Dennis Davidson, fraud accused deportee, had his passport returned to him yesterday after two years.

Davidson, former insurance executive,  was charged in 1998 with attempting to defraud Scotia Bank of more than (US)$350,000, attempting to evade customs import duties and falsifying customs notices. According to the police, Davidson fled to the US but was deported in June 2001. After being arrested by officers of the Port of Spain CID, Magistrate Halcyon Yorke-Young ordered him to surrender his travel documents and report to the St Joseph Police Station twice a week. Defence attorney Osbourne Charles SC assured Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls that Davidson would not attempt to leave the country unlawfully. Following objections by prosecutor Jaichram Bhola, Mc Nicolls said, “He is on bail, a passport is nothing at the end of the day if he really wants to leave. He can leave by boat tonight.” The Magistrate then approved the return of the passport.

THE STATE’S star witness in the trial of Glenroy London, who is charged with murdering Clifford Mark, testified yesterday that the victim was beaten mercilessly, urinated on, stripped naked and thrown onto a ‘picker’ tree.

Moments before star witness Bryon Vespry gave his testimony, relatives of the murdered man broke down in tears as they sat in the public gallery of the First Criminal Court and hurriedly left the courtroom. London, 43, a labourer of Point Ligoure, is before a 12-member jury charged with murdering Mark on November 12, 2000. State prosecutor Joan Honore-Paul is being assisted by Mauriceia Joseph, while attorney Ian Stuart Brooks is defending London. In his testimony yesterday, Vespry recalled Monday November 13, 2000, when his friend Raymond called out to him. The two went to a white B14 Sentra. Raymond sat in the front passenger seat, while Vespry sat in the back seat. The car was driven by a short man of African descent. Later that day, Vespry said, he met London who told him: “If Clifford Mark can’t give us cocaine we would have to kill him.”

Vespry said on the night of November 12, he, the accused and three other men went to Mark’s house at Bamboo Village, Cedros. He said the others got out of the car and went into Mark’s house. At the time the accused had what appeared to be a gun, while the other two men had cutlasses. He said they came out of the house two minutes later “toting” Mark, whose hands were tied behind his back with rope and his mouth gagged. Mark, who was dressed only in a jersey and jockey shorts, was placed in the trunk of the car. Vespry said they took Mark to a bushy area off Zabocara Road, where the accused asked Mark about the cocaine. Vespry said Mark was ‘planassed.’ At one stage, they dug a hole in the ground near the roots a fig tree, but only old bags were found.

He said Mark was dragged along the ground and beaten and stamped on and the accused urinated on his face. By this time the victim was naked having earlier been stripped of his clothing. He was taken to a nearby ‘picker’ tree where two of the men held him by his arms, while the accused kicked him in the back, causing Mark to be impaled on the spikes of the ‘picker’ tree. “Some of the pickers was about two inches long,” Vespry told the court. Afterwards, Mark was tied to another tree with rope. The rope was also tied around his neck. “One of the men asked the accused for a gun to shoot Mark, but the accused only said, ‘Leave him right there, he will die right there’,” Vespry said. They then left the area and Vespry was dropped off on a main road and walked home. He said on November 26, 2000 he accompanied police to the area where the victim had been left.The State is expected to call Dr Des Vignes and the police complainant when hearing resumes at 9 am on Monday.

THE ANSA McAl Group of Companies achieved a significant milestone in 2002 by recording an after-tax profit of $243, 470 million, an increase of 13.7 percent from the $214,132 million achieved in 2001.

When the Group held its 74th Annual General Meeting yesterday at the Ansa McAl Training Room on St Vincent Street, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer A Norman Sabga said earnings per share showed an increase, from $1.10 in 2001 to $1.24 in 2002, an improvement of 12.7 percent. “Shareholders should note that the level of earnings per share achieved in 2002 is a record for the Ansa McAl Group,” he said. Sabga said in 2002, the company spent in the region of $200 million improving its capital assets and there are plans for significant expenditure in many of its key subsidiaries in 2003.

Capital expenditure already incurred in 2002, or to be incurred in 2003, he said, include a new furnace for Carib Glassworks, the world’s largest concrete block manufacturing plant at Bestcrete and a new state-of-the-art match line at Trinidad Match. Sabga said 2002 also marked the Group’s return to a controlling interest in Grenada Breweries Limited, which means that the company now has 100 percent control of the Carib brand in all major markets of operation. Additionally, the company has also signed a licensing agreement with Carlsberg beer. This, he said, provided the Group with an internationally recognised brand that can be marketed throughout the Caribbean. “The growth potential of the Carlsberg should bring excellent value to shareholders,” Sabga noted. Ansa McAl has also signed a brewing contract for Smirnoff Ice — a vodka based drink — for export throughout the Caribbean, with the exception of Jamaica.

THE COUNTRY’S two major dairy companies are fighting over a “splash” of milk. Nestle (Trinidad) Ltd and Dairy Dairy Products Limited have gone to court over who has the right to use a “splash” in their packaging and advertisement of milk.  The intellectual property or copyright infringement case continued yesterday in the Second Civil Court, Port-of-Spain under Justice Amrika Tiwarie.

Nestle’s use of a picture of splashing milk on their packaging and advertisements has resulted in the company being sued by Dairy Dairy Products Limited. Nestle contended  that splashes are used internationally in packaging and advertising in the food and beverage industry. However, Dairy Dairy said it was the first locally to use the image of milk splashing on  its packaging and advertisements. It was also a registered trademark. The argument before the court was that from June 2000, the packaging of Nestle powdered Klim displayed milk pouring into a glass. All this changed in June 2002, when a “splash” was added —  the trouble then began. Nestle  asserted  that the addition of the splash did not make the packaging all that similar to the one opted by Dairy Dairy. However, Dairy Dairy claimed the splash adopted by Nestle became the most prominent feature of their advertising as it was for Dairy Dairy. Dairy Dairy is seeking  to have Nestle discontinue the use of the splash in its advertising and packaging of milk. Dairy Dairy is represented by Russel Martineau SC while  Ravi Nanga, Neal Bisnath and Wendy-Fae Thompson are representing Nestle.

One corrupt act by a former minister could cost Trinidad and Tobago over TT$600 million.

Government is facing a US $100 million lawsuit from an international oil company, FW Oil, which is claiming, among other things, that a former UNC minister and officials of Petrotrin asked for bribes in order to secure the multi-million dollar contract to develop the South West Soldado oil field.  FW Oil had made an unsuccessful bid in 2000. The arbitration proceedings for this lawsuit are expected to begin in December 2003, in Tobago, and are estimated to last six weeks. A pre-hearing conference will take place in September 2003.

Attorney General Glenda Morean, speaking at a news conference at Whitehall, declined to name the former minister who was accused of soliciting the improper payment in return for favourable treatment. However, she did say that the former minister was no longer a member of Parliament. She also revealed that the former minister “did not show” for an interview with Government London-based attorneys, who came here several weeks ago. But the Attorney General conceded that it was not judicious to acknowledge anything in the light of all the investigations taking place. In fact, Morean noted that there were also counter allegations, which were coming from the Government’s side against the company — “that the company itself did have some dealings with persons in the jurisdiction.”

The AG said there was no coincidence between the announcement and the local government election campaign. She said that the timing of the announcement was based on the fact that Cabinet took a decision to engage London attorneys to investigate the claims (of the alleged improper consideration). She said Government had been given until July 31 to deliver “our bundle of documents,” and in order to have them properly prepared we need certain other information. She said Lord Mustil, former Privy Councillor and President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators is the arbitrator for Trinidad and Tobago. The AG said arbitrations have been taking on a very expensive character recently, although they are supposed to cut down on time and costs. She said Government had already paid a “couple hundred thousand pounds” in the process of defending this matter. And in a worse case scenario, Trinidad and Tobago, if it loses this arbitration, could end up having to pay US $100 million plus other costs. She said, however, she believed that Government had a good chance of success in the matter.

Morean said there would be no legal follow-up (against the persons involved in securing payment). There was a previous investigation into the Soldado matter. An ISS report in 2000 had concluded that “there was compelling information to suggest there is a high level conspiracy involving international companies, a minister with the TT government and senior members of Trinmar, to benefit financially.” At the time the then PNM Opposition had much to say about the attempt to procure an improper payment.

THE OPPOSITION United National Congress (UNC) rejected calls for Government to form a firearms interdiction unit within the Police Service to stem the tide of illegal weapons coming into Trinidad and Tobago.  Party chairman Wade Mark said such a unit would be useless, and claimed that the People’s National Movement (PNM) was actively involved in arms smuggling while the UNC was in government.

Commenting yesterday on reports that the formation of this unit would be considered at the June 28 Caricom Heads of Government Summit in Jamaica, Mark said a police firearms interdiction unit would be pointless because the Manning Adminis-tration remains in bed with the nation’s criminal elements. Mark said while the UNC was in government, guns were entering the country and the then Opposition PNM was aware of all the drop zones for those weapons. He further alleged that a deal had been struck between the PNM and criminal forces to stage a coup in the country if the UNC won the last general election.

Mark wondered whether the PNM was deliberately running down the Coast Guard’s naval and air wings to give arms smugglers free rein to carry out their nefarious trade. He claimed that under the UNC, the country’s national security agencies were fully operational. The UNC chairman warned there will be “more bullets for young people in this country” until the PNM “publicly dissociates itself” from its alleged criminal partners. Mark reiterated the Opposition’s condemnation of the Kidnapping Bill and other anti-crime legislation being proposed by Government. He declared that Government needs to find “the political will” and “not more laws” to deal with crime. Speaking during debate in the Senate on the Kidnapping Bill on Tuesday, Mark alleged there was a death squad operating within the Police Service. National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee said Mark’s claims were nothing but melodrama, and revealed that police have solved half of the kidnapping cases to date. Four agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) are currently in Trinidad training members of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad.

A CHAGUANAS businessman was yesterday arrested and charged by the Fraud Squad with four counts of fraud arising out of a $260,000 boat contract.

The 45-year-old man is to appear before a San Fernando magistrate today to answer the charges laid by Cpl Kent Ghisyawan. The man was arrested at his Chaguanas home around 4.30 am by a party of officers under Insp Leonard Charles, and included Sgt Joseph Frank, Cpl Ghisyawan and PCs Brian Popan, Anthony St Clair and Chandra Mungroo.  The investigations were spearheaded by Sr Supt Wellington Virgil, head of the Fraud Squad. The businessman was subsequently charged with four offences, one for larceny by trick of $260,000 and three counts of uttering forged documents.

The three forged documents are a certificate of appreciation from Petrotrin, a certificate of marine vessel registration from the Ministry of National Security, as well as a letter from the Ministry of National Security, stating that the businessman had the boat inspected. The Ministry of National Security documents were purportedly signed by Trevor Percival, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, who later denied the signatures.  Petrotrin also denied that the businessman was a manager at the organisation.

Police said last July, the businessman told another businessman from Princes Town that he was a Petrotrin manager and that he could arrange a contract to buy a boat to transfer Petrotrin workers offshore. The man said the boat will cost $750,000 and told the Princes Town businessman that he required $260,000 by September. Fraud Squad sources said the Princes Town businessman paid the $260,000 via several cheques and the alleged conman presented the relevant documents, which were later discovered to be forged.  The victim, through his attorneys, then made a report to the Fraud Squad. When the matter is called today, three of the charges will be transferred to the Princes Town Magistrate’s Court, while the fourth will be sent to the Chaguanas district court.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: Israel killed seven Palestinians, including two fugitive militants and a two-year-old girl, in its third rocket strike at Hamas targets in 24 hours yesterday, as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Islamic militant group threatened a fight to the finish.

The increasingly deadly confrontation — with 37 killed and more than 130 wounded on both sides in just two days — left little hope that US President George W Bush’s Mideast peace  initiative, launched just a week ago, will survive. The US-backed peace plan calls on the Palestinians to dismantle militant groups and on Israel to refrain from actions that undermine trust. However, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas insists he cannot use force against the militants who have rebuffed his truce offers, and Sharon says he will not wait for Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, to negotiate a deal with them. “If I need to choose between the war on terror and supporting Abu Mazen, I will chose the first option,” Sharon told his Cabinet yesterday. Sharon ridiculed Palestinian leaders as “crybabies” for saying they can’t crack down on Hamas.

Palestinians, in turn, accused Sharon of doing everything he can to sabotage the “road map” peace plan, leading to Palestinian statehood by 2005. “His (Sharon’s) aim is to discredit the Palestinian government and to assassinate his real enemy, which is the road map,” said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. The chain of events began last week with a Mideast peace summit, at which Sharon and Abbas promised Bush to get started on the peace plan. Two days later, a Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, announced that the group is breaking off truce talks with Abbas, and over the weekend, gunmen from Hamas and other militias killed five Israeli soldiers in shootings.

On Tuesday, Israel tried to kill Rantisi, who escaped a missile strike with minor injuries. Hamas threatened re-venge, and on Wednesday, a Hamas suicide bomber killed 17 people in a Jerusalem bus blast. That attack was followed by three rocket strikes against Hamas fugitives that killed 18 Palestinians in Gaza City, half of them civilians. In the wake of the bloodshed, Israel and Hamas exchanged new threats that suggested a new stage in 32 months of fighting. In perhaps its harshest warning since it first set off suicide bombings in the mid-1990s, Hamas said it was ordering “all military cells to act immediately and act like an earthquake to blow up the Zionist entity and tear it to pieces.” The group said foreigners should leave for their safety. Hamas has generally acted on its threats. Sharon, in turn, said he would fight militants “to the bitter end,” regardless of the road map.