A TTPost female employee was shot by bandits who escaped with an undisclosed sum of money and a revolver during an early morning robbery at her workplace in San Fernando yesterday.

Shirley Beharry, 48, was shot on her left leg and is said to be in a stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital. According to police reports, around 11.15 am, four men, one of whom was armed with a gun, stormed into the Carlton Centre Post Office, and announced a hold up.  MTS security guard Roy Paris, who was on duty, was reportedly relieved of his .38 special. The bandits then ordered the employees to place all the money in a bag. When this was done, the bandits fired a shot which struck Beharry on her leg. They then, ran out of the building.

Police believe that the men had a car waiting for them at Victoria Street, a short distance away. In a press release yesterday TTPost stated that the company took the incident very seriously and  is working with the revelant authories to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The release further stated the safety of the TTPost staff is their prime concern, which is why they are continuously working to improve the security systems and ensure a safe and comfortable environment for their staff and customers. San Fernando police are continuing investigations.

The alleged lover of deceased guru, Naziph Ali, has denied that a homosexual relationship existed between the guru and himself.

Instead, he described the relationship as one that existed between a leader and his “right hand” man. In a telephone interview yesterday, the 28-year old Princes Town resident also claimed that a power struggle had developed between himself and certain worshippers at the temple, which is why he was asked to leave the temple’s premises on Thursday evening. He declined to elaborate further saying he would air his side of the story after the guru had been laid to rest. “The guru deserves a decent, respectful funeral,” he said. However, the unemployed man said several inaccuracies had been published in the media, citing the statement by a pundit which stated that whenever the “power” entered the guru, he (the guru) would behave like a woman. He said that was simply not true, adding the power was “misunderstood” by many of the temple’s devotees, including the resident pundit.

“The Hindu religion has many things that are not completely understood by many devotees, including what happens when a diety descends upon a guru,” he said. He, however declined to be drawn into the discussion saying after the funeral, he would grant a full interview to the media. According to reports, Hindu spiritual leader, Naziph Ali, 40, also known as Kalicharan Dass, shot himself through the mouth at the Sai Sadhana Shanti Temple, Penal on Thursday night. Ali, a former teacher at the Penal Government Primary School, will be cremated at the Shore of Peace, Mosquito Creek today.

SENIOR COUNSEL Theodore Guerra yesterday said he preferred not to comment on the criticisms levelled against him by law lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The law lords described Guerra’s conduct in the prosecution of Alexander Benedetto and William Labrador at the murder trial in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), as being wholly at variance with the way a prosecuting counsel and a minister of justice should behave.

The comments were made when the law lords delivered their judgment freeing Benedetto and Labrador of the murder conviction on April 7. Hearing the murder appeal were Lord Bingham of Cronhill, Lord Steyn, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Hutton and Lord Rodger of Earlsferry. Lord Hope delivered the judgment. Guerra’s conduct was drawn to the law lords’ attention by Labrador’s attorney Fitzgerald QC, who had argued that Labrador did not get a fair trial because Guerra’s cross examination of Labrador was in an oppressive manner. Fitzgerald also accused Guerra of using terms which were xenophobic and inflammatory in his address to the jury. The Lordships agreed with Fitzgerald saying there were various aspects of Guerra’s conduct which called for comment. They noted that regrettably some parts of Guerra’s speech to the jury made use of inadmissable and irrelevant material. They also said that there was more than a hint of xenophobia in the methods used by Guerra to develop his attack on Labrador’s credibility which was unfair. Benedetto and Labrador together with Michael Spicer and Evan George went on trial on April 20, 2001 for the January 14 murder of Lois McMillen.

 

A woman’s hand was severed on Friday when she stole $5,200 from a cash register in a store.

According to a police report, the 21-year-old Sangre Grande woman entered Trotty’s store at the corner of Andre Street and Eastern Main Road, Sangre Grande at around 3pm. She began cursing the owner of the store.  The intruduer then started beating the store’s owner and then she snatched the cash. On her departure the woman’s hand was severed by a relative of the owner.

Gwyneth Shand, former Principal of Marabella Junior Secondary School and author of Murphy Unmasked!, died yesterday morning at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital after being diagnosed with “sarcoidosis”, followed by a stroke early this year. Shand’s valiant fight with her health problems made her a celebrity of sorts and she was featured on television programmes and served as an inspiration to many people who were ill. She always had a pleasant smile.

Sarcoidosis, a rare multi-system disease, is an inherited abnormality of certain cells of the immune system which results in inflamation of the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, eyes, skin, joints, kidneys and other tissues. Some patients (60 percent) have sarcoid for a period of two to three years and never have it again. There is no known cure for the disorder. Shand was 48. She leaves to mourn husband Larry and three sons Craig, Michael and Mark. Shand travelled to Florida in January for diagnosis of what she had been told by doctors was a “blood clot on her lungs”. In an effort to raise funds for her trip, Shand wrote the book Murphy Unmasked! which tells of her experience of  living with a series of illnesses and how she coped. She likened her situation to “Murphy’s Law” — the saying that “if anything can go wrong, it will”. Some of her illnesses included diabetes and sickle cell disease. She has had three caesarian sections, a tubal ligation, an appendectomy, a hysterectomy because of cervical cancer and a tonsillectomy, among other surgeries.

Despite her sicknesses, many described Shand as a “privilege” and “delight” to have known. “She was a fighter, always positive… She was full of life, vivacious. Even when she was sick she always wanted to look good, and it was a blessing to be around her,” said her sister, Associate Editor of the Catholic News, June Johnston. “People who read her book said that if Gwyneth went through all of that, then ‘we could do it too’.” Shand was a member of the St Theresa RC Church choir. She played the steelpan and one of her great desires was to sing in a calypso tent. Shand also taught at Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive and Cedros Composite schools. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

“Even though Jason lived for only seven years I feel as though he gave enough joy and love to last a lifetime,” cried his half-sister, Sherena Jokhan, as she delivered the eulogy at his funeral service yesterday.

Jason Lawrence, a pupil of Orange Valley Government School, was burnt to death when a lighted candle sparked a fire which completely destroyed his parents’ home at Endeavour Road, Chaguanas, last Wednesday night. His three brothers and sisters escaped unhurt. Staring at the picture of Jason on top of a sealed white casket which contained the child’s charred remains, Jokhan said God sent Jason to fill the heart and minds of many with love. The woman sobbed that Jason was loved by all who knew him. Jokhan, who along with her two sisters took care of Jason since he was a baby, took solace in the belief that her brother was now in the hands of God.

This sentiment was shared by his school teacher, Lisa Caesar, who said as she looked to the sky: “I know you are sitting with the angels in heaven looking down on us smiling and asking: ‘What are these people doing here? What are they saying?”. Sitting around the casket, at their Orange Valley, Carapichiama, home yesterday, Sherena, her sister Shalina and their mother, Rohanie Balack, (Jason’s mother) cried uncontrollably, with the two sisters resting their heads on top of the casket and embracing his picture.  At one point Shalina collapsed and had to be assisted by relatives. Lawrence’s eldest brother, Bryan,13, who saved his three other siblings from the fire, also broke down in tears as he sat alone looking on at the service.

The Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT) filed and secured an injunction against the organisers of the National Chutney semi final which was carded for last night at The Triangle Too in Penal.

Simboonath Kumar,  Trading as D Triangle Too, Dr Vijay Ramlal and The National Chutney Foundation  all appeared in court yesterday  in front Justice Gregory Smith as COTT sought  to prevent them from performing music that is under its control. According to COTT’s CEO  Alison Dumas, “The defendants were given the option to pay COTT  for a licence which was in the range of $1,200-$2,000.  “COTT was even prepared to accept a promise to pay at a later date but the defendants refused.” Justice Smith granted COTT  the injunction, which meant that all COTT members were to be excluded from the competition. The defendants will go back to court on May 5 when they will respond.

Top businessman Arthur Lok Jack recounted his own experiences of rejection and eventual success to spell out to some 73 MBA/management graduates the qualities of leadership that would prevent them now getting stuck in middle-management.

The Associated Brands chairman was addressing the University of the West Indies (UWI) Institute of Business (IOB) presentation of graduates at the Hilton Trinidad on Friday evening, before an audience that included President George Maxwell Richards, Minister of Science and Tertiary Education Danny Montano, United States Ambassador Prof Roy Austin, United Kingdom High Commissioner Peter Harborne, and several top local businessmen. Acknowledging that in their studies the graduates had shown sacrifice, drive, ambition and commitment, Lok Jack warned: “Many MBA graduates are lost in middle management, and have not progressed as they would have liked and their goals have eluded them”.

But assuring “There is always room at the top”, Lok Jack listed the qualities sought by organisations in promoting managers. He explained that companies asked: “Does this person have leadership qualities? Are they entrepreneurial or risk-averse? Your competence and ability to work hard are very important but are taken for granted.” While noting that managers were good at solving problems between different people and between different departments, and that managers seemed to be favoured by organisations over leaders, it was the latter group that Lok Jack effused over, spelling out the four attributes of leadership.

Lok Jack said: “A leader is a visionary, who lives by his vision and inspires others to.  A leader motivates people in different ways, articulating their vision for the organisation, and satisfying people’s need for self-esteem. “A leader needs good intuition. This helps form new ideas, although a CEO is reluctant to say ‘gut feeling’ but instead calls it ‘judgment’” He used his own life to make the point, recalling that as a young man he had wanted to set up his own business making chocolates (now Associated Brands) but was turned down for financing by every banker on his list. “I then visited a banker who was not on my list and he gave me the loan, out of his intuition”.

The third quality a leader needed was to be passionate, said Lok Jack, adding: “Enthusiasm is very infectious”. He recalled that many proposals were shot down by a member of a company’s board of directors because a CEO showed a lack of passion in presenting the idea. Fourthly said Lok Jack, a leader needs people-skills. “A leader must inspire confidence, show sensitivity to people, and have good emotional intelligence”. He noted that a successful CEO must be able to ‘think outside of the box’, quickly evaluate risk profiles, and be quick on his feet. Lok Jack concluded: “A good CEO has leadership qualities and management skills”. 

In his remarks to the graduates, UWI, St Augustine, Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal, Bhoe Tewarie praised them for having learnt how to learn.  “Only a learning society can compete in a knowledge-based society. See how far you have grown by just one little decision to further your education. See how much the world has changed in the two years since you started. You have learnt how to learn. “We want to spread this philosophy through the whole of UWI, that you are not just learned graduates but are learners. Learners who will create, innovate and initiate. I congratulate you as you continue your journey of learning and for the contribution you will make to this society. I wish you a happy learning life”. 

Tewarie’s point was earlier alluded to by executive MBA valedictorian, attorney Nicole Chapman, who praised the IOB’s promotion of teamwork among students. She recalled: “From the very first day we as a bunch of complete strangers were told to form ourselves into teams which would stay together the entire two-and-a-half years. The work of the team would be graded as your work. This was an affront to our logic. How could you put your fate, your success in the programme, in the hands of others?”. But she said eventually they all felt the power of synergy, learning that each one had something to contribute and all learning that “None of us is as smart as all of us”.  Chapman praised the MBA, saying: “We have learnt to become excited about change…We learnt to step out of the box by always asking ‘why?’ and ‘why not?’ and by never discarding the different, seemingly ridiculous idea”.

International MBA valedictorian, human resource manager Hermese Duncan Alexander, likened the course to an air flight, saying: “It wasn’t too long before the turbulence set in and the flight became unbearable…Sleepless nights, interpersonal squabbles with fellow passengers, and even disembarking passengers were some of the casualties we suffered…At a stopover we were able to form some invaluable friendships which kept us focussed during the flight and provided the moral support some of us needed. Having resumed the flight we had to constantly pass through air pockets of administrative difficulties. From the beginning of the flight to the very end, these gaps in the coordination of the flight tested the passengers’ faith in the flight crew. Thankfully the competence of the tour guides helped attenuate the turbulence caused by these air pockets…The air pockets were caused by a lack of proper communication and saw us confused about the texts to be used, anxious because of the late release of exam information and late confirmation of electives, to name a few…We believe the IOB has set an exemplary standard via the instruction that we received; we believe that now it needs to set standards which are no less worthy of praise via the administrative support provided”.

CRIME once again dominated the local news this past week, as within the last eight days (between Good Friday and yesterday), six persons were murdered in various incidents in the country, bringing the tally of persons murders for the year to 68.

Amidst the tense and action-packed Test match at the Oval, in which the West Indies’ losing streak against the all-conquering Australians was extended, criminals continued their brisk trade — terrorising law-abiding citizens — as a number of robberies, shootings and hold-ups were reported in various parts of the country. However, on Thursday night, it was the criminals themselves, who were sent running for their lives as police and robbery victims took the fight to them, resulting in two bandits being shot dead in separate incidents in St Augustine and Aranjuez. Apart from the murders and the shooting deaths of the two bandits, there were also three drownings, a murder/suicide and a suicide in Penal in which a Guru (a Hindu spiritual leader), placed a gun to his mouth and pulled the trigger. The following is a look back (in chronological order) of those who died in unnatural circumstances during the past week, starting from Good Friday.

GOOD FRIDAY

* 16-year-old schoolboy Jamal “Brother” James is fatally shot at his Gonzales, Belmont home. Four heavily armed men broke into the family home shouting, “Police, police”. They gunned down James as he lay on a bed. His cousin Sheriffa Jerome, 13, was also shot and seriously wounded. No arrests have been made and some Belmont residents have sworn revenge for James’ death. Police believe the gunmen shot James by mistake as they went in search of a man who witnessed a murder.
* Toco resident Darius James, 21, was fatally stabbed in the left side of his chest during an argument outside a bar in Toco. A Form Four student has since been charged with his murder and appeared before a Sangre Grande Magistrate. The stabbing stemmed from an argument over stolen bicycle tyres.

EASTER SUNDAY

* Sherwin “Crow” Chance, 22, was almost decapitated after being shot multiple times in the head with shotguns by four men who stormed his Red Hill, Morvant home during the early morning hours. Police believe the shooting may have been revenge and linked to two other non-fatal shooting incidents which occurred in the Red Hill, Morvant district two weeks ago.
* Seventh Day Adventist Joel Constance, 30, of Ojoe Road, Sangre Grande drowns while bathing with friends at Mayaro. His body resurfaces on Tuesday.
* Stephanas Gomes, 19, of La Romaine, San Fernando drowns after diving from a boat into the Ortoire River. His body also resurfaces on Tuesday.
* Kishore Anook of Longdenville drowns while diving in a pond at Edinburgh 500. His body is retrieved moments after the drowning.
* Kerwin Joseph, 24, a tenant at the Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain apartments, is stabbed to death at his home by a female relative whom he was savagely beating and choking during a heated argument.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson has since ordered the female suspect released from police custody and a Court Inquest held to determine the circumstances surrounding the fatal stabbing.

MONDAY

* In an incident which still has police baffled as to whether it was a murder or accident, Garthon Joseph, 25, died after falling off a cliff and his body smashed on sharp rocks 40 feet below. Reports revealed that Joseph, of Matura, was running prior to falling off the cliff. Police are yet to establish if he was pushed or he fell accidentally.
* Ashook Kallicharran, 45, of Riverside Road, Curepe dies in an accident which also left his cousin Steven Kallicharran critically injured.  Steven was reportedly driving a vehicle in company with Ashook, along King Street, St Joseph when their vehicle collided with a maxi-taxi.
* Grandmother Boodhanie Heeralal, 55, dies after being struck by a jet-ski while liming with relatives at a water park inPenal. Heerala, of Seurage Trace, Debe died at the San Fernando General Hospital, moments after the elderly was pitched some 15 feet in the air after being struck by the jet ski at Jovi’s water park.

TUESDAY

* Just weeks shy of going on retirement, Pentagon security guard Rajkumar Maharaj, 60, is shot dead at his workplace – Health Net Pharmacy in Barataria – by two bandits who relieved him of his Ruger nine-millimetre pistol. Maharaj is cremated two days later following a simple but emotional funeral service at his home.
* Andre Linsey, 22, of Pump Trace, Laventille is stabbed numerous times in the chest during a melee outside NHA offices opposite the Morvant police station. Linsey is rushed to Port-of-Spain General Hospital but is pronounced dead on arrival. Prior to the stabbing, Linsey was among a group of men involved in a stone-throwing incident after an argument broke out among the group who had gathered to collect their fortnightly URP cheques.

WEDNESDAY

* Grandmother of one, Cynthia Weilung, 60, is locked into her Team Drive, Majuba Crossing, Diego Martin home by her maid Joyce Augustus, 35, who later sets fire to the house, burning the elderly woman to death.
Augustus dies hours later at Port-of-Spain General Hospital after ingesting gramoxone. Exactly why Augustus would want to murder her employer and then commit suicide is still not known by both police and Weilung’s relatives.
* When seven-year-old Jason Lawrence saw his Endeavour Road, Chaguanas home  being swiftly engulfed by flames, he became afraid and hid under a bed. His burnt, unrecognisable corpse was discovered among the ruins of his bedroom after firemen extinguished the blaze, which was believed to be started by a candle carelessly left unattended.
* Richard “Miguel” Magliore, 14, is shot and killed at his Rose Hill, Laventille home. Another teenager, Shane Daniel, 17, has since been charged with unlawfully killing Magliore (Manslaughter). The charge was laid by Cpl Reuben Alleyne of Besson Street CID.

THURSDAY

* Bandit Hassan Mohammed of Champs Fleurs, dies at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex after being shot multiple times by Northern Division police during a shoot-out in St Augustine.
Mohammed was among a group of four bandits who were intercepted by St Joseph police along the Eastern Main Road, following which a shoot-out ensued. One of Mohammed’s accomplices was also shot and wounded while another was held by police. The fourth suspect escaped and is still at large. A pistol seized by the police is believed to be the same which was taken from security guard Rajkumar Maharaj who was murdered on Tuesday.
* Bandit Wendell “Bikeman” Simon, 36, of Santa Cruz is shot and killed by a businessman in Aranjuez. Simon and two accomplices held up well-known businessman Simboonath Kumar who was liming with his friend Vishnu Harripersad, who is also a businessman. After robbing the businessmen, Simon and his cohorts tried to drive off in Harripersad’s car, but the businessman drew his licensed firearm and opened fire, hitting Simon multiple times. He later bled to death in a drain. His accomplices managed to escape and are now being sought by police.
* Penal Guru (a Hindu spiritual leader) Naziph Ali, commits suicide at his home by placing a gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger. Ali, 40, was said to be depressed after an alleged homosexual relationship he had been having with a man was discovered by his (Ali’s) followers, who later chased the man away from Ali’s Temple.

A Scarborough, Tobago labourer was freed Friday on a charge of murdering his elder brother following a no-case submission by his attorney at the end of the preliminary inquiry. John Gray, 47, represented by attorney Neville Hilton-Clarke was acquitted by Senior Magistrate Mark Wellington in the Scarborough First Court after he upheld Hilton-Clarke’s submission that his client had no case of murder to answer.

When the decision was handed down, Gray burst into tears, circled the courtroom, then went out the door and back inside, before he actually left surrounded by relatives and friends who were ecstatic in their solidarity with the freed man. Gray had been before the court charged by Detective Sgt Garfield Moore of the Scarborough CID, with murdering 50-year-old Rawle Gray, aka “Small Boy”, at their Logwood Park, Glen Road, Scarborough home on the night of May 29, 2002.

The State’s case was presented by Prosecutor, Insp Cyril Broomes. It was alleged that the deceased came home around 9 pm and started cursing the accused. The deceased, it was alleged, was in the habit of behaving violently and beating on his younger brother, and there was ongoing conflict in the home that they shared. On the night in question, the deceased allegedly cursed the accused over dirty clothes he (the accused) had in his room and ordered him to remove them. As he was doing so, it was alleged that the deceased who was armed with two cutlasses, started planassing him.

The deceased allegedly cornered John when he attempted to escape, and he took up a piece of wood and struck the deceased, who fell to the floor and was later pronounced dead. In his no-case submission, defence attorney Hilton-Clarke submitted that an essential element or ingredient of the charge of murder, that of malice aforethought, premeditation was not established by the prosecution.

Defence attorney said there was absolutely no evidence of this. He submitted there was no intention on the part of his client to wound or do grievous bodily harm, far less to murder, when he struck the deceased with the piece of wood. It was purely an act of self-defence under provocation, Hilton-Clarke submitted. In summing up his decision, the Magistrate observed that from the evidence it was quite clear that the deceased was the aggressor at all times. He noted that on the day in question, the deceased planassed the accused, who, in trying to escape the brutality, picked up the piece of wood and hit the attacker and escaped.

Additionally, the Magistrate said there was evidence that there were several reports made by the accused to the Police about the violent behaviour of the deceased on several occasions. Moreover, the accused had brought several private charges against the deceased for assault, bodily harm, constant bullying, etc. He said there was evidence of severe provocation of the accused by the deceased on very many occasions. Further, the Magistrate ruled that on the evidence as a whole, there was no real prima facie case of murder made out against the accused by the prosecution. He said there was serious doubt with respect to a charge of manslaughter when one considers all the facts; because the deceased was clearly the aggressor and the accused was merely trying to defend himself. Magistrate Wellington said he had no choice but to discharge the accused.