Duprey, who initially accepted liability, is now denying owing John any money and is calling on him to provide proof. But before Duprey can change his defence, he first has to convince Justice Frank Seepersad that he can do so.

When the lawsuit came up for hearing at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Duprey’s lawyer Michael Coppin indicated that his client wanted to withdraw his initial position of having accepted liability but not quantum.

Coppin said his client’s defence was now based on the statute of limitation, while Industrial Commercial Development (Trinidad) Limited – which John is also suing – has amended its defence on a breach of contract principle.

But Justice Seepersad questioned whether Duprey can now withdraw his defence. “Under what circumstances can you withdraw an appearance? I am not aware of any provision (under the Civil Proceedings Rules) to do so. It cannot be that the first defendant can just say, ‘Oops. I want to withdraw my defence’,” the judge said.

Coppin admitted while the rules were silent, it has been done in the past. John’s attorney Asha Watkins- Montserin, who appears with attorney Keith Scotland and Sheriza Khan, said there was no rule permitting Duprey to withdraw his defence. She also expressed surprise at the move as her client was not served with the application.

Coppin was given until March 28, to file submissions on the issue and the judge is expected to give his ruling on whether it can be done on May 16. “Courts must jealously guard its processes against abuse of process. You have to convince me that that course of action is proper,” the judge said. “This court is moving on as if there is an admittance of liability,” Justice Seepersad noted.

Both John and Duprey have also been told by the judge that they must attend court when the matter comes up next for hearing. They were not in court yesterday and although John was said to be ill, no reason was given for Duprey’s absence.

In his lawsuit, John, who was a former government minister, said that in 2012, Duprey, on various occasions, requested loans which John provided.

He said there was an oral agreement between them for Duprey to repay these loans. John also alleged that Duprey used ICDL as a shell company to avoid personal liability.

In all, John said, he lent Duprey $5,166,125 and used his property to secure the amounts he borrowed from the bank. He also provided a table of wire transfers made to Duprey’s bank account in Florida over the period March to September 30, 2012.

John said he was expected to be repaid in October 2013, pending a real estate transaction but received no money. He also said that in January 2015, Duprey acknowledged the loan amount and assured he would repay John, when he sold his 418,880 shares in MotorOne Insurance Company, which is owned by ICDL.

According to John, ICDL entered into a sale agreement for the sale of Duprey’s shares in MotorOne in December 2015, and he was expected to receive an initial $24 million, with the balance to be paid over one year. He said even with the deposit of $12 million paid to Duprey for the sale of MotorOne shares, he (John) was not paid as promised.

John also said he has learned that there has been a revision of the terms of the MotorOne share sale with Duprey set to receive more than $54 million.

Although admitting the situation has been compounded by pending legal action relating to the MotorOne sale share agreement and a dispute as to the directorship of ICDL, John says there are no other assets known to him in Duprey’s name in Trinidad and Tobago and he is concerned that he will not receive the money owed to him.

John also said Duprey communicated directly with him in November 2015 and acknowledged the loan debt and made a promise to liquidate. Later that month he received $500,000 and in February 2016, another payment of $90,000 but none since. The balance of the loan owed is $4.5 million, John’s lawsuit alleges. He is seeking repayment of the amount owed as well as interest.

Duprey in his defence denied John’s claims and also denied that ICDL was his shell company. He said he was one of two shareholders who collectively hold 100 percent of ordinary shares in ICDL. The other shareholder is Dalco Capital Management Company, which although not admitted in his claim, is said to be owned by Duprey.

Duprey admitted that there was a series of agreements, over time, between himself and John for different sums of money but does not admit to owing him $5.1 million.

He also contends that John’s action is statute barred as four years have expired from the date of the cause of action in 2012 to the filing of the claim in 2016. Duprey also says the wire transfers exhibited by John in the lawsuit were not related to a loan from John but to the sale of a property. ICDL in its defence has denied knowledge of any promises to repay any loan incurred by Duprey.

Justice Ricky Rahim ordered a Fyzabad man to return a lot of land in Gulf View, La Romaine valued approximately $5 million in, to the rightful owner, saying an attempt to take it away by a false Deed, smacked of fraud. Justice Rahim ordered the Registrar General to cancel and expunge from the records, the Deed in question.

The judge said that based on his discovery during the trial, fraud has reached deep into the public records of the Land Registry, affecting people’s right to their land. The case was that of two families engaged in a land battle, both sides walking with their own Deeds and claiming ownership of the land situated at Parson Avenue in Gulf View.

In a judgement in the San Fernando High Court, after a trial in which personnel from the Ministry of Legal Affairs were called to produce and testify on which of the two Deeds were real, Justice Rahim found that a set of Deeds were doctored in order to claim ownership of the land in Gulf View. He launched a stinging attack on what he discovered as an interference with the, “physical manipulation of original Deeds in the custody of the Registrar General’s Department by persons unknown, in order to create a chain of title.” Rickey Deyal of Delhi Road, Fyzabad claimed he was the beneficial owner of a lot of land at No. 446 Parson Avenue, Gulf View, via the estate of his deceased mother Admarine Rampersad and firstly, a woman named Lenora Iris Joseph. Deyal was appointed executor of his mother’s estate by a Will in 2012. As such, he claimed ownership of the land.

In 2013, Chaitram Ramrattan, wife Omelia and son Amrit, bought the land from Gulf View Limited and in May 2013, began construction and excavation work, for their new house. In August 2013, Deyal obtained an injunction forcing the Ramrattans to cease construction. Former House Speaker and attorney Nizam Mohammed defended the Ramrattans in the injunction.

Justice Rahim conducted a trial, in which he had to decide whether Deyal or the Ramrattans, hold title to the land.

The judge referred to the evidence of Deyal who claimed he derived title to the land via Deed No. 1164 of 1927, Deed No. DE 2011019959553D001, conveyed to Iris Joseph by Deed DE 201301543211D001, in which Joseph agreed to transfer various parcels of lands, including the disputed lot to Admarine Rampersad.

The judge stated that in Deyal’s evidence, he denied the lot in question was ever bought by Gulf View Ltd but that the parcel of land existed since 1922 and was known as Parson Avenue.

Justice Rahim, however stated that Licensed surveyor and photogrammetric engineer Paul Anthony Williams, submitted a report to the court in which he found that Parson Avenue did not exist even in 1969, but the lands were coconut estate and in 1978, was a road reserve. The judge then referred to the evidence of Sharlene Karim, a title examiner with the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs, who produced a true copy of Deyal’s Deed No 1164 of 1927, but it was pointed out by the judge that no certification of registration was attached to that Deed.

Its absence, the judge stated, means Deyal’s Deed No 1164 of 1927 was not part of the official records of the Registrar General’s Department.

Calling into question the authenticity of that Deed, Justice Rahim stated that the stamps on that Deed appeared to have been stuck onto the Deed, having been cut from elsewhere.

The judge stated that it was noticed that staple marks and holes appear on the pages of the Deed and some of the wording of the said Deed appears to be of lighter ink. But even more telling, Justice Rahim stated, was the court’s view that the parcel of land in the said Deed produced by Karim to the court, refers to land sold in 1957 and located in San Juan.

He said that a reasonable conclusion, was that several pages were removed from a valid form of Deed 1164 of 1927, and ten pages of false information inserted to produce Deed 1164 of 1927. The judge stated, “This demonstrates quite adequately to this court that all pages of the Deed save and except the last, were in fact fraudulently inserted into the volume long after the Deed purports to have been registered.

“It is the evidence that the Registrar General’s Department has serious concerns about the authenticity of this Deed.” Justice Rahim added, “The documents tells a tale of wanton interference with and physical manipulation of the original Deed in the custody of the Registrar General’s department, by persons unknown in order to create a chain of title which is clearly false.” Justice Rahim dismissed Deyal’s claim to the land and declared that the Ramrattans are the lawful owners of the Parson Avenue lot in Gulf View.

He ordered that ‘Deed 1164 of 1927’ and Deeds E201101959553D001, DE201102051860, DE201501574348D001 ,DE201501574469D001 be expunged from the registry.

He ordered Deyal to pay Ramrattan $10,000 in damages for trespass to the land and invited attorney Mohammed and Deyal’s attorney, to make oral submissions on legal cost.

The AG made this point as he opened debate on the Trial by Judge Alone Bill 2017 in the Senate. Referring to Section 5 of the Constitution, Al-Rawi stated, “There is no direct reference to a trial by jury.” He said this position was reinforced by Chief Justice Ivor Archie in his speech at the opening of the law term on September 16, 2015.

Al-Rawi said on that occasion, Archie indicated, “There is no right to a jury trial.” He explained that Archie said, “There is a right to a public and fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal.” Listing several other eminent jurists and legal entities which Government consulted with on this legislation, Al-Rawi declared, “Not a soul has said that the bill requires a three fifths majority or in fact is unconstitutional.” Al- Rawi said the Privy Council also indicated in one of its judgements, “There is no entrenched right to a trial by jury.” He described attempts by the Opposition to allege that the bill required a special majority for passage as the United National Congress (UNC), “trying to build up a straw man to beat it down again.” Al-Rawi disclosed that unlike the former People’s Partnership (PP) government which sought to totally abolish trial by juries, this legislation offered a choice between trial by judge alone or trial by judge and jury.

Noting that Archie has also said “the jury system is not working,” Al-Rawi said this is reflected in the statistics. He said as of March 9, “the convicted, together with the Remand population stands at 3,634 (people).” Al-Rawi said the Remand population is 2,159 people and within that figure, 839 have been granted bail but are still in prison because they cannot access bail.

Al-Rawi said 8,600 jurors were summoned last year. However 1,170 applications for exemptions were presented, 1,195 were granted and 75 were refused. According to Al-Rawi, the data suggested that the manpower hours spent with respect to juries from 2011 to 2014 could cost $10.3 million.

Cutting through the statistics, Al-Rawi said what cannot be denied is that “a murder is a murder is a murder.” He also said what the bill seeks to advance, along with other pieces of legislation which Government has brought or is in the process of bringing to Parliament is that, “there must be some consequence to criminality.” Noting that 22 Commonwealth countries no longer do trials by jury, Al-Rawi said, “Judges are not necessarily persons born with gold and silver spoons in their mouths.” He added that judges, “have the ability to have proper minds when considering matters.

Explaining that a judge is required to give written reasons on facts and on the law, Al-Rawi said, “Those written reasons take one to a better position because juries, when they come up with their determination are not required to say

De Peiza lamented, “Social media has ruined my life.” She said after one person started a rumour it spread like wildfire to wrongly criminalise her, with online viewers sharing her photo and posting comments.

Inundated with phone calls from family and friends both home and overseas, De Peiza was moved to walk about her hometown to show she had not been held for the murders. “I have not eaten or slept since Friday when news spread that I was held for the murder. It is not a nice feeling.

I had to speak to my son’s teacher because I am afraid what this could do to him.” Even as she vows to seek legal advice, the country would indeed benefit from a statement by the Office of the Attorney General or a judicial ruling on one’s exposure to libel lawsuit for false statements made on social media.

While social media’s many attractions and advantages are surely altering the established model of traditional media, bogus stories such as De Peiza’s case illustrate the enduring need for integrity, credibility and reliability in the provision of news items.

In the recent United States presidential election, many wild claims were thrown about on social media by rival camps, while since then US President Donald Trump, whose television show, The Apprentice, had made him a household name, has now ironically sidestepped television news to instead communicate publicly via Twitter.

Public policy via tweet, meme and sound bite may seem trendy, but raise real concerns of veracity and deniability. Yes, since the foundation of print media the world has clearly moved on into a digital era with big benefits. Online news is instantaneous and so ahead of the 24-hour news cycle of a published newspaper, online platforms offer interactivity among viewers, and mobile devices such as smartphones supply news on the go. Certainly, this online technology is here to stay, with traditional media here and overseas adapting via websites and a social media presence.

Yet the plethora of unregulated online sites publishing every manner of allegation now surely gives even more impetus to traditional media as guardian of truth. We are a profession and are subject to laws, ethics, commercial realities, journalistic training and legacies of best practice and good taste.

Yes, a video clip of some scandalous street-level incident will be tweeted and shared a dozen times upon breaking, but the mainstream media with their decades of professionalism will be trusted by the population the following morning to confirm or debunk or otherwise explain the veracity of said social media splash.

This role was spelt out in a February story in the British Guardian by Jasper Jackson, titled “If newspapers won’t check viral stories, who will listen to them about fake news?” Likewise, a December 2016 Huffington Post story, “How to stop fake news and save newspapers,” advised media houses to weather the digital onslaught by giving their “imprimatur of truth and honesty” by information they publish. Even as the likes of Facebook and Le Monde set up units to weed out fake news websites, TT’s media houses likewise will do fact-checking and supply reliable news as an anchor amid this social media torrent of claims.

“Staff shortages have also hampered proper policing of the nation’s roads and contributed to the indiscipline among motorists.

“You can imagine how difficult it is to actually track or manage 600,000 plus vehicles when we don’t know exactly how many vehicles are on our roads, this because of a lack of technology.” That statement was reportedly made by Ruben Cato, Transport Commissioner, on March 17, 2010 (seven years ago), when he appeared before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament.

He traced the problems in the Licensing Division, located on the same compound since 1951, to the system not keeping pace with development and with the increase in the number of imported vehicles.

He disclosed that the computer system previously used was obsolete and “crashed” in 1999 because it was an old mainframe system and non-compliant.

Chairman of the committee, Deputy Speaker Pennelope Beckles, asked why no action was taken to deal with this and Cato said several attempts were made to modernise and to computerise the division but governments came and went and attempts at modernising and computerising the system had failed for one reason or another.

He said the last attempt was made through the United Nations Development Programme but this effort ended up being a matter before the court. He said the division was now partnering with the Canadian Government to achieve efficiency in the organisation.

“That process is going smoothly as far as I am aware. We hope that before June or July (of 2010) legislation will come before Parliament to bring about necessary changes in the sector,” Cato said.

After taking office in 2007, Cato has produced 27 policy circulars.

“There were policies in place but these were ad hoc. There was no way you could discipline anyone because there was no policy related to any particular function.” He identified a human resource challenge with people being promoted to the post of supervisor without receiving the necessary training. Cato said his office and the ministry have been recommending appropriate staff training programmes for some time but without success. “The ministry was not responsible for hiring or firing and there continues to be insufficient licensing officers,” he said.

He admitted that staff shortages are plaguing the division and numerous recommendations have been made for an increase in staff but without any positive response from the Personnel Department.

In an article published in the November 14, 2011, Express, Cato was reported to have said that since 1955, there had been at least five attempts to modernise and computerise the division and that the current initiative was at a crawl if not a standstill. He called for a speeding-up of the exercise.

On February 13, speaking at the opening cremony of the new Licensing Headquarters at Frederick Settlement, Caroni, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said the new state-of-the-art building offers first class technology and will provide new and convenient services to the public, alleviating the long-standing complaints from customers over poor service delivery.

On the legislative side, the minister gave the assurance that 2017 would see the introduction of legislation for the establishment of the Motor Vehicle Authority which will guide the administration of driving permit issuance, vehicle registration and owner certification, and an upgrade process including the computerisation of records.

However, no specific mention was made of the present status of the modernisation and computerisation of the Transport Authority’s records which, in my opinion, should be a priority of the Government.

But is it? How long again do we have to wait?

Dead is civil engineer John Morris, 56, of Scotland. According to a police report, at about 11 am, Morris was working at Lutchmeesingh’s Contractors asphalt plant, along the M1 Ring Road, Princes Town when the incident occurred.

Reports are that Morris was attempting to fix a problem at the aggregate mixing bin when he fell inside. Morris’ co-workers heard his screams and rushed to his assistance.

The employees also reported to police that they dug for several minutes before they were able to pull Morris out of the pile of aggregate.

He was rushed to Princes Town Health Facility where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy is expected to be performed today at the Forensic Science Centre. Morris lived alone along Matilda Road, Princes Town near to the asphalt plant. He had no relatives living in the country.

Efforts to contact officials at Lutchmeesingh’s Contractors proved futile as calls went unanswered. Several persons at the company have since been questioned. Princes Town Police are continuing investigations.

Passengers, a CAL press release stated, may make changes to their reservations, “without penalty subject to special conditions.” The flights in question are BW 550, from Trinidad to New York on Tuesday 14 March; BW 526, from Guyana to New York on Tuesday March 14; BW 528, Trinidad to New York on Tuesday 14 March; BW 011, Montego Bay to New York on Tuesday 14 March; BW 017, Kingston to New York, Tuesday 14 March; BW 016, New York to Kingston, Wednesday 15 March; BW 551, New York to Trinidad, Wednesday 15 March; BW 527, New York to Guyana, Wednesday 15 March and BW 010, New York to Montego Bay, Wednesday 15 March.

For further information, passengers may visit www.caribbeanairlines.

com, www.

facebook.com/caribbeanairlines or call the Caribbean Airlines Call Centre at 868-625-7200 (Trinidad & Tobago) / 1-800-920-4225 (Toll Free North America), and 1-800-744-2225 (Toll Free Caribbean)/ 1-888-359-2475 (Jamaica).

Retired Inspector Sheila Prince made this call yesterday as she confirmed that the Police Retirees Association will hold a silent vigil tomorrow at its offices at Riverside Plaza in East Port-of-Spain to show solidarity with “our sister police” who has gone missing. Prince said this was not a matter of “telling adults what to do”, but advising that women police officers and women in general should be careful in their choice of men.

“You have to stand for something, otherwise you will end up standing for nothing. At the end of the day, all we have is our character. We have to be women of integrity, of truthfulness,” Prince said.

According to Prince, the disappearance of Joseph marks a first in the history of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service since a WPC has never gone missing before. She said while women officers have been injured on the job none has ever gone missing before. She insisted that every effort be made to find her. “We want her! They have to find her! And time is running out,” Prince said.

The WASA Daily Paid Retirees Group yesterday made the call saying members are fed up with the poor treatment being meted out to them by people in control of the retirees’ fund. “Do you know how much pensioners still have to mind their children and grandchildren and still have to find money to get medication,” asked Magnus Joseph, the 69-year-old leader of the group.

WASA retirees are paid $2,400 monthly.

Joseph explained that every three years, the union in charge of WASA workers would negotiate to raise the pension payment. Money which fills the coffers of the pension fund is collected from the salaries of permanent workers, who are told they would later benefit through the said pension plan.

Actuaries would conduct an evaluation of the pension fund every three years, and if there is a surplus, a raise of payment would be approved.

Joseph that since their last pay raise, three evaluations were done, but no increased pension payment has been forthcoming.

This was announced yesterday by Education Minister Anthony Garcia during a press conference at his office in Port-of-Spain. “Arising out of the investigation, several recommendations have been made which will involve possible disciplinary action against teachers. We have done the first stage of the process,” Garcia said. “A number of areas of teachers’ behaviour have been identified and these recommendations will be made to the TSC for possible disciplinary action against some teachers who fell short of their responsibilities and their duties.” Regarding the incident in which bottles were thrown at a group of protesting teachers, Garcia said two Form Three students have been identified and sent on seven days suspension.

“It does not end with this suspension. After they have served the required period, they will be enrolled at a Learning Enhancement Centre where hopefully, they will undergo sessions aimed at behavioural modification, so they will know that those types of behaviour are not going to be condoned.” Garcia said the ministry has commissioned a thorough, comprehensive and complete investigation. “We are doing everything possible within the remit of the law to ensure the school returns to normalcy in a short space of time. The school has assumed some degree of order and discipline and we want to ensure that is maintained.” Garcia said that in an effort to make the school an interesting environment where learning and teaching can take place without any major disruptions, they have asked one of their senior school supervisors to be stationed at the school for a considerable period of time. The school supervisor will lend support to the school’s administration.

Garcia said it was unfortunate that teachers saw it fit to protest against the principal outside the school.

However, he said the ministry recognise the right of any individual to protest. “We recognise the right of any individual to protest but no right is unfettered.

No right is absolute and every right, even those enshrined in the Constitution are subject to certain standards of decency,” Garcia said.