STAR WITNESS in the murder trial of Glenroy London, Byron Vespry, admitted yesterday that he lied to police when he stated he was unaware of a plan by his fellow gang members to kill murder victim Clifford Mark.

Vespry admitted also to the jury that not only did he know of the plan to kill Mark if he (Mark) did not hand over cocaine to them, but he (Vespry) agreed with the course of action. Last Thursday, Vespry testified that he was among the gang of four who beat and strangled Mark in Cedros over two years ago, but turned  prosecution witness after accepting an offer of immunity by police. Vespry fingered London, 43, a labourer of Point Ligoure, as the main participant of the gang who beat and strangled Mark in a juniper patch. London is currently on trial in the First Criminal Court of the San Fernando Assizes before Justice Melville Baird and a 12-member jury.

During a lengthy cross-examination by London’s defence attorney Ian Stuart Brook yesterday, the star witness said when police picked him up as a suspect in the murder he did not feel frightened or scared, and could not remember when he  was offered immunity. In referring to the six statements Vesprey gave to the police, Brook referred to one given on December 1, 2000, when the witness stated : “I never went to kill anyone. I just thought they’d take the cocaine”. Brook asked the witness: “You expected they would kill Clifford if cocaine was not handed over”? Vespry replied: “Yes”. “So that was not true based on what you told the jury”? Brook asked. “Yes”, Vespry replied. Brook questioned: “So you told police a lie on December 1, 2000”? Vespry answered: “Yes sir”.

Vespry also revealed that a man named Raymond was the one who suggested taking the cocaine from Mark, and that he was among the gang who met at the Cedros Fishing Complex two days before Mark died. Brook also accused the witness of trying to protect Raymond, who was his friend for five years when he testified that Raymond was not present when the gang went “to do the mission”. Brook asked: “Are you telling the jury that he just disappeared after suggesting the work”? Vespry replied: “Yes sir”. The case continues today.

A SAN FERNANDO High Court judge yesterday criticised defence attorneys for their unreadiness to proceed with cases, resulting in the judicial system being blamed for the slow administration of justice.

Madame Justice Alice Yorke Soo Hon’s remark came after a jury panel was chosen to begin the trial of Bevan Neptune and Cleophus Nicholson, but their attorney Ian Gray sought an adjournment. “When there are hundreds of people waiting on matters to be heard in the court, the blame doesn’t fall on attorneys, it is always on the court,” Justice Soo Hon scolded. Gray explained that he wrote a letter to the Director of Public Prosecution’s office for disclosure of documents pertaining to his clients’ case since January 22 and followed-up his request with a telephone call to the DPP’s office.

State attorney Althea Alexis said she was unaware of the request, but handed over documents to the attorney yesterday morning. The judge questioned the frequency of the attorney’s follow-up action in requesting the documents while knowing the trial date had been set. “I feel aggrieved when I have come from so far in the rain to work and even moreso for the jurors who may have come from even further, having put aside their personal matters and work to come here and deal with this. But the blame falls on this (judicial) side. Hardly anyone blames attorneys for not doing their work. The blame always falls on the court’s shoulders,” Justice Soo Hon said. Justice Yorke Soo Hon gave the attorney until today to put his house in order and apologised to the jurors for the delay in commencing the trial.

SENIOR officers of the Organised Crime and Narcotic Unit (OCNU) said that the investigations into the discovery of 60 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Piarco International Airport is going to be a very technical one and may eventually lead local officers to Canada.

OCNU sources said the 60 kilogrammes of cocaine, which police sources said has an estimated street value of $27 million was seized in a container packed with fish last Thursday. One kilogramme of cocaine has an estimated street value of $400,000, senior OCNU officials said. Police said the million dollar cocaine seizure was found in cargo to be transported on an Air Transat flight bound for Canada. OCNU sources also said the investigation is no “cut and dry” probe and could take at least six months. Senior officers said the probe will be similar to a Fraud Squad investigation where several statements will be taken. “It can be very tedious,” one senior officer said.

Clarence Holmer, General Manager of the General Aviation Services (GAS), ground handlers for Air Transat could not be reached for comment yesterday. A woman who answered his direct line insisted he was tied up with meetings and could not leave to answer any telephone calls. OCNU’s line officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul said that the 60-kilogramme cocaine haul that came into the country does not mean that the police are not doing anything to prevent drug interdiction. Paul said the interest of the police is to eradicate drugs and that they will do their utmost to reduce the import and export of drugs to and from the country.

Thursday’s large cocaine haul at the Piarco International Airport is one of two now engaging the attention of OCNU officers, police said. On Friday, OCNU sources said, another 1.02 kilogrammes of cocaine was found in a statue of the late calypsonian, the Lord Kitchener, at the Tunapuna arm of the Fedex Express, commonly called Fed Ex. Police sources said that cocaine, too, was bound for an international country, but declined to say which one. Fed Ex officials confirmed the seizure but also refused to comment further, saying they first needed to get in touch with their head office in Miami.  No arrests have been made in either of the cocaine seizures.

POLICE have found a bottle with yellowish liquid outside the University of the West Indies (UWI) at the Mount Hope Medical Sciences Complex, sources said yesterday.

A fire was said to have been maliciously set Sunday morning to offices at Building 39, which houses the Administrative Offices of the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA). The building also houses the UWI offices, including the office of the Dean of the UWI Medical Faculty. Police said the bottle was checked for fingerprints, but that they (fingerprints) were not workable.  As a consequence, the bottle was sent to the Forensic Sciences Centre for analysis. Police also said that they are unable to give an exact cause for the fire, but authorities have speculated the fire was caused by the serving of notices to certain people. Yesterday, NWRHA’s chief of security, Kenneth Doldron, said he could not comment on the matter. As the probe continued, police said forensic examiners were due to visit the scene yesterday. No arrests had been made up to late evening and acting Cpl Bernard of the St Joseph Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is continuing investigations into the alleged arson.

SOMETHING MUST be done immediately to deal with the financial burden being experienced by doctors and to avoid a medical crisis from occurring in Trinidad and Tobago, stated Urological Surgeon Dr Phillip Ayoung-Chee.

Dr. Ayoung-Chee told Newsday yesterday that he feared the country would experience a medical crisis by the middle of August, since many interns and junior doctors were receiving offers from other Caribbean and International Health Institutions with attractive compensation packages for their services. Ayoung-Chee noted that the chances of the offers being turned down are slim, since most interns and junior doctors were financially frustrated, trying to cope with their monthly loan payments and living expenses from a small salary. He explained that student loans, which often represented almost half of the $410,000 needed to complete medical school, are acquired in order to pay the tuition fees, while the student has to come up with the balance of the figure for boarding and other expenses. He further explained that during the school vacation, medical students are placed in hospitals to work as part of their training. However, they do not receive a stipend or salary, which leaves them with a large loan to repay after completing medical school.

Ayoung-Chee noted that after five years of medical school, an intern receives a salary of $4,930. However they have a monthly loan payment of $5,000. He explained that an intern has to work for an average of 18 months before qualifying for the position of House Officer, which increases their salary to $6,695. “But even then with a monthly loan payment of $5,000, you are forced to survive on a $1,695 per month.” To move on to the position of Registrar, which carries a salary of $7,749, a further five years of study at an international university and $410,000 are quired. To become a specialist, which is the highest paying position at $8,320, a position first has to become vacant explained Ayoung-Chee. Asked if he thought the salary issue would be addressed, he said, “Let me put it this way, the arrears from 2001 and 2002 have not been paid although final approval was given in April 2003 and a promise was made that the arrears would be paid in April 2002.” However, he believes that if the situation is not dealt with soon, the country’s health sector will be in a crisis.

JUST one week after a major fire halted operations at the SM Jaleel Plant in Otaheite, South Oropouche, leaving in its wake more than $12M in damage, work resumed yesterday at full pace.

When Newsday visited the compound, all employees were busy at work, trying to make up for lost time and labour. Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Human Resources vice-president Farzan Ali said, “SM Jaleel is a very resilient company, we have a lot of faith.” This he said has helped them overcome the obstacles caused by the fire. About 300  workers in the PET and Production  Department would have been affected  by last week’s multi-million dollar blaze. He also complemented the maintenance and sanitizing department that worked round the clock, after the fire, to ensure the plant’s readiness for restart of operations yesterday.   

 Vice President of Marketing, Anna Mohammed, was happy to point out that the company had obtained an adjacent building once used by Carib Brewery. It was provided to them by Norman Sabga of the ANSA MC Al Group of Companies. This building will soon be used for storage purposes. Meanwhile, since the company is still cramped  for space, large portable containers are being used to store raw materials like plastics, plastic resin, plastic pre-forms, bottle caps and  sugar. When asked what would be  done to compensate for lost production she answered, “The most we can do is work the two public holidays.” The company normally operates all through the day and night. Damage, Mohammed said, exceeded twelve million dollars.

Mohammed and Ali praised the efforts of staff for their “dedication and commitment” in the face of the mishap. The two were also high in praise for T&TEC workers who carried out the re-wiring job to restore an electrical supply to the company. Yesterday, it was discovered that the conveyor machine which transports empty bottles, was  malfunctioning as a result of the fire and, some work had to be done manually. This and other minor problems were to be rectified by a visiting technician. As to the cause of the fire, both Mohammed and Ali agreed that it may have been the result of an electrical fault.

THE TRINIDAD and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) yesterday expressed concerns over the Education Ministry’s demeanor, in relation to a violent attack on a schoolteacher by a parent at the National Stadium on May 28.

In a letter to Education Minister Hazel Manning yesterday, TTUTA’s President Trevor Oliver, stated that the heinous attack on schoolteacher Michelle Mylan, by a parent – the wife of an Indian  diplomat –  undermines the attempts to have the School Intervention Strategies Programme effectively implemented, since it sends a dangerous signal to the many students who witnessed the cruel attack. “Our children must not have the perception that violence is a way of settling grievances, and that status in society exempts one from being answerable for unlawful actions,” said Oliver.

In the letter yesterday Oliver explained that Mylan is still experiencing severe physical and psychological pain and has not received any assistance from the ministry with respect to counseling or consolation. A statement issued by Second Secretary R.S. Rawat of the Indian High Commission, claims that the mother to defend herself. Rawat stated that the mother had been taken to the POSGH for treatment, and that the High Commission had been exercising restraint with respect to its statements.