TWO Morvant brothers appeared before Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls charged jointly for the murder of 22-year-old Andre Linsay. Akido Mayers, 23, URP labourer, of Pelican Road Extension, Morvant, appeared in court on Monday to have the charge read to him. His brother Nigel “Duffo” Mayers, 30, of the same address, appeared before Magis-trate Ejenny Espinet yesterday charged along with Miguel Roberts for the April 21 attempted murder of Eric Sampson at Matapal Street, Mor-vant. While in court, Sgt Dave Hilaire, of the Morvant CID, executed a warrant arresting Nigel Mayers for the murder. After Mc Nicolls read the charge, Nigel Mayers said, “Them police, they trying to jeopardise my freedom right now. That freedom is rightfully mine.” The man told Mc Nicolls that “Beckles” was his attorney but he was not in court at the moment. “The police hold me and I have no knowledge of that incident,” continued Mayers. With numerous gesticulations he added, “I not making no statement to the police, I making my statement to you now.” Mc Nicolls adjourned the matter to July 23 and asked the officers to take the brothers to a Justice of the Peace to record their statements. The attempted murder matter involving Mayers and Roberts was adjourned to today.

CRIMINALS have more access to technology than the police, retiring Commissioner of Police Hilton Guy said yesterday during a send-off for him organised by the Police Training College (PTC). However, Guy, 59, was quick to tell the media that the statement was not designed to attack the Government of the day.  In comparing the technology in the police service Guy said, when the police have to get information from the Forensic Science Centre, they have to “wait, wait, wait and wait.”
Guy pointed out that several people including the media were critical of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service regarding the crime solving rate.  But the outgoing Commissioner of Police stated that if the critics were only aware what the police had to go through to solve crime in the country, “we would be viewed as miracle men in the service.” Guy also called for a “vigorous transformation” of the Police Training College, saying that it is time for classrooms there to be custom built and that learning must be facilitated by proper technology.

The “send-off” was held at the PTC, St James Barracks, and included a number of officers including acting Commissioner of Police Everald Snaggs, who took over the position Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Administration) Trevor Paul, acting DCP (Operations) Glen Roach, ACPs Winston Cooper and Frank Diaz, acting ACP Curtis Lloyd, Sr supts Gilbert Reyes and Desmond Lambert and others, including the trainees. Guy also called for an onslaught on training, and stated that community policing was designed to change the culture of the organisation. He continued that the service was at times under public criticism, making particular reference to the Ramdhanie (Deochan) inquiry. “But let me warn you that to who much is given, much is required and that is authority and accountability.   I stood and defended officers, but some of the complaints were not capable of defending,” Guy said.

He also spoke directly to the trainees, telling them that they need to be properly guided and instructed to have the right set of values to promote the right integrity. “Your character should be provided on integrity,” Guy said, apologising to the trainees for not speaking to them until yesterday. Guy, Tobagonian by birth, also told the gathering that during his 40 years in the service, “I came, did not conquer, but served and served well.” During his turn, Snaggs said he and Guy joined the service one month apart and that the most memorable working relationship between them was when they were both selected to head the organisation in the United Kingdom in 1962. Snaggs said that he and Guy have been working in the executive since 1992.  He also told the trainees that they have very important work to do in the country to provide and promote security.  Snaggs, who celebrated his 59th birthday Tuesday, subsequently appealed to them to keep focused.

A PATIENT being conveyed to the San Fernando General Hospital in an ambulance suffered minor injuries yesterday following a five-vehicle smash-up at the traffic lights near the Rushworth Street, San Fernando intersection. Up to late yesterday, the patient, who suffered head and face injuries, had not been identified. Sources disclosed that around 1.15 pm, a South West Regional Health Authority ambulance transporting a male patient to the San Fernando hospital was travelling along the San Fernando bypass, nearing the traffic lights at Rushworth Street, a Bedford truck travelling in the opposite direction crashed into the ambulance, causing the ambulance to overturn and land on top of another car. Two other cars were also involved in the crash. The patient was removed from the ambulance, placed in a Fire Service ambulance and rushed to the hospital. Mon Repos Police and Mon Repos fire officials responded to the report and are continuing investigations.

THE DISABLED in Trinidad and Tobago have found a champion in President George Maxwell Richards. He wants the government to pass relevant legislation to assist them. This special legislation, he added, could be along the lines of the United Kingdom Disabled persons Act “suitably adapted to improve the context in which these too often forgotten citizens live and work.” President Richards said on Saturday night that for the short time he has been in office, he has had the opportunity to meet some  disabled persons and some of their representative organisations. “They have spoken with dignity, but in complaint.  They share a feeling of  being on the margins of society by virtue of their disabilities, but even more so, by the relative indifference they sense from the rest of the society,” he observed. With all this in mind, President Richards said: “We must raise our voices in reinforcement of their complaint that the disabled are too often the forgotten and, the neglected as well.” The President spoke at the Rotary Club of Maraval’s tenth anniversary function held on Saturday night. He agreed that it does take resources to provide services. “But it takes only awareness and compassion, and a proper sense of obligation for us to reach out to the disabled in many of the ways they regard as important,” he stressed.

The WASA Board is “assessing” whether CEO Errol Grimes and other WASA managers received a “reasonable remun-eration” when they were  “overpaid” bet-ween March 2002 and January 2003 and is expected to make a decision on this matter soon. During this time the WASA managers were given salary increases which were not approved by the Minister. In response to a question filed by Opposition Senator Wade Mark, Public Utilities Minister Rennie Dumas said that the Attorney General had advised the Cabinet that the CEO and other Managers of WASA were entitled to be paid reasonable rem-uneration on a quantum merit basis for services rendered to the Authority during March 2002 and January 2003. On the other hand, the Authority had the right to recover any sums paid in excess of a quantum merit remuneration, if this was found to be applicable. “Accordingly the value of the services rendered is being assessed by the WASA board and a decision is expected on this matter shortly,” he said.

Following the heavy floods in central and south districts during the first two weeks in July, vendors were forced to raise the price of their market produce. Vegetables such as bodi, tomatoes, saime, cabbage, pumpkin, melongene, ochroes, lettuce and carialle went up 40 percent during the past two weeks. Vendors in Princes Town market claim that the wholesale prices went up because of the loss suffered by farmers during the month of June. Farmers from the deep southern districts of Siparia, Point Fortin, Penal, Santa Flora were hit by the flash flooding that took place in these areas. Penal farmer Harris Raghu told Newsday that main crops of pumpkin was badly affected.

“I used the lagoon land to plant my products and when the floods came hundreds of young pumpkin went with it,” he said. He continued to say that the pumpkin plantation provides a good income for him and he has now applied to Government for assistance following the loss of his produce. He noted also that during the past years the floods did not affect him as badly as it did this year and he will be changing his line of produce in upcoming months. Apart from the pumpkin plantation, farmers complained that the production of lettuce and cabbage take a lot of effort and when the floods came the crops went with it. Even the crops that remained sturdy, were affected by the dirty water. These crops must be sprayed and left for three weeks before it could be consumed.Vendors say that they expect the prices to stay high for the upcoming months.