The police complainant in the preliminary inquiry into a Welsh national who is charged with motor manslaughter yesterday gave evidence before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John at the Chaguanas First Magistrates’ Court.

Lance Waters, an engineer at JUSAMCO is charged with the death of Hamid Hosein by dangerous driving, near Guyamare, Uriah Butler Highway on May 16, 2001. Hosein, a former employee of Rip Speed Company Limited, died as a result of vehicular injuries that were sustained in a car crash. Waters was also charged with dangerous driving and driving without due care. He was charged by PC Clive Kalloo of the Gran Couva  Police Station following instructions from the Director of Public Prosecution. Kalloo yesterday gave evidence under the directions of police prosecutor Sgt Ashton Clarke. Kalloo was cross-examined by Senior Counsel Rangee Dolsingh. Also appearing on behalf of Waters is attorney Devesh Maharaj. Sgt Clarke informed the magistrate that the prosecution has one more witness to call before closing its case. The magistrate adjourned the matter to May 27.

Years of wrangling led to a lock out yesterday as the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) blocked Peake Yacht Services (PYS) officials from entering their compound.

Paul Peake, of Peake Yacht Services said the lockout was an attempt to embarrass the company. “It is an illegal, high handed approach by the CDA,” he said. At issue is a dispute over rent increases which has been going on for at least three years. While the company has been paying rent it has refused to pay the increased rate set by the CDA. The CDA has increased rent in a number of its lots but other companies have been paying the higher price. The dispute with PYS is over two of the five blocks which make up the PYS compound but access was denied to the whole property yesterday.

CDA chairman Renrick Nickie said yesterday’s action was supposed to bring Peake Yacht Services to the table. “At the end of the day we thought it was our only option,” he said. The barriers were removed at around 2 pm but Nickie said if the matter is not resolved, the CDA will seek an injunction against the company. Peake said the CDA had increased the rent on other properties but his company was facing the biggest hike.

In response, Nickie said the company has refused to pay the new rate. PYS agreed to a valuation of the property but did not agree with the amount the valuators submitted. “They feel they can set the rent,” Nickie said. The CDA sent a letter to PYS officials last week informing them that if they did not start paying the revised rent, they would be locked out. Neither side would say what the rent on the property was or how much the increase was. Nickie would only say that the new rent is below current values. Nickie also said while other companies have agreed to pay the rent the board has met with some resistance. “We need the private companies to develop the properties properly but you can’t tell the valuator how to do the valuation on the property,” he said. Nickie stated: “People got accustomed to not paying rent. You review and they take you through the hoops. It’s an attitude the new board feels is prevalent in Chaguaramas.”

TAXI driver Sam Martin Beharry was kidnapped Tuesday night and thrown over a cliff near the lookout at North Coast Road, Maraval, police said.

Beharry, of Rich Plain Road, Diego Martin, was found crawling out of some bushes by a passerby around 10am yesterday. He was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH), where he was warded. up to late evening he was nursing what police said were injuries to his chest.  A relative told Newsday he was in good condition. Officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad (AKS), headed by Sr Supt Gilbert Reyes, questioned him and said they are treating the incident as a kidnapping. 

Police reports are that around 9.30pm Tuesday, Beharry was plying his white Accent car from Port-of-Spain to Diego Martin, on reaching the Diego Martin turn-off, he picked up three male passengers. After passing Crystal Stream, police said one of the passengers pointed a firearm at Beharry’s head. They then made him drive to Blue Basin, where they robbed him of his wallet, tied him up and placed him in his car trunk. Police said Beharry was unable to say what happened after that.  However relatives told police that they called Beharry’s cellphone around 2.20am yesterday and that the people on the other end said they wanted $100,000 for his safe return. 

Police said relatives told the strangers that they only had $3,000 and when they asked to speak to Beharry, they were told that he was sleeping in a room. However, police said they believe that at the time the demand was made, Beharry was already thrown over the cliff. His car was discovered at Third Avenue, Barataria. No arrests had been made and officers of the AKS under ASP Henry Millington along with Four Roads police are continuinng with the investigations.

THE OPPOSITION United National Congress (UNC) deemed the proposed police/army operation to deal with crime in Laventille/Morvant “a resounding failure” before the operation has been commenced. Assistant Police Commissioner (Crime) Oswyn Allard said the security forces will be initiating an exercise in the crime-plagued district on the scale of a “Baghdad” invasion but has kept the exact details of the operation a secret. National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee also declined to comment on the operation but was optimistic about its success.

However in a statement yesterday, the UNC said: “ We are not impressed by this latest crime plan by the Government. It is doomed to failure and may really turn out to be what the Government intended. We are really not surprised that the PNM Government would want to exploit a public relations benefit of the tragedy of criminal activities now destroying the communities in the Laventille region. Public relations cannot weed out the criminal elements in Laventille.”

The UNC said police work “especially in flushing out criminals, depends on an element of surprise” and questioned what it viewed as Allard’s premature public utterances about the operation. “The element of surprise is blown and the criminals scamper in safety to strike another day,” the party lamented. The UNC declared that this crime plan reflects the incompetence of Chin Lee and reiterated its long-standing call for him to resign. The party also called for the resignations of Laventille East/Morvant MP Fitzgerald Hinds and Laventille West MP Eulalie James because “they have failed the people of Laventille.”

“PRAISE God my daughter is alive.” These were the words from an elated Leanora Callender, mother of 18-month-old Shanice, who was shot in her left hand at her  grandmother- s home in Beverly Hills, Picton Road, Laventille  on Monday evening.

Mrs Callender was speaking to Newsday yesterday at the Surgical Ward of the Wendy Fitzwilliam Paediatric Hospital of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope. Reliving the ordeal which left three of her relatives shot — one critically — baby Shanice’s grandmother Eutrice told Newsday five men stormed her home on Monday and opened fire. Family members shot included baby Shanice (shot on left hand), Arlene Callender (shot on her left feet) and Arlene’s common-law husband Garvin “Pussy” Jones, who was shot in the chest and is warded in critical condition.

Baby Shanice’s relieved mother said once doctors at Mt Hope give the “all clear” to have the child discharged, she (Leanora) wants to take back her daughter to Tobago. Leanora said 15 minutes after speaking to Eutrice via telephone, another relative called to say that baby Shanice had been shot. “I just started crying…when my two other children heard what had happened to their sister, they also started crying. I went quickly to Crown Point Airport to book a flight to Trinidad,” Callender said. At the Airport, a kind-hearted clerk allowed the crying woman to board a 7 pm flight although Mrs Callender  had been booked to board the 8.15 pm flight. “I can’t remember the guys name, but he knows who he is and I would like to say thanks to him for his help,” Mrs Callender said.

A 12-yeaR-old girl was watching television in her home yesterday when she was attacked and raped by a knife-wielding man. The schoolgirl is said to be traumatised by the incident and had to be taken for counselling.

According to police reports, around 10.45 am, the young girl was alone home, sitting in the living room watching a television programme, when a man armed with a knife walked up to her and placed his hand over her mouth. Reports stated the man, who is not known to the girl, proceeded to tear off her  clothes with the knife and then raped her.  The secondary school student told police that the ordeal lasted for at least five minutes. When he was finished, the rapist ran out of the house leaving the crying girl behind. The child made her way to a neighbour’s house and told the neighbour what had happened. The child was taken to the Ste Madeleine Police Station where a report was made.

DOCTOR Austin Trinidade has threatened legal action if he is not reinstated in his job as Medical Chief of Staff at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Trinidade called on the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health to allow him to return to his job with immediate effect. If not, Trinidade has threatened to take legal action against the Ministry. Trinidade, who was sent on long leave (226 compensatory days) by the ministry which appointed Dr Anand Chatoorgoon to act in his place, sent a letter yesterday to Permanent Secretary Hamid 0’Brien. Following a letter from 0’Brien to Trinidade on Tuesday requesting he gave reasons why he should not proceed on leave immediately, Trinidade yesterday informed O’Brien that he did not wish to take leave “at this time.”

Trinidade informed 0’Brien that the situation at the hospital was in a precarious “position” and it was impractical for the medical chief of staff to proceed on leave. Trinidade met with 0’Brien on Monday and discussed rumours and certain perceptions, that he (Trinidade) was supporting doctors in their current sick-out action. Chatoorgoon who had acted for Trinidade three weeks ago before his re-appointment this week, had openly criticised the doctors.

A meeting is to be held tomorrow to try to solve the situation that has arisen over the resting place at the Arima Cemetery of Road March king, Lord Kitchener, Keith Belgrove of Kitch’s Cemetery Management Committee and Valerie Green, former wife of the deceased said yesterday.

The family were prevented from erecting a memorial to the Grandmaster when the parish priest of the Santa Rosa church, Fr Christian Perreira, in-formed Green that the plot belonged to the St Vincent de Paul Society. The family had hoped that the matter could have been resolved in time for April 18, which marked the anniversary of Kitchener’s 80th birthday. Green argued that the plot was given to the family by then parish priest Fr Leo Donovan, who has since returned to Ireland. Belgrove, who is helping Green to settle the issue, has also been meeting with the RC Church and St Vincent de Paul Society.

He is now however in the process of acquiring a cemetery in Tacarigua and in the event that their bid to have the body remain at the Santa Rosa site is turned down, the body will be moved to his cemetery. According to the Burial Grounds Act, Chapter 30:50 Section 12 (1) Every application for permission to re-open an unwalled grave for the purpose of exhumation after the expiration of seven years from the date of burial in the case of a person above 12 years of age shall be in writing and addressed to the Minister.