Sgt Fitzgerald George, special prosecutor Sir Timothy Cassel QC informed the judge that George’s mother died yesterday and that he was in no condition to testify. It was also pointed out to the court that the funeral would be today. As a result, hearing was adjourned to tomorrow. There was no objection from lead defence attorney Karl Hudson-Philips QC, who immediately expressed condolences to the George’s family. Weekes also joined in the expression of compassion. Dhanraj Singh, a former government minister, is before the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court, charged with the murder of Hansraj Sumairsingh, former chairman of the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation. The State is alleging that Dhanraj hired two hitmen to kill Sumairsingh. The contract was carried out on December 30, 1999, at Sumairsingh’s beach house at Eccles Road, Mayaro.
After replacing juror number 10, the State called three witnesses before taking the adjournment, bringing the number of State witnesses to testify so far to 17. The first to testify yesterday was Kelvin Delecia, the father of slain hitman Steve Cummings also called “Chen”. Chen was one of the two hitmen who took the contract to kill Sumairsingh. The other, Elliot Hypolite, turned State witness. Delecia told the court that his son Chen was not deceased. Trinidad Guardian reporter Donna Pierre, also testified for the State. Under cross-examination by Hudson-Phillips, she said several other persons were present and that it was not a secret meeting. Supt Dawson Victor, testified that he had executed a search warrant at the home of Dhanraj, at Hardbargain, Williamsville, on January 2, 2000 and found a magazine for a 9mm pistol. Singh has a license for a 9mm firearm.
TRADE MINISTER Ken Valley has said a “properly designed” Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) can eliminate poverty in the Americas. Speaking at the opening of the 15th Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) of the FTAA conference at the Hilton Trinidad yesterday, Valley said such an FTAA “has the ability to reverse the negative aspects of our legacy and alleviate the disillusionment of those in the Americas who experience poverty.”
However, the Minister said the FTAA “is not an end in itself and must encourage the creation of wealth, the sharing of such wealth and the participation of people. “We must not allow the recent results at the multilateral level to impact the FTAA. This may require the adoption of a simpler agenda over the next 16 months which encompasses equilibrium in the demands, ambitions, concerns and sensitivities of all our countries,” he declared. Valley said FTAA nations must “create an Americas where all citizens will be given an equal opportunity for personal growth and where every nation can grow and prosper. “We believe that only the negotiation of a balanced, comprehensive and development-focused agreement can provide economic benefits for the entire FTAA membership.
The successful negotiation of the FTAA is important for Trinidad and Tobago. We seek broad and full access to the markets of the more developed countries of the hemisphere for our products and services,” Valley stated. He said special and differential treatment is the fulcrum between the hemisphere’s developed and developing nations and hailed the establishment of the Hemispheric Cooperation Prog-ramme. Valley called for the creation of a regional integration fund “to reduce the asymmetries in the levels of development between countries in the hemisphere” and said “effective public outreach is increasingly critical for a successful FTAA process.” The Minister also said TT can become “the natural home of the FTAA Secretariat.” TT already has the support of 14 Caricom nations, Venezuela and Costa Rica and needs two more votes to become the base for the FTAA Secretariat. Miami (USA), Cancun (Mexico) and Panama City (Panama) are also bidding to become the site for the FTAA Secretariat.
The Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) has emphatically declared that they “will not stand idly by and tolerate much longer the continued failure of the Ministry of Education and the Tobago House of Assembly to live up to agreements” with regards to payment of arrears to teachers for the period 1987 — 1995.
In a release late yesterday afternoon, General Secretary of TTUTA, Peter Wilson, exp-ressed his displeasure with the performance of the Ministry of Education (MOE), as it is claiming to have prepared Liability Statements for teachers, who have yet to receive said payments. Wilson reported that the MOE claimed to have prepared some 10,000 Liability Statements for 19,000 teachers (including retirees), and that far less than that number have actually reached the schools and teachers. In addition, “not one teacher has actually received payment,” stated Wilson. He added that the situation was worsening in Tobago where, “through miscommunication between the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), no teacher has received a Liability Statement.”
At the beginning of 2003, the MOE promised teachers that they would have received Liability Statements in three or four months time, but later cited “manpower constraints,” and changed the deadline to August, promising actual payments by the end of September. “Once more, teachers and TTUTA come face to face with the apparent inability (or its unwillingness) of the MOE to keep its word and fulfill agreements reached between the employer and TTUTA,” Wilson said. TTUTA is therefore demanding that the MOE “remove the snags and expedite the process so that all eligible teachers can be paid their arrears of increments for the period 1987 — 1995.” Further, TTUTA is calling on the THA “not to have teachers in Tobago lag behind their counterparts in Trinidad,” suggesting that they (THA) need to ensure that teachers in Tobago receive their Liability Statements and payments in the shortest time possible. The release concluded by once again expressing TTUTA’s unwillingness to patiently wait while the MOE decides what it will do next, and the demand that “Teachers Must Be Paid Their Arrears Now!”
COMEDIENNE Rachel Price has sued radio announcer Ricardo “The Gladiator” Welch and Radio Vision Limited (Power 102 FM) for damages of libel and slander.
The writ was filed in the Port-of-Spain High Court Registry yesterday by attorneys Kelvin Ramkissoon and Om Lalla. Price, who lives at La Puerta Avenue, Diego Martin, is seeking damages for libel and slander contained in a Power 102 radio programme entitled “The Power Breakfast Show’’ on September 11 of this year. Price is claiming that Welch falsely and maliciously broadcast or caused to be broadcast matters concerning her in the way of her profession or business or occupation. In her writ, Price listed verbatim, the transcript of what was alleged to have been said on the radio programme. Price claimed that the words have gravely injured her character, credit and reputation. She added that she has been brought into public scandal, odium and contempt.
A TAXI DRIVER whose car was seized by police “for investigations” for more than four years has won his case against the Attorney General who has been ordered to pay damages for the wrongful seizure. In fact, the judge felt that 18 months is sufficient time to conclude investigations into stolen vehicles.
Justice Prakash Moosai, presiding in the Port-of-Spain High Court, ordered the Attorney General to pay damages to Carl Jacob for the wrongful seizure of his vehicle on November 4, 1997. The judge ordered the State to deliver the car to the owner forthwith. He also ordered that damages be paid for wrongful detention to be assessed by a Master in Chambers. He ordered the Attorney General to pay costs fit for senior and junior attorneys. Desmond Allum SC and Rajiv Persad appeared for Jacob, while State attorney Anne-Marie Rambarran represented the Attorney General. Jacob alleged that the police unlawfully seized his motor car HAK 9461. On February 22, 1983, Desmond Gilliard bought HAK 9461 from Neal and Massy Motors for $39,905.20. Two weeks later, Gilliard sold the vehicle to Jacob for $51,000, but the transfer was not effected at the Licencing Office until March 10, 1984. Towards the end of October 1997, Sgt Lennard Gay, head of the Police Stolen Vehicles Squad, received information with respect to a stolen vehicle which caused him to go to Jacob’s premises at St Croix Road, Princes Town. While at Princes Town, Gay observed a beige Datsun 280 C parked in the garage. The vehicle appeared to be freshly painted. The policeman claimed that Jacob had done nothing to explain the recent painting of the vehicle.
On November 14, 1997, Gay took the vehicle to the CID, Port-of-Spain. Gay informed Jacob that the vehicle was stolen and cautioned him. Jacob denied the allegation, claiming that he was the owner of the vehicle since 1983 and invited the police to inspect it. Gay inspected the chassis number which was stamped on the left centre door post of the vehicle. He observed that there was an unusual welding on the area at the top and bottom of that post. Having examined the vehicle, Gay summoned the etcher attached to the squad, PC Adesh Ramdeo. Gay subsequently sent the car to the Forensic Science Centre for further testing. Justice Moosai said he was of the view that the evidence of the Attorney General established conclusively that at the time of the seizure of the vehicle, the police had reasonable grounds for believing that the vehicle was a stolen vehicle.
A HIGH COURT Judge has slammed the Public Service Commission (PSC) for illegally accepting an ‘‘unsolicited list of names’’ of prison officers to be promoted.
Instead of using the list supplied by Commissioner of Prisons Leo Abraham, the PSC accepted a list from Assistant Commissioner of Prisons Herman Rougier, thereby leaving out the names of six prison officers who were recommended for promotion to Prison Officer II.
Yesterday, Madame Justice Mira Dean-Armorer ruled in favour of the six prison officers and granted judicial review of the decision of the PSC which failed to comply with the PSC regulations. The six prison officers — Charles Vernon Frederick, Mookish Pulliah, Sham-shudeen Mohammed, Adrian Pascal, Wilbert Lovell, and Kundan Nancoo — were in court when Justice Dean-Armorer delivered her judgment in the Port-of-Spain Third Civil Court. In her judgment, Justice Dean-Armorer said the PSC acted illegally on the basis of the unsolicited list supplied by Rougier. She ordered the PSC to now consider the original list supplied by the Commissioner of Prisons. She pointed out that if the PSC did not promote these six officers, the Commission must provide reasons to each of them why it had not done so.
Justice Dean-Armorer ordered that this matter receive the urgent attention of the PSC. She noted that the failure of the PSC to promote the six applicants would amount to a collosal disadvantage to the prison officers in relation to their peers. The judge ordered the Attorney General to pay costs. Anand Ramlogan appeared for the six prison officers, while acting Deputy Solicitor General Krishendeo Narinesingh and State attorney Sanjiv Lalla represented the Attorney General. The six applicants contended that they have more experience in performing the duties of the office of Prison Officer 11 than at least 53 of the officers recommended and promoted. They further contended that they were never informed about the reasons for the decision to omit their names from the list of candidates that were recommended for promotion.
Caribbean US Chiefs of Missions have reaffirmed that the only way to tackle the pandemic of HIV/AIDS is by regional co-operation and speaking in a co-ordinated voice. They have also expressed optimism that increased resources would be dedicated to the region by the US government.
Severa Ambassadors spoke yesterday at the conclusion of a conference on HIV/AIDS at the Hilton Trinidad. The conference began on Monday. They pointed out that US resources for HIV/AIDS control in the region totalled more than $30 million and were increasing due to President George W Bush’s commitment to fighting global AIDS. They further told reporters at the press conference that a great deal of attention was placed on stigma reduction associated with the virus. US Ambassador to Guyana, Roland Bullen, noted that a recent initiative in his country promoted the call for a lack of discrimination against persons with the virus, via a campaign through mini-bus drivers. The campaign, he said, tells citizens that “Words have power, give respect to get respect, big up people living with HIV/AIDS.” Also generating substantial discussion was education and prevention of the virus.
The US Surinamese Ambassador, Marsha Barnes, said having recently hosted Carifesta, her country was more aware of the need for an early intervention in schools, in terms of providing education to teens and even younger children, to ensure they are aware of the problems with the virus. She stressed that AIDS had more victims than terrorists. The Ambassadors further agreed that all US agencies continue to work closely in the region to produce “unified HIV/AIDS support interventions;” that US government activities and interventions should continue to be conducted in close collaboration with Caribbean regional and national strategies and programmes, and US Ambassadors in the region must continue to use their political and social leadership in the reduction of HIV-related stigma and discrimination. The Caribbean region has the highest percentage of HIV-infected persons outside sub-Saharan Africa.
A letter of commendation was sent yesterday by Public Services Association (PSA) President Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, to the Minister of Health, Colm Imbert.
This letter followed another letter by the Minister the day before, in which he informed the PSA head that his Ministry had made good on its promise to convene a special meeting of the Public Sector Negotiation Committee, where the necessary approval to proceed with the payment of the arrears of increment was granted. Also as promised, Imbert informed the PSA that the North West Regional Health Authority already had the sum of approximately $8 million, to make the payments with the balance of approximately $4 million being made available by cheque before yesterday at noon.
In her response letter, Baptiste-Primus expressed her pleasure with the news and stated that she wanted to place on record the respect and esteem that Imbert had earned by changing the old pattern of conduct that she said had become characteristic of the NWRHA. She went on: “Minister Imbert, I have shared with you the state of dysfunctionality that persisted with that organisation in spite of our efforts to assist in correcting same. “The resolution of the increments issue has given us new impetus to redouble our efforts, and has also given us a higher level of confidence in you as the Minister of Health.” Baptiste-Primus then assured the Minister that the PSA would always act responsibly in supporting every constructive initiative which Imbert and his Ministry endeavour to implement.
