A ransom of “$2 million or death” is  being demanded by kidnappers of Syam Ramkissoon.

The demand was made around 11 am Sunday and Ramkissoon’s father, poultry magnate Jai Ramkissoon, is appealing for help from members of the public to help him raise the money saying he has no money and is in debt. The elder Ramkissoon is also appealing to government to provide better equipment to the police service to enable them to do their jobs properly. Syam was kidnapped on Friday at Manuel Congo Road, San Rafael as he was on his way to Sasa Farms. Three men in a white car blocked his car and in trying to escape, Ramkissoon reversed into a river from where the men pulled him out of the vehicle. Syam was shoved into another vehicle which drove away. At the time, he was with his mother Sumintra, 63.

Jai Ramkissoon called Newsday’s newsroom just before 8 am yesterday to make his appeal. When Newsday visited him at his sprawling Mausica Road, Arima home, Ramkissoon, dressed in a dark suit, was sitting at a table in his garage with two cousins chatting. There were two other tables with several chairs around them. He said relatives and friends were constantly visiting him. As usual, the gate to the house was open allowing anyone to simply drive through. Ramkissoon said he was awaiting the next call from his son’s kidnappers. He said since Syam was kidnapped on Friday evening, he received several calls “from different bandits.” He said he told each caller to prove their authenticity that they were the real kidnappers by allowing his son to speak to him.

Ramkissoon said on Sunday around 11 am, one “bandit” called demanding a ransom of “$2 million or death.” He said all the bandits sounded “rough.” Ramkissoon said later at 9.30 pm, Syam called him on his cell phone. “I spoke to him for about half a second. He sounded depressed saying ‘Daddy they want to kill me’.” He said Syam sounded as though he was in a moving vehicle. Ramkissoon said he didn’t believe that Syam would be released if no money was paid. Ramkissoon said like most of the other recent kidnappings, he believed Syam was kidnapped “not for joke but of course for extortion money”. Sounding distressed, he lamented he had no money to pay the kidnappers. “There is no way I can raise that kind of money! My house is mortgaged, I am owing for everything I have. My personal account is in the red and I can’t even get credit from the hardware,” stressed Ramkissoon. He said Syam’s wife, Valia, was too distraught to speak to the media, as was his mother Sumintra and sister Sharon. He said they were all inside the house and at one time a priest came to speak to them. Sumintra, who was with Syam when he was kidnapped and who was slightly injured, was said to be resting comfortably.

Ramkissoon said the whole family was going through a stressful time. Asked how he was coping, Ramkissoon said, “Sometimes I laugh, cry or talk, we can’t function and Sharon is unable to work.” Sharon, an attorney, was also kidnapped 17 years ago and released safely without any ransom being paid. Because of his claim of  poor financial state, Ramkissoon appealed to the public to help him raise the money saying he had no idea how to approach the situation. He also appealed to the government, and especially Prime Minister Patrick Manning, to do something about the spiralling rate of kidnappings. He pleaded for the police to be given “better surveillance and intelligence gathering equipment, or else the bandits would continue to get away.” “It is not one person in this, but a ring of people who are doing things and getting away with it. They are having a field day,” said Ramkissoon angrily as he speculated that maybe his son was being kept in bushes and being bitten by mosquitoes. Asked if he contemplated migrating when the ordeal is over, Ramkissoon firmly said he had no such intention, “It’s not an option for me.” Officers of the Anti-Kidnapping squad are investigating.

THE murder of 23-year-old Rebecca Ramkissoon remains unsolved as the man accused of shooting her — her husband — was freed yesterday in the San Fernando High Court. Trial judge Justice Malcolm Holdip upheld a no-case submission by the defence and instructed the jury to return a not guilty verdict to murder accused Suresh Singh.

The decision to free Singh, who is also known as “Rudy,” was taken on the fourth day of trial of which one and a half days were spent with legal issues being argued by his defence attorney Sophia Chote and State prosecutor Dinanath Ramkissoon in the absence of the 12-member jury. Some nine witnesses had already given testimony for the prosecution, including the adopted mother and father of the deceased. There were no eyewitnesses when Rebecca was hit by a single bullet to the head on Old Year’s night 2000. She was standing in the gallery of her home at Mafeking Village, Mayaro, when an explosion was heard and she slumped to the ground. Her adopted father, David Samuel, testified that he rushed to her side and found her lying a pool of  blood. Neighbours assisted in rushing the bleeding woman to the nearby Mayaro District Hospital, but Rebecca was pronounced dead on arrival.  

After two days of investigations by Mayaro police, Rebecca’s husband of three years was arrested at his home in Bristol Village. The trial revealed that Singh told detectives upon arrest that he had been staying by his friend, Roshan Ramlogan, at San Juan and had only just returned. Ramlogan testified that he took the accused to stay with him on New Year’s morning when Singh told him his “name calling in an incident.” Police corporal Godfrey Bebe testified that he obtained the clothing which the accused said he wore on the night of Rebecca’s murder, and swabs of the accused’s hands, which were taken to the Forensics Sciences Centre for testing for nitrates and lead residues or gun powder residue. The certificate of analysis read to the court stated that no gun powder residue was traced on the items. On being freed of the charge, Singh hurriedly ran out of the San Fernando High Court building before reporters could speak to him.

The eagerly-awaited Bob Lindquist report on WASA is complete and finally in the hands of Attorney General, Glenda Morean.

Morean said yesterday that she re-ceived the 25-page report on Friday. She said Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, who has been out of the country, is expected to be given a copy of the report by today. (Manning who was in Jamaica last week, went to Barbados yesterday). Morean said “naturally” she read the Report but she didn’t want to say anything until the Prime Minister has had the opportunity to go through it. “I have given certain undertakings and I have to follow things through,” she said.

Asked whether she had decided whether the report should go to the Director of Public Prosecutions for further action, Morean again declined to comment, saying that she had to follow a certain procotol (before answering such a question). Questioned whether she was finished with Linquist on this matter, she said: “Yes, unless some clarification is needed or any further thing.” The report is the result of the first investigation by the PNM Government into allegations of corruption within in its own ranks. Public Utilities Minister Rennie Dumas, who has responsibility for WASA, said yesterday that he was “curious, but not overly concerned. I am just as interested as somebody else,” he said. He added that to the extent that allegations are made about something which comes directly under his charge, he is interested because he would want to ensure that there is clean government.

Dumas said the normal practice is that the report goes to the Prime Minister who then places it on the Cabinet table. Asked whether he thought he deserved to get a copy of the Report before the rest of the Cabinet, Dumas said no, “except the Prime Minister believes that there is information that I (Dumas)  should know about before the rest of my colleagues or that he (the Prime Minister) feels that there was something that requires action on my part.” Stating that the Prime Minister receives every note to Cabinet before it is distributed to other members of the Cabinet, Dumas said there was “no lag” in him not receiving this report. The allegations which led to the investigations were first made by UNC MP Ganga Singh. Yesterday Wade Mark stated that he was happy to hear that the Report was finally complete. But he added: “The question is when would it be tabled (in Parliament)?” Mark had previously stated that the Government would not make the report public until after the July 14 local government election.

The body of a 33-year-old Freeport businessman who went missing on Sunday night was discovered at the side of the roadway at Perseverance Road, Maraval, yesterday. The dead businessman was identified as Pradeep Seecharan

Reports revealed that Seecharan left his home in a van and when he failed to return home a report was made to the Freeport police. Yesterday, his van was discovered in San Fernando. Around 6 am yesterday, a man telephoned the Maraval Police Station and reported that a body was lying at the side of the roadway. When police officers went to the scene, they saw the body of an East Indian man in his late 20s, clad in a jersey and blue jeans. A check by a district medical officer revealed that Seecharan had injuries to the back of the head as well as a broken leg. Police officers also discovered broken glass from a car next to the body.

Seecharan had about $200 in his pants pocket and was wearing socks, but no shoes. Senior officers said yesterday that Seecharan was hijacked, robbed and then appeared to have been beaten to death. An autopsy will be carried out today to determine the cause of death. When Newsday visited the area where the body was found, residents of the area claimed that they did not hear any thing to suggest that the man was struck by a vehicle. They believe that he was killed and his body dumped at Perseverance Road. Residents said that the man is not from the area. Officers of the Maraval Police Station are investigating.

An autopsy carried out yesterday on the body of 23-year-old Diego Martin woman Pamela Harding, revealed yesterday that death was due to a heart attack.

Despite the autopsy report, relatives re-mained in shock that a woman so full of life could die suddently. Police officers in-vestigating her death have since ruled out foul play and are treating the death as “sudden death.” At the Forensic Science Centre yesterday, David Harding, the brother of the dead woman claimed that the last time he saw his sister alive was around 9.30 am on Saturday. He said that he called out to his sister who answered him. When he returned around 10.30 am, he discovered the lifeless body. The autopsy carried out yesterday revealed that death was due to a heart attack.

MERE hours after cremating her father, Chaina Ramsackal had to deal with another tragedy as her home and business place were partially destroyed by fire believed to be caused by an electrical fault on Sunday night.

Nearly half-a-million dollars worth of goods, furniture and appliances were lost in the blaze at Ramsackal’s Shopping Centre in Cunupia.  Ramsackal, 46, reportedly fainted when she and her husband Chandraboodoo, 48, arrived at the scene after hastily leaving the house of mourning following the funeral for Ramsackal’s father. Reports indicate that an anonymous telephone caller informed Cunupia police of the fire around 10.30 pm. The couple were with relatives at the home of Chaina’s deceased 79-year-old father Bhogwan Doon, at Pierre Road, Felicity. Less than four hours later, the couple returned home following Doon’s cremation to switch on the lights and ensure that the property was secured. They then went back to the house of mourning to be with other relatives. Doon died last Friday.

The couple’s two children, Shalini, 19, and Varoon, 14, are on vacation with their sister Nalini, who resides in Canada.  Firemen from the Chaguanas fire department responded quickly and managed to douse the fast-spreading flames before the entire building became engulfed. Damage to the two-storey concrete structure was estimated at $50,000, with losses of up to $450,000, after the blaze destroyed the couple’s personal items as well as products, that were offered for sale, in the various stalls of the shopping centre located on the ground floor. The Ramsackals said their top floor residence was partially saved from the blaze. The worst-hit area was a furniture store, which was almost gutted. A variety store next to the furniture store was mainly water damaged.

Chaina was despondent as she looked at the charred ruins on the ground floor. Destroyed in the blaze were furniture, bicycles, clothing and other items which were offered for sale. “You work so hard for what you have and it is real painful to see it all gone,” Ramsackal told Newsday. Officers from the Fire Prevention department visited the scene yesterday as investigations into the cause of the blaze continued. Police sources said their preliminary investigations pointed to faults in the electrical system and it is believed the fire started on the top floor of the building. Cunupia police are continuing investigations.

Officials of both the Ministry of Education and the Association of Denominational Boards of Education have all agreed that every child should receive quality education. Following a meeting last Thursday, there were assurances from both sides on the roles and responsibilities of the State and the Church in the provision of quality education to the citizens of the nation.

The meeting, held at St Mary’s College, Frederick Street, was attended by 22 members of the Association of Denominational School Boards and was led by Clive Borely. The Education Ministry was represented by Permanent Secretaries Thecla Reyes and Angella Jack; Deputy PS Dr Janet Stanley-Marcano; Chief Education Officer Paula Daniel and Director of Schools Supervision Roland Rajkumar-Maharaj. Labelling the Association of Denominational School Boards as a “key stakeholder” in the Ministry’s effort to reform and modernise primary and secondary education, Reyes assured persons that Government wanted to strengthen the partnership between the State and Church. Association representatives seized the opportunity to voice concerns over the consultation process being employed with respect to the restructuring and decentralisation of the Ministry. Discussions also took place on issues impacting on the day-to-day operations of schools, especially financing and staffing at denominational schools.

In view of recent statements in the media surrounding the Association’s objections to aspects of the Romain Report on the Restructuring and Decentralisation of the Education Ministry, the Association Chairman Clive Borely emphasised that there was “certainly no war between the Churches and the State or the Ministry and the Denominational School Boards over educational turf.”