FOUL play has not been ruled out in the death of an 89-year-old Princes Town canefarmer who was found hanging in a shed, police said yesterday.
Relatives of Ram Maharaj said he was not suicidal and are in shock over his death. Maharaj, a father of five, lived with his wife and daughter at Cedar Hill Road and was the owner of cane lands in the district. The pensioner’s body was discovered around 5.30 am by one of his employees who arrived for work at the canefield. The employee entered a shed and found Maharaj hanging by a rope tied to a rafter. District Medical Officer Dr Budhooram examined the body and ordered its removal to the San Fernando Mortuary. WPC Vidya Narinesingh is continuing investigations.
A 16-YEAR-OLD boy of Duncan Village, San Fernando, suffered burns on Saturday after a close female relative allegedly threw a pot of hot oil on him.
Details of the incident were sketchy, but Newsday learnt that the boy was severely burnt on his left ear and the left side of his face. A senior official at the San Fernando General Hospital said the teen first sought medical attention at the hospital, but relatives later took him to a private facility. According to reports, the incident occurred at around 9am. The teen and the 17-year-old girl were at their home with other relatives when an argument erupted and escalated into a fight. The boy left the house after the fight. However, another fight erupted when the teen returned to the house and in the melee a female relative threw the pot of hot oil which had been on the stove. The boy screamed out in pain and relatives rushed him to the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). The female relative was also treated at hospital for bruises. PC Ramgoolam Deosaran of the San Fernando CID is continuing investigations.
Meanwhile, police are also investigating an incident in which a homeless man was burnt about his body while cooking in a shed in San Fernando. Andre Joseph was said to have lit a fire around 2.30 pm on Saturday in a shed on Lower High Street,when the fire got out of control. As Joseph tried to douse the flames his clothes caught fire and he was burnt about his body. Joseph sought medical treatment at the SFGH.
POLICE were up to late evening checking with the medical institutions to locate one of two bandits who robbed the Tunapuna branch of Western Union at on Friday night.
Around 7.25 pm two masked men brandishing firearms entered the Western outlet located at Food Masters Supermarket, Eastern Main Road, Tunapuna. The men held up a Sentinel security officer and robbed him of his .38 revolver. They then robbed a cashier of close to $100,000. Investigators said the bandits escaped on foot. However, while escaping one of the bandits accidentally shot himself on the foot. The police are appealing to medical institutions to be on the lookout for anyone seeking attention for a gunshot wound. No arrests had been made up to late evening and Cpl Baptiste of the Tunapuna Criminal CID is continuing investigations.
AN estimated 3,000 loyal fans of entertainer David Michael Rudder turned out for his 50th birthday concert at MOBS 2 in Chaguaramas on Saturday night.
Presented by Island Style in association with Newsday, and supported by Ebony 104 FM, Western Union, Royal Oak and Stag, the concert took the whole idea of a routine Saturday night out and turned it into one long, joyful evening of abandonment and sheer good spirits. That Rudder, whose birth date is actually May 6, did not take the stage until 12.10 am Sunday mattered not to the faithful. For them it was worth the wait to see and hear their idol perform, having missed his physical presence at Carnival celebrations 2003.
The 1986 multi-crowned Carnival winner has opted to make Canada his temporary home, and for the first time since his rise to fame missed a Carnival at home. He returned yesterday to continue his sojourn in the land of the Maple Leaf. The entertainer certainly made up to fans for his absence at this year’s reign of the Merry Monarch with an exuberant performance of his numerous compositions, backed by superb musical accompaniment from an aggregation of talented musicians that included guitarists Anthony Voisin, Terrance Shaw and Albert Bushe, along with trumpeter Joel Bonaparte and keyboardist Kenneth Baptiste, all connected with the Roots and Rapid Response Orchestras.
It was the same Rudder we have all grown accustomed to, but he seemed refreshed, bringing new life to the old songs with a sense of taste and understanding and sympathy for the material. One felt his awareness in trying to retain the essential character of the compositions, all of which were immaculately performed. Of particular interest in Rudder’s repertoire was a showcase of the truly enchanting songs on his latest album from which local radio DJs misguidedly chose to highlight the single track, “Trini To The Bone”. Those not in possession of a copy of the CD may have heard for the first time selections such as “Rational Anthem,” “I Want To Fly”, “That Girl”, “Mastifay”, “Havana” and “Driving Me Crazy”.
The playbill’s first half, competently hosted by soca star Machel Montano, featured cameo performances by Caribbean artistes Flo PG of Martinique and Junior Kelly of Jamaica (in place of Glen Washington), as well as local acts H20 FLO, Trini Jacobs (daughter of Carl and Carol Jacobs) and the Roy Cape Kaiso All Stars. The band Atlantik, featuring Ronnie McIntosh and Destra Garcia, failed to show, but a cover version of Destra’s Carnival contribution “Is Carnival” was performed with rhythmic intensity by Machel, backed by the Cape orchestra. Indeed, the contribution of the Xtatik leader to the evening’s programme certainly merits special mention. His exceptional stage presence and mellow informality in easily communicating with an audience set the mood and paved the way for the featured performer.
Saxophonist, Arturo Tappin of Barbados and trumpeter Alexis Baro of Cuba showed off their world-class talent with gripping displays of musicianship. First, there was Baro’s lilting solo during Rudder’s showcase of the fast-paced “I Want To Fly”, followed by Tappin’s impressive reed work in “Havana”. The two would come together in a stunning musical blow-out during Rudder’s rendition of “De Long Time Band” that would leave the audience breathless and calling for more. Proceeds from the venture will go towards purchasing steelband instruments for the St Michael School for Boys in Diego Martin, Rudder revealed. Bandleader Wayne Bruno, who has just completed his Master’s Degree in music, has offered his services as arranger for the band, free of charge.
Rudder sang for over two hours, finally ending his session at 2.50 am. But as far as opinion went, he could have sung for another two. His fans left the venue happy that their “boy” had achieved another milestone in his life — 50 years. And like good wine, they say, he just keeps getting better with age.
GOVERNMENT is considering an expanded Helping You Prepare For Employment (HYPE) progamme in 2004 that will churn out 2,060 graduates annually and will “put to the axe” any expenditures that will compromise the country’s finances.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning made this disclosure while addressing yesterday’s graduation ceremony for the first batch of 450 HYPE graduates at UWI’s Sport and Physical Education Centre, St Augustine. Hailing the programme’s achievement’s to date, the Prime Minister told the graduates: “We in the Government must parallel your efforts, in a no less structured way, if together Trinidad and Tobago is to reach the goal set out in our 2020 vision. That is why a significant portion of any new revenues accruing to the Government — particularly revenues deriving from our expanding hydrocarbon resources, a wasting asset — be invested in areas that would assist in accelerating our advance to our national goal. We must put the axe to expenditures that would compromise the national finances, or would lead to inflationary excesses.”
Stressing Government’s intentions’ to develop the nation’s human and physical capital, Manning revealed: “The Government is now being asked to consider a proposal for a permanent expanded HYPE programme providing a network of centres in north, central and south Trinidad and in Tobago. This proposal projects an annual output of approximately 2,060 graduates each year from the various centres.” He said the estimated recurrent cost for the 2003 programme is $13.5 million while that for the proposed 2004 programme will be $17.5 million. Noting that Government’s critics would cry waste, Manning asked: “Can Trinidad and Tobago afford not to incur costs so critical to our transformational objectives and the growth and development of our economy and our society?” He added that the nation’s youths must be “gainfully occupied in the sunshine sectors of our economy instead of leaving them stranded in sunset industries.”
“To fail them is to fail the country. We dare not,” he declared. The Prime Minister observed that a positive spin-off of HYPE has been the creation of HYPE Construction Services Limited, which will assist in Government’s goal to build 100,000 houses over ten years. Manning added that the National Housing Authority (NHA) has already awarded a contract to the company to build 100 houses. The Prime Minister joked that politics was a more satisfying profession than education given its impact on the society but quickly conceded that NESC chairman Professor Ken Julien would have him at a serious disadvantage in such an argument since “I never had the chance to be an educator”. Housing Minister Martin Joseph revealed that a register has been created for HYPE graduates working with NHA contractors and his Ministry is discussing a similar register with the Urban Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago (UDECOTT).
BY week’s end, Trinidad and Tobago will be one step closer to the staging of Local Government Elections. This was the word yesterday from Local Government Minister Jarrette Narine who dismissed allegations from Chaguanas Mayor Orlando Nagessar about continued Government discrimination against United National Congress (UNC)-controlled local government bodies.
The Minister said the EBC’s report on local government boundaries will be evaluated by the Senate tomorrow and by the House of Representatives on Friday. Narine said once Parliament approves the report, it would clear the way for Prime Minister Patrick Manning to announce an election date. A NACTA poll last week predicted a People’s National Movement (PNM) victory in those polls with the Mayaro/Rio Claro and Sangre Grande Regional Corporations going to the PNM.
Narine also revealed that Chaguanas got the largest financial allocation under the 2003 development programme compared to when the UNC was in government. “Last year’s development programme was $6.5 million as given by the UNC. This year’s programme is $28.775 million and Chaguanas got the most. Chaguanas got $2.903 million. Last year they got $767,000,” he said. The Minister added that records at the Ministry show the Chaguanas Borough Corporation receiving all monies allocated to it for this year. Nagessar responded that financial allocations to his corporation were usually late and he would have to check to see if all monies for the corporation were in fact received.
A 55-YEAR-OLD woman drowned early yesterday morning at Williams Bay, Chaguaramas in the vicinity of the CDA Police Post.
Shairoon Ali-DeCoteau, of Jeffers Lane, St James, was bathing with her brother James Ali, nephew Dale DeCoteau and others when she disappeared. Her body later resurfaced. District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr Michael Lou Chee Tung pronounced her dead and ordered the body removed to the Port-of-Spain mortuary. PC James Roberts of the Carenage CID is continuing investigations.
PEOPLE’S NATIONAL MOVEMENT (PNM) Deputy Political Leader Ken Valley said newspaper reports alleging a “widening rift” in the ruling party over the selection of a new chairman at National Flour Mills (NFM) were totally erroneous and misguided. According to Valley, there are no divisions within the PNM on that or any other score and the party remains confident of an outright victory in the upcoming Local Government Elections.
A report yesterday claimed the imminent appointment of NFM chairman Christine Sahadeo as a Junior Finance Minister and the selection of her replacement was causing waves within the PNM. However Valley told Newsday there was no truth to the report and someone was just out “to make mischief” and mislead the population. Recalling statements he made last week regarding the salary paid to Petrotrin Executive Chairman Malcolm Jones, the Trade Minister said people were taking that “one comment” way out of context and trying to put their own spin on it. He added there was no rift within the PNM on this or any other matter.
Valley described his relationship with Sahadeo as “an excellent one” and brushed aside suggestions that her appointment to the Finance Ministry was intended as a snub to him. The Minister also noted that Sahadeo’s husband heads the Business Development Company which also falls under his portfolio and they too share a good working relationship. The Opposition United National Congress (UNC) has called on Sahadeo to publicly state her compensation package as NFM chairman before she joins the Government. Speaking at last Thursday’s post-Cabinet news conference, Prime Minister Patrick Manning side-stepped the question of Sahadeo’s ministerial appointment.
FOR THE second day after assuming the office of Acting Medical Chief of Staff at the San Fernando General Hospital, Dr Anand Chatoorgoon has had to supervise activities at the hospital from his San Fernando home.
Contacted yesterday, Dr Chatoorgoon said while the appointment was not entirely unexpected, it came “quite suddenly” and he had not been furnished with keys to the Medical Chief of Staff’s offices at the hospital complex. “The situation should be resolved by today,” he said, adding that none of the MTS security personnel on duty had keys to the offices. However, Dr Chatoorgoon said he had instructed staff at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department that no patients should be transferred to private institutions without permission from the Chief of Staff.
“Some doctors have returned to work, and as for now we are ensuring the public receives the best possible treatment available,” he said. Chatoorgoon reiterated his call for a swift end to the impasse between doctors and the RHA’s saying all options needed to be explored for the benefit of a public deserving of quality health care from its health institutions. Chatoorgoon assumed duties at the Hospital as Acting Medical Chief of Staff on Saturday evening after Dr Austin Trinidade acceded to the Health Ministry’s request to proceed on 226 days of compensatory leave. Meanwhile negotiations between doctors and the RHA’s are expected to continue this week.
CHIEF JUSTICE of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Sir Dennis Byron said Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) raised serious issues about capital punishment from the perspective of colonial heritage.
When he addressed a seminar of judges, magistrates and other judicial officers from Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname, Sir Dennis and many people had established a conceptual link between the CCJ and capital punishment, and that one could interpret that proponents of this view are arguing that appeals to the Privy Council should be abolished because of dissatisfaction with some of its decisions. This may signal that the court that is replacing it should remove this dissatisfaction by deciding along the policy lines of the proponents of the court.
Sir Dennis said this argument must be rejected as it undermines the degree of confidence with which the CCJ should be accepted. “I am sure that this could not be the case for it would undermine the concept of judicial independence which is the foundation of the citizen’s right to impartial trials. There is another dimension to the debate, because whether one agrees with the contents of the ruling of the Privy Council or not, there must be concern over the argument of interference in the domestic laws by such a remote body. “I find an element of irony in the debate. It is strange that Caribbean jurists would consider capital punishment as an indigenous thing which we own. In reality, it was imposed by British Colonial policy through the Privy Council.
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its impact on concepts of humanity led to changes in political, social and legal philosophy. It is interesting that at the time when Caribbean states acquire independence, a savings clause was put into the constitutions. These clauses have been interpreted and applied in ways which have removed the powers from Caribbean judges to declare that any punishment imposed during colonialism was unconstitutional.” He further argued that the CCJ, and the consequential changes it should engender, will empower regional jurists to give effect to regional standards and values as the laws of the region are interpreted and applied. This issue, he added, highlights that jurisprudence is a developing science. He explained that the courts have interpreted our constitutions as guardians of principles of separation of powers and the fundamental rights and freedom of people. The judiciary has been playing its role in exercising powers of review over legislative and executive actions. Therefore, he urged, there is every reason to expect that the CCJ will contribute to this process of regional development.
