RANDALL BLACKMAN, who is charged with motor manslaughter in the death of 12-year-old Nicholas Johnson, claimed he was driving 25 to 30 miles per hour along Madras Road at the time of the accident. When the trial continued yesterday before Justice Malcolm Holdip at the Port-of-Spain  Third Criminal Court, Blackman’s statement the police on the day of the incident was read to the court. In it he claimed he encountered smoke from a bush fire; his car then came into contact with a child whose body landed on the windscreen of his car, then fell on the road. Blackman said he did not see the child until he came into contact with the car. He said the road was clear and no one saw what happened.  Blackman said he asked for assistance to carry the child to the Chaguanas Health Centre but no one wanted to accompany him so he took the child there himself. Pathologist Dr Hughvon DeVignes, who testified yesterday said Johnson suffered brain injury, fractures of his right leg bones, scrapes to his face, abrasions to his upper abdomen, lower chest and the right side of his pelvis and hip area. He said the boy died of complications of “blunt cranio cerebral traumatic injuries” or blunt force head injuries.

CONFESSION statements, identification parades and police fabricating evidence were elements of the closing arguments to the jury in the San Fernando First Criminal Assizes heard yesterday, from the prosecution and defence in the murder trial of Kamal Pooran and Ramzan Asgarali. The month-long trial before Justice Herbert Volney drew to a close as attorneys Chaitram Sinanan and Rupert Frank defended their client’s innocence before the 12-member mixed panel. Pooran, 25, a market vendor and Asgarali, a small engine technician, are accused of murdering Rio Claro PH taxi driver Surujbally “Billy” Mohan on a date unknown between April 29 and May 2, 1999. In addressing the jury, Attorney Sinanan attacked the credibility of the statement submitted by State Prosecutor Althea Alexis, in which Asgarali confessed about the murder. Asgarali had testified that police tricked him into signing “pieces of paper” without reading what was contained in the document, since they were “police records.” He also called the identification parade on which Asgarali was pointed out as a “fiasco.” The defence attorney recalled police evidence that after Asgarali was fed a meal he opted to dictate the statement.

Sinanan charged: “Do you really believe that the accused was served rice, red beans and stewed chicken within five minutes of reaching the station? Then the Mayaro Police Station should be upgraded to a Five-Star restaurant, but not even a restaurant gives you that kind of service. They (police) fixed the records to suit, Mr Foreman and members of the jury.” Frank, Pooran’s attorney, gave a short address to the jury. telling them his client was innocent of the Mohan’s murder and asking the jury to return a not guilty verdict. After the lunch break, State prosecutor Althea Alexis was given her turn to address the jury. Alexis refuted the testimonies of the accused that they did not give police the statements.  The State attorney asked the panel to focus on the evidence put before them and not on the mistakes by the witnesses. At the end of the day’s proceedings, Justice Volney told the panel that today he will advise them on the law when he summarises the case. “Go home with an open mind,” the judge said, “and when I give you the law you can put it into perspective and come to a verdict.”

Community groups vied for $1 million  in prizes at the awards ceremony for the first pilot Tidy TT competition run by the Rotary Clubs of Trinidad and Tobago held on Wednesday at Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s, to mark yesterday’s World Environment Day. Noting that “entries were received from every part of the country from Charlotteville in Tobago to Cedros in South West Trinidad,” Tidy TT planning committee chairperson, Joan Ferreira, told guests that the competition had 150 entries, of which 42 were eventually selected for judgment. Best overall project was adjudged to be tied between Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project and the Friends of Tortuga RC Church, who were each awarded $75,000.  Ferreira explained: “It is a joint environmental project of all 19 Rotary Clubs in Trinidad and Tobago, sponsored by the Ministry of Public Utilities and the Environment. It is based on a very successful programme called ‘Tidy Towns’ initiated and run by the Irish Tourist Board for over 40 years and adapted to suit our local situation.. The project is a national environmental improvement drive intended to benefit all communities by capturing the popular imagination and encouraging an increased awareness and sensitivity to environmental issues through the medium of a competition”.

She said its aims included improved national environment, community empowerment including encouraging ‘gayap’ or lend-hand, and strengthening of NGOs and CBOs. Entries were submitted in five categories, the winner of each earning $50,000. For Environmental Literacy, Soroptomist International Scarborough Tobago won the best project for its Know Your Tobago Environment (KYTE) project. The category of Litter Control/Tidiness was won by Environment Tobago for changing a swamp in south-east Tobago from a dumping ground back to a wetland. The best Heritage/Built Environment project was by Friends of Tortuga RC Church for a restoration of the edifice.

THE NATIONAL Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) yesterday denied it discriminates in the allocation of funds for financial assistance. It made its position clear in response to allegations by Satnarayan Maharaj, Secretary-General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha. Maharaj had accused the NLCB of not fulfilling a promise it made to the Maha Sabha to make funds available for purchasing musical instruments for its schools. Maharaj cited a document from the Ministry of Finance, itemising 70 recipients of financial aid from the NLCB for a 15-month period during 2002 and 2003. He said of the 70 recipients, 68 Afro-Trinidadian Individuals and Groups received assistance. But the NLCB said that information was entirely incorrect and the document cited was incomplete. It said during the period January to March 2002, it assisted 270 different organisations and during the October-December period of the same year, it assisted 230 different organisations. “From the information provided with these two periods alone, it is clear that Maharaj’s information is flawed, and such, all deductions from such flawed information, will as a result be also grossly incorrect”, said the NLCB.

It advised Maharaj to obtain the correct information before arriving at such conclusions. The NLCB also categorically refuted any allegation that there was racial discrimination in financial assistance it gives. It said for the period January to September 2002, it assisted 59 Indian organisations and/or projects with funding representing over $100,000. “Included within this are several SDMS schools, as well as Indian Arrival Day and Phagwa celebrations hosted by the SDMS.  Therefore, having been a recipient of NLCB funding at a variety of levels, the NLCB is puzzled about allegations of discrimination”, said the NLCB. It also said that allegations by Maharaj that it does not assist people from CancadeeVillage, Felicity, Poole, Biche, Las Lomas and Chandanagore” are inaccurate and irresponsible. “The NLCB considers seriously all requests for financial assistance, regardless of where in the nation such requests originated.  If persons or organisations from particular areas do not write the NLCB for assistance, the NLCB cannot be held accountable for ignoring that particular area”, said the Lottery Board. It was stressed that the new Board, on assuming office, put in place mechanisms to have requests for donations investigated. All such requests are investigated by Marketing and Public Relations Officer of the Board, Devant Maharaj who is also an Executive Member of the Maha Sabha. The NLCB also said like most responsible corporate citizens, it sponsors a steelband — Fonclaire, a sponsorship that is very specific in nature and time.

CONSTRUCTION work on the foundation of a dwelling house at the foot of the protected landmark San Fernando Hills, was stopped on Wednesday, after officials of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Mining Division of the Ministry of Energy were notified of excavation work. Yesterday, an official of the EMA visited the construction site located on the Lower Hillside, Romain Street side of the hill, to carry out further investigations. San Fernando Mayor Gerard Ferreira told Newsday yesterday that on Wednesday a notice  was placed on the site advising the builders to stop construction. The advice to stop the building was sanctioned by both the EMA and Mining Division of the Energy Ministry. Prior to this, there were reports of residents complaining that certain environmental codes and standards were being breached.

Mayor Ferreira pointed out that for such construction to be allowed, “consensus” between different groups was necessary. He added, “you don’t get permission from us to excavate.” The Mayor said that although the owner had sought and got the necesary permission to start construction work, he said, “it appears they have done more than they were supposed to.”  Apart from the EMA and the Energy Ministry’s Mining Division, the Town and Country Planning Division also plays a significant role in sanctioning and monitoring such operations. The Mayor revealed the intended owner was upset at the present situation and was adamant that she had received the proper, necessary approval from the authorities. Corporate Communications Officer at the EMA, Neil Parsanlal, told Newsday yesterday that the assessment conducted by the EMA personnel on the site yesterday was intended to determine two issues — what approval if any at all, was given for conducting the work, and whether any EMA codes were breached. Attempts to reach the owner of the foundation, as well as officials from the Town and Country Plannning Division and Energy Ministry for comment yesterday proved unsuccessful.

FERRY PASSENGERS scheduled to travel toTobago at 2 pm yesterday had to endure a four and a half hour delay after the MV Beauport developed mechanical problems. Port Authority Executive Manager Leon Grant said as a result of the problem, the 2 pm trip by the Beauport had been cancelled, but the MF Panorama picked up the slack. The Panorama left Port-of-Spain at 6.30 pm yesterday and was scheduled to leave Scarborough on its return trip at 2 am today. Grant said passengers would have experienced only minimum inconvenience since the Port Authority had been issuing announcements via the radio. In a release yesterday, the Authority advised that persons in possession of tickets for the 2 pm and 11 pm sailings yesterday would have been accommodated on the 6.30 pm and 2 am departures. Grant said he expected the  Beauport to be back in operation today.

CHIEF SECRETARY of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Orville London emphasised the need for consumer education in Tobago more than any other part of the country. He said there were too many people who felt helpless and hopeless in their dealings with the business community. And even when they believe that they are being disadvantaged, they have neither the information nor the tools to respond in a way that will bring some form of redress,” he said. “Therefore the need for consumer education throughout Trinidad and Tobago is critical, sssbut I think the need for consumer education in Tobago is even more critical.” London made the point Wednesday when he addressed the launch of a Consumer Education pilot project for primary schools on the island. The project is being undertaken by the Consumer Affairs Division of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, in conjunction with the THA’s Consumer Affairs Department. London referred to a study being undertaken by the THA’s Policy Research Development Institute (PRDI) on the wide price differential between Tobago and Trinidad. He said it was widely recognised that the cost of living in Tobago was 50 to 60 percent higher than in Trinidad. “In some areas like the construction industry the difference is almost scandalous,” London declared.

He said regardless of the findings of the PRDI study, in the final analysis it is the reaction of the public that would be “the most effective way by which this particular problem could be addressed.” He said the consumer education initiative was most welcome, directed as it is at school children: “I am also very heartened that we are starting young. As an educator, I recognise that it’s always easier to teach young people than not-so-young people. They tend to keep those kind of views or that kind of orientation throughout their lives and they also influence not only their peers but the older people with whom they interface.” London commended the Ministry and the relevant THA Divisions for coming together in the implementation of such an important initiative. He said this was an example of the kind of meaningful partnership that continues to exist between the THA and the government. “One of the things that we have been able to do, especially in recent times, is to create an environment in which there is cooperation; there is coordination between the THA and the central Government without any loss of autonomy or any loss of dignity on the part of the THA,” he said. “And I think that this is the spirit of the THA Act (1996), that the THA Act was meant to create an environment in which we in Tobago can have control of our destiny but still be able to walk hand in hand and side by side with our Trinidad counterparts.”

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce yesterday strongly condemned the continuing loss of life and infliction of injury resulting from the current reign of lawlessness. In a statement, the Chamber called on the Government and all law enforcement agencies to immediately arrest the decline in the safety and security of person and property. It also called for a relentless campaign to rid the country of all illegal arms and ammunition, and to protect the law abiding from those who procure and carry them. The impact of the current reign of lawlessness, the Chamber noted, has been upon the lives of the less fortunate, children, even policemen. It cited the latest incident Wednesday night at Movie Towne, which the Chamber described as a centre of wholesome family entertainment and substantial investment in the quality of life. This continuing escalation in the level of crime, death and injury continues to impact negatively on such quality of all stakeholders in Trinidad and Tobago, to discourage investment in the country and in the future. The Chamber has also called on anyone with information on any crime, to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-TIPS, or 800-STOP.