A Laventille man became the country’s 167th murder victim for the year when he succumbed to gunshot injuries at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Ian Phillip 25, was shot nine times while walking through a track at Wharton Street, Laventille, on Tuesday.

Reports revealed that around 10.30 am, Phillip was walking through the track when he was confronted by a man he recognised. An argument ensued and the man later pulled out a gun and shot Phillip nine times about the body. He suffered broken arms and legs from the gunshot injuries. Phillip was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. He succumbed to the injuries around 7 pm on Tuesday.

At Wharton Street, Laventille, Judith Phillip, the sister of the dead man, told Newsday that her brother was a very private person. She claimed that her brother was an expert in installing ceilings and as far as she knew he was not involved in any illicit activities. She called on the police to find the person responsible for his death and bring him to justice. The grieving woman claimed that her brother was loved by those who knew him and he ensured that no one went hungry. She also described him as a jovial and loving person and an excellent father to his four-year-old daughter Shaneen. Police investigators told Newsday that based on information received, the death of Phillip is a result of a drug transaction. They claimed that Phillip was allegedly given drugs to sell and was owing money. Cpl Collins of the Besson Street CID is investigating.

Anderson Bramble, a wanted man who was killed by police two months ago will be buried as a pauper today.

The body will be buried at the paupers’ cemetery in St James  because none of his relatives or friends have claimed the body. Police were able to locate a relative last Friday, when they detained a 26-year-old  for questioning into the $50,000 armed robbery at the Couva branch of First Citizens Bank. He was placed on identification parade, but was not pointed out. The man was asked by the police to accompany them to the Forensic Sciences Centre to identify the body of his brother, but he hesitated saying that he and his family did not want to be associated with anything to do with the matter. Police officers were able to coax him to go to the Forensic Sciences Centre on Monday, where he identified the body and an autopsy was carried out.

An autopsy cannot be carried out until a body is identified. The autopsy revealed that Bramble was shot several times in the head and abdomen. Following the autopsy, Andy Bramble made it clear that neither he nor his family wanted to claim the body for burial. Newsday learnt that this information was passed on to the Ministry of National Security, and arrangements were put in place to have the body buried at the paupers’ cemetery. Bramble, who was a suspect in the larceny of a firearm belonging to Inspector Samlal of the Southern Division, was shot dead by police at Teelucksingh Street, California, on the morning of July 27. He was also wanted on six warrants for a series of robberies and firearm offences in Central Trinidad. Around 5 am on July 27, police officers led by Inspector Samlal, went to a house at California where they attempted to execute a search warrant.

They claimed that they were greeted by gunfire and returned fire. When they made a check they discovered the body of Bramble lying in a pool of blood. Police investigators claimed that Bramble was a notorious bandit, and was one of three men who held up Inspector Samlal while he was at a bar at Laing Street, Chaguanas, on July 23. The inspector was robbed of his service revolver, $4,000 in cash and beaten.  A warrant was later issued for the arrest of Bramble. Several other persons who were robbed at the bar went to the Forensic Sciences Centre and pointed out Bramble as one of the persons who had held them up. Police officers claimed that he was part of a gang responsible for several robberies, shootings and crime throughout the country.

Dave Jackson’s widow, Venita, insisted that something must be done to clean up the mess in which the Chaguaramas training facility has deteriorated, which caused her husband’s death at hospital.

She said her husband and other auxilliary firemen have been complaining for sometime about the rats, mosquitoes and other problems at the facility, but the authorities were ignoring their pleas. Mrs Jackson is now a widow with three children under the age of 13, who now do not have a father. She also complained about the security procedures at the hospital. When she attempted to see her husband just before he died, she was refused permission because she did not have the required security pass. If she was allowed to go in Mrs Jackson said, at least she would have been able to hold her husband in her arms for the last time. Her husband, Dave Jackson, 39, died at the Port of Spain General Hospital, one week after he was admitted suffering from leptospirosis — an infectious disease caused mainly by rats. It was also suspected that he died from dengue. The Jacksons live at Savannah Road, Diego Martin.

A 62-year-old man who was a patient in Ward 43 of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, committed suicide by jumping from the ward on the fourth floor around 3.15 am yesterday.

Reports revealed that Joseph Jones was ailing from hypertension and asthma. He had been complaining of depression. It is alleged that Jones climbed over a ledge and told nurses and other patients that he was going to jump. Nurses and other patients begged Jones to desist from doing so, but he jumped to his death. His body was removed to the mortuary and officers of the Belmont Police Station went to the scene. Relatives of the dead man were contacted and an autopsy will be carried out today.

THE POLITICAL party prospects of former Government Minister Hugh Francis took a serious setback on Monday night when he was defeated as chairman of the Diego Martin West constituency.

Francis, who has indicated that he intends to run for the chairmanship of the PNM, was beaten two to one by Leo Matthews. Francis had been chairman of the Diego Martin West constituency since 1999. By virtue of that position, he has also been a member of the party’s General Council and Central Executive. Party sources said yesterday that if he couldn’t get elected as chairman of a constituency, it is highly improbable that he stands any chance of being selected as party chairman. Francis and Prime Minister Patrick Manning both served in the Eric Williams and George Chambers Cabinets, but they have not enjoyed a close political relationship. Sources also stated that Francis and current MP, Dr Keith Rowley, have also not been seeing eye to eye. In fact, it is understood that Francis, who runs a private consultancy, has complained to the constituency that the Planning Minister has been “uncooperative.”

Sources said the party convention at which all offices would come up for election, which was scheduled for October 25 and 26, would most likely be postponed to November. There was virtually a complete changing of the guard at the constituency executive level. Others who were elected on Monday night were Nelson Simette (vice-chairman); Cornelius Lewis (secretary); Mona Persad (assistant secretary); Sigler Jack, (PRO); Julius Samuel (elections officer); Susan Thomas (education officer) and Lionel Jiroux (field officer). Rita Mitchell and Henry Burton were returned as welfare officer and treasurer respectively. The constituency would be holding its conference on Sunday at 2.30 pm. MP for the area, Planning Minister Dr Keith Rowley, and Senator Christine Kangaloo are carded to speak at the event. All constituencies are currently holding their AGMs in preparation for the convention.

Tobago’s beautiful, natural assets will be featured today on a popular television show in Canada. This became possible with the filming in the island last week of the opening instalment of a ten-week series Reality TV-type show titled Occupation Double (Double Occupation) which will be aired on channel TV A in Montreal, reaching over three million viewers.

The weekly show is being produced by Productions J, one of the biggest French production companies in Quebec, in tandem with Pram Productions. The concept behind Occupation Double deals with the question of “for love and money” with the storyline revolving around a couple. Some 3,000 persons in Quebec responded to the invitation to audition for the show and by a process of elimination, this was narrowed down to 100 and then finally to ten men and six women. It was from this final group that 27-year-old Isabelle Rochon and Samuel Labrie, 25, the “couple” starring in the first instalment of Occupation Double were selected. But how did Tobago get in the picture? They were looking for “the most romantic places” available, according to Gaston Dugas, researcher for the show. “So, to find those places, I contacted Ann Brobyn, representative of the Caribbean Tourism Association (CTO) in Toronto.

The other thing was, we didn’t want to go to the usual tourist destinations that people from Quebec are used to going,” Dugas explained during a press interview at Stonehaven Villa, Black Rock, Tobago, Friday night. Brobyn, in turn, contacted the various NTOs (National Tourism Organisations) in the Caribbean and subsequently Dugas would exchange correspondence with Carla Foderingham, manager (Film and Entertainment Unit) at TIDCO (Tourism and Industrial Development Company Ltd). “So when we saw that on the Net, we said ‘that looks exactly like what we need, what we were searching for,’” Dugas said of Tobago. “And for Quebecers, Tobago is something really exotic because we all heard the names Trinidad and Tobago, but ask people there where it is, and nobody knows!” he revealed.

It was against this background that Tobago was selected as the location for filming of the first instalment of the Canadian TV show. “It’s exotic, people don’t really know about it, but it can wake up their curiosity and that’s when we decided to co-operate and do something together to promote the tourism here (in Tobago),” he told journalists. Dugas said there was a “big promotion machine” around the show, explaining that the TV A network owns some of the largest French publications in North America, including several magazines and a newspaper. In addition, he said a large radio network is associated with Productions J and Double Occupation. Dugas also disclosed that two journalists, one representing a newspaper and the other a magazine, accompanied the entourage which included two film crews.

This means, he said, that Tobago would be in the spotlight in Canada from Thursday to Saturday via TV, magazine and newspaper. “So, it’s a big promotion thing and I think it’s useful for everyone. It was a chance for us to discover that here and to present an image really exotic to our viewers and for the people here (in Tobago). It’s really interesting for the tourism industry because I am sure people are going to ask for information about this place,” said Dugas. Foderingham explained that TIDCO, in collaboration with the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), was able to “outbid” other destinations in the Caribbean. “The CTO contacted all the NTOs in the Caribbean asking for their support and Trinidad and Tobago saw it as a direct fit,” she said. “We sell Tobago as really ideal for honeymoons and weddings and all those special intimacies and special ways of meeting each other and awakening, doing your vows over so we thought it was a perfect opportunity to bring Tobago online, and we jumped on board!” The Canadian oufit arrived in Tobago last Thursday and left on Saturday. 

THE North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) is seeking $320 million from the Health Ministry’s budgetary allocation to run its operations for 2003-2004.

Last year, the NWRHA sought to get approximately $300 million but did not get this full sum. Chairman of the NWRHA, Dr Patrick Watson, yesterday said about 85 percent of the money received will be spent on recurrent expenditure — salaries and general maintenance. He said the increase this year is the result of salary increases and outstanding increments owed to workers. Watson said the NWRHA can justify everything it is seeking funding for and expressed confidence that assistance will be provided by the Ministry for any “extras.” Questioned about the $5 million from the Hospital Maintenance Fund which Health Minister Colm Imbert said will be used to refurbish the Maternity Department of the PoSGH, Watson said he was not sure if the money was NWRHA controlled funds or money “existing before the RHA came into being.” He said the NWRHA has a general maintenance fund.

Trinidad and Tobago may well get a monorail or similar light rail mass transit system, according to the results of a feasibility study being conducted by a team of transport experts from India.

Minister of Works and Transport, Franklyn Khan, held talks Tuesday at his Richmond Street office with Indian High Commissioner, Virendra Gupta, and a two-member team led by AK Sharma of the State-run Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (Rites).  At a media conference before the talks, Khan said the experts were visiting Trinidad as a follow-up to the visit in February of India’s Minister of Foreign Affairs who had first suggested cooperation in this field. The technical team will spend 10 days in Trinidad  to research the viability of light rail system, by observing traffic conditions, collecting data, and meeting ministerial technical staff.

They will make a small presentation of findings to Khan by October 1, which will be followed by a concept paper in one month’s time. If agreed upon this could form the basis for the later launch of a formal full-scale feasibility study. Gupta said the Government of India attached much importance to this project which he described as a new phase in the long history of technical and economic cooperation between the two countries’ governments. Saying he was glad the experts were here to study Trinidad’s transport situation, Gupta noted that India had previously facilitated training for many Trinidadians especially in agriculture and information technology.

Keisan Gittens, the 11-year-old Fatima College student who survived a car crash in which his mother Sandra Sankar was killed instantly last Friday, was  told the news of her death on Tuesday.

His uncle Harold Sankar told Newsday that his nephew cried for hours after being told the sad news, and up until yesterday he was warded at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. He underwent emergency surgery on his legs on Monday. Special arranagements will be made today to have Keisan attend the funeral of his mother, which will take place at 3 pm at the Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church. Sankar was killed instantly on Friday last, when the station wagon she was driving ran off the roadway and collided with a light pole along the Uriah Butler Highway in the vicinity of Ackbar Trace, Charlieville. Keisan, who was trapped in the car suffered broken legs and was rescued by fire officers while his father Keith Gittens suffered internal bleeding.

Harold told Newsday that he visited the scene of the accident and feels that his sister would have been alive today if special barriers had been placed in the area where the accident occurred. He is calling on any member of the public who witnessed the incident to contact the Chaguanas Police, or the Sankar family at 643-5689. The man said that his sister, who worked at the Chaguanas branch of TSTT, was due to be promoted and moved to Port-of-Spain. He said his sister was an excellent mother and a highly skilled person who was deeply involved in charity work for the Catholic church. He claimed that she will be sadly missed.