Kyle Thomas, who is just 19 years old and only on the job as a security guard for two months with Amalgamated Security Services, is now being hailed a hero as he risked his own life to try and save three people who got into difficulties while bathing at Maracas Bay on Sunday.

Two, however, died - they were identified as Premchand Ramlal, 50, of Fyzabad and Sandra Singh, 53, of Penal.

However, the lone survivor, who Thomas was able to get to first has been identified as Canadian national Ron Rampersad.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday while at Maracas Bay and on duty, Thomas said he wished to meet with Rampersad.

“I really want to know how he is doing. I am so grateful that I was able to save his life. I really tried my best with the woman as well but it is sad to know that she didn’t make it,” Thomas said.

Thomas said at about 7 pm he was at the gas station, which is currently being constructed, when he received a phone call that there were some people drowning in front of the lifeguard building.

“Without thinking I started to run straight down there and just took off my boots and my jersey and ran straight in the water. I saw two people at first. I was able to reach the guy first and brought him out on the shore and placed him on the sand. I ran back in and at that time I remembered being very scared but I was determined to bring her out too. While bringing her out, a lifeguard, who lived in the area, reached by this time and helped me bring her out. He placed her on the sand and began to do CPR because I didn’t know how to do it,” Thomas said.

The third victim, Thomas said had already gone under and as a result was unable to reach him at the time. His body was found just after 10 pm.

Thinking of his actions on Sunday, Thomas said if he had to do it all over again he would.

“I may not be a lifeguard but I grew up here at Maracas Bay and know how to swim and know how to handle the rip currents. I really didn’t think about what I was doing but all I know was that I had to help those people and try and save their lives.”

Thomas, however, used his experience to send out a warning to sea bathers, “do not trust the water, there are always strong rip currents and most of all, only bathe when there are lifeguards on duty. The lifeguards work from 10 am to 5.30 pm so I advise that people leave the water when they leave too because not only that, when it is dark you cannot see because there are no lights on the beach and you cannot see where the currents are.”

The Opposition United National Congress (UNC) is calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his Government to focus on the fundamental issues affecting the country instead of resorting to distractions.

The comment came yesterday as the UNC responded to a People’s National Movement release which chastised UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for claiming she got a text from a businessman which indicated there was another kidnapping in the country.

Persad-Bissessar made the comment while she was addressing supporters during the UNC’s Monday Night Forum in Couva. Days before, south businessman Gregory Laing had been kidnapped and she noted kidnapping was once again on the rise.

But after the police indicated they had no such report, the PNM said it condemned in the highest manner “the wholly irresponsible and pre-meditated action” by Persad-Bissessar.

The PNM said Persad-Bissessar’s “action was calculated to cause unnecessary panic, which is condemned,” noting she was engaging in fear-mongering which “should be rejected by the population.”

The PNM added that the UNC was on a “destructive path” and was not about working in the best interest of the nation.

But in its own response yesterday, the UNC said the PNM was “throwing out distractions” to deflect from the recent allegations that the PNM was connected with criminal elements.

It said, “Instead of informing us that the killers of 13-year-old Videsh Subar and 57-year-old Rose Mohammed have been caught or that any killer has been caught, instead of telling us of the steps taken to reduce escalating murders - now standing at more than 250, instead of telling us what strategies will be implemented to assist at-risk youth to lead them away from a life of crime, this Rowley PNM is now pre-occupied with a comment on a text message,” the UNC said.

The UNC said the PNM should be ashamed, adding the PNM Government has failed to articulate any policies aimed at bringing crime down and creating a safe and secure environment for the people of T&T.

The Customs and Excise Division has been given a boost in its job of policing the importation and exportation of goods as the Court of Appeal ruled that it was not required to prove a person’s intent to convict them of making false declarations and for importing prohibited items.

In a 64-page judgment delivered at the Hall of Justice, last week, the Appeal Court ruled that sections 213 and 214 dealing with the crimes were strict liability offences which did not require prosecutors to prove mens rea (intention or knowing of wrongdoing).

In a press release issued yesterday, the division described the judgment as a landmark decision.

“The decision is an important win for the Customs and Excise Division since it means that for offences where prohibited goods are imported or smuggled into T&T the prosecution does not have to prove that the offender had knowledge for a successful conviction,” the release said.

While the court said that almost all criminal offences require an element of intent, it ruled that strict liability could be imposed by Parliament and inferred in some cases where it is not expressly stated.

“The offences in question deal with issues of social concern namely, smuggling and revenue control, and construing them as offences of strict liability would be effective in helping to promote the objectives of the statute and in helping to promote vigilance in respect of the activities giving rise to those offences,” the judges said.

They stated that issues with the fairness of strict liability offences could be addressed.

“Any resultant harshness can be moderated by an appropriate, rationalised, harmonised and well coordinated Customs prosecution policy,” the judges said.

The court also dealt with the “Halfway House” approach used in foreign jurisdictions whereby people are required to prove that they took all reasonable care to prevent the commission of the crime.

“In our view, adopting a principled approach, the alteration of such pivotal principles of criminal law and in particular, the imposition of a reserve burden of proof, ought to be a matter for Parliament to consider and not for the courts to develop incrementally as a matter of common law,” the judges said.

The ruling was part of an appeal filed by division against Canserve Caribbean Ltd and its employee Darren Nurse, who were charged in 2009 with importing 51 gambling machines while they declaring that the shipment was office furniture.

A magistrate who presided over their trial had upheld their no case submission on several grounds including the failure of Customs prosecutors to prove that Nurse and the company intended to defraud the division.

Ruling on the issue of intent, Appellate Judges Rajendra Narine, Prakash Moosai and Mark Mohammed stated that the magistrate made an error and ordered that Nurse and the company be retried.

However, another employee Cindy Gibbs, who was also charged with the offences and benefited from the no case ruling, was successful in the appeal. The court ruled that she rightly benefited from the magistrate’s decision as it was Nurse, who was alleged to have made the declarations, and her only role was accompanying him to the Pt Lisas Port on the date that the machines were found.

In its decision the court also ruled that the magistrate was wrong when she found that the machines could not be classed as prohibited items as they were imported in parts and the division’s staff was unable to reassemble and test them.

The court held that the evidence of manuals for the devices was sufficient to prove that they were to be used for gambling.

Gilbert Peterson, SC, represented the Customs and Excise Division. Jagdeo Singh represented the company, Nurse and Gibbs.

A San Juan man was killed by police on Tuesday night after he attacked his 90-year-old grandmother with a knife at their Don Miguel Road home.

The deceased, now the 22nd man killed by police for the year, was identified as Damien Downey.

According to police reports, they responded to a report that Downey was brandishing a knife and terrorising his grandmother Marry Ettienne.

Two officers responded and arrived around 8.05 pm but were attacked by Downey who was then shot. One of the officers was slashed on one of his hands.

The injured man and the officers were taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where Downey was pronounced dead on arrival.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian at the scene of the incident, Downey’s uncle, Garth Ettienne, said he called the police after his nephew began acting erratic.

Ettienne described his nephew was a loner. He said Downey was never diagnosed as being mentally ill. He said his nephew spent a week at the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital but the report was inconclusive.

Ettienne since then his nephew never exhibited any symptoms that warranted another visit to the mental institution.

Asked about the police’s use of force, Ettienne said: “It is what they know, it is what they have. I don’t think that it will change any time soon,” adding there was need for better training of police officers to deal with personal attacks.

Ettienne said the police training was not in keeping with 21st Century standards and he was pessimistic that their training will improve anytime soon.

Speaking following the weekly police press briefing yesterday public information officer for the police service, ASP Michael Pierre said the issue of arming police officers with non-lethal weapons needed to be addressed on a legislative level.

He said that he was unaware if any request or suggestions which had been made for the arming of officers with non-lethal weapons.

“Unlike the members of the public who can run away from a situation, once a report is made to the police we must attend to that situation and if upon reaching it is required of us to act we will do so as the police. We will welcome any form of advancement in terms of using force against anyone,” Pierre said.

In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday president of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association, Insp Michael Seales said the issuing of non-lethal weapons does not need legislative intervention. Seales is one of the many voices that called for the implementing of non-lethal weapons for officers.

Recently, public outrage was sparked after four mentally ill patients were killed by police officers in separate incidents.

In March, mentally ill patient, Paul Marchan, 30, was shot and killed after he reportedly attacked a family member and tried to stab two police officers at Richplain, Diego Martin.

In April 1, Raymond Joseph, 51, of Mahaica Road, Point Fortin, was shot after he allegedly attempted to grab the gun of a municipal police officer who had assisted in taking him to the Area Hospital. Relatives of Joseph, a retired soldier, had sought the police’s help to take him to the hospital for treatment.

Also, in May, mentally ill patient Miguel Rodriguez, 24, was fatally shot by an off-duty police officer during an altercation near a bar in Moruga. And in June, Daniel Paul was killed by police who responded to a report that he had been throwing bottles at a car in Ste Madeleine.

Four men appeared in court yesterday charged with four separate murders which occurred as far back as November, last year.

Akini “Akili” Parris, a 24-year-old auto electrician of Cocorite, appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court charged with killing 33-year-old Sherwin Noel on April 1.

Noel, of North Post Road, Diego Martin, was shot dead and found behind the steering wheel of his car along the Diego Martin Highway.

Jabari “Jonesy” Williams, of Trou Macaque Road, Laventille, appeared in the Tunapuna Magistrate’s Court charged with the murder of Kareem Fernando.

Fernando, 30, was shot dead near his home at Doux Doux Trace, Maracas/St Joseph on April 12.

The third man Seon McKnight, a construction worker from Maturita, Arima, was charged with murdering security guard Joel Punnette on November 2, last year.

Punnette, 59, who provided armed security for a cigarette delivery van, was shot dead when an armed bandit attempted to rob a shop at Kingdom Avenue, Maturita while he and his co-worker was inside. The incident was caught on security cameras.

Shortly after McKnight’s appearance, Sheldon Bernard, 29, of Coalmine Road, Sangre Grande, appeared charged with murdering his neighbour Sheldon Ramdhan.

Ramdhan, the owner of a poultry depot and a DVD store, was chopped to death near his home last Monday.

Parris, Williams and McKnight were also charged with possession of firearms and ammunition.

All four men were remanded into custody and ordered to reappear in court on separate days next month.

The Ministry of Education yesterday defended the placement of 18,180 students who wrote this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam as they said the process was transparent and based on a set criteria which resulted in all pupils being fairly evaluated and assessed.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia and Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis said there was “no mischief” involved as they sought to allay the fears of parents, some of whom took to social media to vent about the school their child was assigned after results were announced on Tuesday,

Garcia said he was heartened to see boys clawing their way back to the list of top 100 as the first five places were taken by six students comprised of three boys and three girls. He was speaking during a press conference at the Education Towers, Port-of-Spain.

The minister said the first place winner scored total marks in the three exam segments which included Creative Writing. There were errors in three questions in the Maths and English Language components which led to the ministry removing those from the marking scheme.

The criteria used to place students included merit, school choices, gender, principal’s 20 per cent selection and residence.

Garcia said, “Parents are given the choice of four schools they want their child to attend. In many instances, parents would select the high performing schools as the first, second, third and fourth choices. Therefore if a child falls below the marks required for the first choice, you would find that child has not been able to gain a place in any those four schools.”

“I understand teachers have been drawing this to the attention of parents but because parents have the right of choice, parents would prefer to determine which of the schools they would like their child to go to. Therefore when a child does not qualify on the basis of his performance to attend any of those four schools, then that child is placed in a school that is closest to his/her residence.”

TTUTA president Lynsley Doodhai agreed it was a “delicate and touchy subject” with parents, and that teachers could not dictate what choices would be appropriate in the circumstances.

Responding to social media comments who accused the ministry of zoning students, Garcia said while T&T’s Constitution gave parents the right to choose a school for their child, “No right is unfettered” as the student had to make the necessary marks to go to the respective school.

Garcia said the ministry was particularly concerned about the 2,170 students who had scored below 30 per cent in the national exam.

He said of this number, 803 students under the age of 13 have been “afforded an opportunity of returning to the primary school for another year and resitting the exam. It is not a case of we can’t find places for them. It is in the interest of those children to build on their foundation.”

However, he stressed that if a parent was not desirous of their child attending the school he/she was assigned to, they were free to go ahead and contact the district education office and they would be further advised. He also denied the ministry had zoned students.

On the topic of transfers, the ministry urged all parents to register their child at the school assigned before filling out and submitting the transfer form.

Officials advised no transfer was guaranteed and would be based on available space.

The two foreigners appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate yesterday, less than a week after two other Bulgarian nationals were arrested and charged with similar offences.

Daniel Nedelchev and Emil Mihalev appeared before Magistrate Christine Charles in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court charged with tampering with a Republic Bank Ltd (RBL) automatic banking machine (ABM) in Maraval and for possession card skimming equipment.

The duo’s court appearance came less than a week after Dimitar Georgiev, 47, and Toncho Tonchev, 22, appeared in court on similar charges arising out of a separate incident last week at another RBL ABM at Piarco Plaza.

Nedelchev and Mihalev pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded into custody as their Interpol criminal tracing was not available.

However, their attorney Stacy Mc Sween said that because of the language barrier she was unable to explain the charges to her clients, who may eventually want to change their pleas.

During the hearing before Charles, officers of the Fraud Squad brought a translator from St Lucia who was hired to work on Georgiev and Tonchev’s case.

The translator, Ruth Jones, was in court for that hearing as there was a mix-up with the date for Georgiev and Tonchev’s reappearance.

Police prosecutors informed Charles that the translator would not be able to be present for Georgiev and Tonchev’s hearing which was scheduled before another magistrate as she was due to return to St Lucia yesterday evening.

Prosecutors also expressed difficulties in hiring Jones for future hearings of the case as they said that there was no procedure for retaining a translator from abroad and the Fraud Squad was bearing the cost with a limited budget.

While Jones offered to stay in Trinidad to facilitate both cases, police prosecutors said she could not as she had a return flight booked for yesterday evening and that the police could not provide extended accommodation.

Jones’ unavailability is almost certain to cause the adjournment of Georgiev and Tonchev’s case as magistrate Cheron Raphael refused to even read the charges against them without a translator present during their appearance in court last week.

Georgiev and Tonchev expressed a similar desire to plead guilty to the charges but Raphael said she could not accept the plea without a translator being present.

Charles said that she would make enquires with the court’s administrative staff to determine if a translator could be sourced from the University of the West Indies.

“There is no guarantee that the court would be successful but we must live in hope,” Charles said.

Nedelchev and Mihalev are accused of maliciously causing $2,092.50 damage to RBL machine in Maraval, stealing a keypad from the machine valued at $1,575 and for being in possession of bank card skimming equipment. The incident allegedly occurred on June 25 and the men were arrested the following day at a guest house in St Ann’s.

Charles adjourned the case to next Monday to give Mc Sween sufficient time to get detailed instructions from her clients and for the police to produce the criminal background tracing.

Rayad Mohammed, the man who allegedly issued a threat against the wife and daughter of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, via a Facebook post has pleaded not guilty to a criminal charge.

 Mohammed who celebrates his 25th birthday today was granted $15,000 bail when he appeared before Siparia Second Court Magistrate Ava Vandenberg-Bailey yesterday. 

Mohammed was arrested on Saturday night one day after the post appeared on his Facebook page.

He spent three days in police custody before being charged on Tuesday night following instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard.  

He was released later that night after being granted police bail in the sum of $500. The charge alleged that on June 30, at Belle View Industrial Estate, South Oropouche he allegedly sent a grossly offensive message by telephone.

Mohammed allegedly wrote: “Someone should find Rowley daughter and wife and slit their throats n rape them.” The post was made two days after gruesome double murder of Hafeeza Mohammed, 56, and Videsh Subar, 13, in Malabar. Both victims were tied up and had their throats slit during a home invasion.

Mohammed subsequently closed his Facebook account and issued an apology for the offensive post.

His attorney, Hasine Shaikh, told reporters after the case: “He is not guilty at the end of the day and so he was advised to plead not guilty. This is a situation where a person rose up against what is happening in our country and he is being penalised for it. At the end of the day there are a number of persons on social media and on television and radio programmes who have a lot of things to say and the reality is it a lot of emotion.

“And I think we have been distracted and it has been a diversion of the fact that there are innocent people being killed and there is something that needs to be done about it.”

 Mohammed was charged by Cpl Darwin Badree of the Fraud Squad, contrary to Sec 106 (a) of the Summary Offences Act. The offence carries a maximum fine of $200 or imprisonment for a month.

Prosecutor Sgt Starr Jacob said a fingerprint trace was not done because the police computerised system was not working. However, she said a name check did not show up any convictions or pending matters. Jacob said Mohammed received police bail on Tuesday night but requested that it be regularised.

Mohammed’s attorney Hasine Shaikh said up until Friday her client worked as a Class 5 driver but the company has since told him they “will reach out to him after the matter is settled.”

She said he lived with his parents at Rio Claro and had a clean record. The prosecutor presented the defence with disclosure, comprising ten items, but she said there was one outstanding document, a report from the T&T Guardian newspaper.  

Mohammed’s mother offered to be his surety for bail but the prosecutor objected because the mother owned the phone which Mohammed allegedly used to commit the offence. 

Instead, his father was approved as surety. The magistrate adjourned the matter to August 2, for a case management hearing to decide the way forward. Shaikh said she will indicate on that day whether they will be calling witnesses. The prosecution said they intend to call five witnesses, including Cpl Vinelle Dassarath who was present in court. Shaikh said attorney Wayne Sturge was also in the matter.

Fed up of alleged police inaction over a spate of robberies in his community, a Freeport pensioner went to a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) meeting on Tuesday hoping to air his grievances.

Instead, he was accosted at gunpoint by two bandits, who waited for him outside the meeting and demanded the keys to his vehicle.

The man, who is not being identified for security reasons, panicked, threw his keys in some nearby bushes and began shouting for help, causing the gun-wielding bandits to flee the scene.

The drama unfolded outside the Three Roads Development Facility, Mission Road, Freeport, around 8 pm Tuesday, as PCA director David West held the authority’s first outreach programme since deputy director Michelle Solomon-Baksh was appointed last Thursday.

Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie addressed the attendees briefly, welcoming West to the constituency.

The victim, who is 79-years-old, left the meeting shortly after 8 pm, after West had called the proceedings to an end. He had parked his car opposite the centre and upon returning to the car, he noticed another vehicle parked directly behind him.

“When the meeting finished, I leave to go home, and I walk out and gone by the car. I see a car park up behind me but all I did was open my driver side door. I see the car starting to pull off from behind me, so I stand aside for the car to pass properly,” he recounted.

“When they pulled aside me, the man put down the glass and push out a gun at me and start saying, ‘Give me the keys, give me the keys,’ over and over again.”

Afraid for his life but adamant the bandits would not get the better of him, he threw his keys away and began to shout for help.

“I pelt away the keys over the wall and start to bawl for somebody to come help me, when they realise I wasn’t staying quiet, they drive off and gone.”

He said he was in shock at the incident and could not recall the license plate of the vehicle the men were in. He said one of his neighbours along the Freeport Mission Road was also robbed on Tuesday evening.

“I am concerned about my community, just last week two bandits went into my relative’s yard and was walking and looking into the cars parked up. Then just this evening they break into my neighbour house, so is like everywhere we go, they following now.”

Councillor for Freeport/Chickland Anil Baliram was standing outside the centre at the time, and upon hearing the man’s cries for help ran into the building and raised an alarm while other residents assisted the man in retrieving his keys.

Tewarie contacted the Freeport police and later told the T&T Guardian the man was lucky the bandits did not shoot him.

“It is really ironic that this man would walk out of this meeting and he would have two bandits waiting for him, one with a gun and he took his key and threw it away when they asked him for the key,” Tewarie said. “And he is very lucky that one of the bandits did not shoot him - he is very lucky to be alive and not wounded because I think it was a very dangerous situation there.”

He was also critical of the Freeport police, noting they took too long to respond to the call.

“It just shows the kind of problems that we are dealing with in this society, one is the issue of crime on one hand and the other is the issue of police response, because I called the police and they have not arrived yet.”

He said he placed a call to the station around 8.05 pm but the officers responded some 30 minutes later.

“And the other thing is the follow-up, because no one was injured, it is difficult to say if the police will follow up and try to catch the perpetrators.”

Asked if he thinks the incident warrants security at PCA outreach meetings in the future, PCA head West said, “Well I think it was an isolated incident, we never had anything like that before.”

He said he spoke to officers who responded on the night and they told him the incident may have been perpetrated by a group of men in the area who have been harassing residents. However, West said if police are present at future meetings it will deter the public from making their complaints.

“There can be no police presence. If the police are there the people who are attending will not feel comfortable about complaining against the officers in their district.”

...Body wants more teeth to probe cops

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is proposing an amendment to the act it is governed by so the authority can visit the scene where police officers shoot civilian suspects and be allowed to take and carry away evidence away from those scenes.

PCA head David West also wants the act to be amended so they can function for up to three months without a deputy director. The PCA was shut down on May 8 when then deputy director Andrew Stroude resigned to take up a post as a judge of the Industrial Court.

West was speaking during a community outreach programme at the Three Roads Development Facility, Mission Road, Freeport, on Tuesday evening. This was the first outreach since the authority’s new deputy director, Michelle Solomon-Baksh, was appointed last Thursday.

“We would like the authority to be immediately called to the scene where a civilian is shot by a police officer and be able to monitor the actions of the police and members of the public,” he said.

He said from October 3, 2016 up until July 3, 2017, there had been 29 fatal police shootings.

“We can see we have already increased - we would like that when there is a fatal shooting, the most senior officer on the scene contacts the Commissioner of Police, then the Commissioner contacts myself, the deputy director or someone appointed by us, who would then contact our investigators and tell them where this incident took place and they would then go down and monitor the officers and see what is happening.”

On May 8, 2017, all PCA investigations were put on hold pending the appointment of a new PCA deputy director.

On Tuesday, West said he hopes the act governing the PCA will be amended to let the authority continue to function even if there is no deputy director.

“For example, when the last deputy director resigned the PCA was shut down for three months - we are proposing that if in the event of the death, resignation etcetera of a deputy director, the PCA shall be duly constituted and can continue to act for a period of three months,” West said.

“So that is not too long that the director can abuse the power (of the authority), so it is a short period of time, we hope that we can have this amendment passed or part of it so the PCA does not have to be shut down.”

Other amendments proposed:

1 - To permit the authority to enter and search a public place and seize and carry away any evidence that may be found therein.

2 - To amend the section 44 of the Act by imposing a duty on the Commissioner of Police to provide a written decision with reasons to the authority within three months of the authority making a recommendation pursuant to that section.

3 - To provide the commission, the Commissioner of Police, the Assistant Commissioner of Police to immediately inform the authority of matters related to Section 21(1)(a) of the PCA Act and to require each of them, where such information is given, to produce a written report thereon within three days of the date the information was provided to the authority. Furthermore, to provide the measure(s) of recourse should either of the parties identified fail in their obligation.

No information on Cedric Burke has been sent at an official level to the National Security Council headed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, but reliable sources told the T&T Guardian that Rowley requested and has been provided with enough information about Burke to cause him to be seriously concerned that a member of his team had associated with him.

Burke was photographed with Port-of-Spain South Member of Parliament Marlene McDonald and President Anthony Carmona following a swearing-in ceremony last Friday for McDonald, who had taken the oath as the Public Utilities Minister.

But in the wake of a fire-storm about Burke’s attendance, Rowley dismissed McDonald from his Cabinet on Friday saying she had aligned herself with the wrong person.

Burke has since written to acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams seeking information on whether he is under investigation by the police, based on the statements made by the PM at a news conference on Monday.

While Burke is a registered contractor who has benefited from state contracts dating back to Patrick Manning’s government, the People’s Partnership government and the current Government, security sources told the Guardian he has been “under the radar of the law enforcement authorities for some time.”

A video showing images of a man with a strong resemblance to Burke was brought to the attention of the Prime Minister by this newspaper last year. The man was identified as the “President of Rasta City.”

The song which accompanies the video has the refrain “big up Chemist, big up Burkie,” with issues of kidnapping and crime highlighted.

National Security officials confirmed they are aware of the two minute video, which flashes images of guns and men with different titles flashing across the screen.

Reliable sources told the T&T Guardian that Burke is “well known to the police and in particular the Port-of-Spain division, which is why he was arrested in August 2015 under the Anti-Gang Legislation.” But Burke was freed two months later and has since sued the state for unlawful arrest and prosecution.

Asked why he has not been charged with any offence if he was under a security radar, the source said “that is the million dollar question.”

Calls to the mobile phones of National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Police Commissioner Stephen Williams went unanswered yesterday.

Former national security minister Gary Griffith yesterday refused to say whether when he was minister information about Burke had come before him, saying he could not discuss the issue. But he suggested that “Prime Minister Rowley needs to ask the Security Services Agency to submit a file of all the gang leaders who have been awarded state contracts, and to have them removed.”

Griffith is also suggesting that the PM issue a directive to the Ministries of Housing, Local Government, Education and any ministry which has a lot of construction work in progress to remove the names of the persons on the SSA list from their employ. He said legislation which affects the wealth of persons in the underworld, like “the Proceeds of Crime Act,” are critical to dealing with the problem.

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal meanwhile said Burke’s affiliation with McDonald was a “serious matter for the country. That affiliation has compromised the national security structure,” he said.

Moonilal said the Prime Minister would have known of McDonald’s affiliation to Burke long before last Friday.

“They were all in the same campaign working in 2015, she was only fired because somebody put a picture of Burke at President’s House on Facebook,” he said.

Contractor Kenroy Dopwell yesterday admitted he is a director on two wholly-owned state enterprises - the New City Mall and East Side Plaza, Port-of-Spain -, which fall under the remit of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development once managed by Marlene McDonald.

In an earlier interview yesterday, Dopwell, when asked if he was a member of the two boards, opted to distance himself from answering the question, saying he just wanted the whole controversy with close friend Cedric Burke’s involvement in McDonald’s firing to die down.

He said the current fire-storm over McDonald’s firing was affecting his family and the media was blowing the issue out of proportion and destroying the lives of innocent people.

But later on, when contacted again told that he was listed as one of five directors of both entities, Dopwell admitted the information was no secret.

However, Dopwell was named as a director under the name “Kenny” and not Kenroy. The boards are chaired by Sheldon Johnson while vice chairman is Sharon Cedeno. Also named as directors are Sharon Felix, McDonald’s Port-of-Spain South constituency assistant, Charmaine Sylvester, Ken Taylor and Ronnie Dacosta.

“What I am saying, this is old news, because when the board was installed it was all over the newspapers. My picture was in the newspapers. Why is it going to be an issue now? Why you’ll trying to take something out of it... to make it an issue?” Dopwell asked.

“It did not have any kind of mischief or anything there. Why people trying to make mischief with me by saying that we on a board and this and that? Why? We on a board almost two years now.”

Dopwell had accompanied Sea Lots community leader Burke to President’s House last Friday to witness the swearing-in ceremony of McDonald as Public Utilities Minister. But Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley fired her on Sunday, saying it was a direct result of her alignment with Burke. (See editorial on Page A20)

Asked if McDonald had any influence in selecting him as a member, Dopwell said he was not the only person on the board.

“So why me? There are about six or seven other people on the board. I am a good citizen out here.”

Noting that he also stood up for the people of Sea Lots to get safety barriers, a traffic crossing and a walk over following the accident that claimed the lives of a mother and her two children in 2013, Dopwell said, “My face is not a new face to the world. It is not a face of negativity. It is a face of positive. I am qualified in what I do.”

Pressed on who appointed him, Dopwell said the People’s National Movement is a big party.

“There are a lot of people. Is not only Marlene McDonald we deal with. Is not only Marlene McDonald I rally behind. I am a PNM supporter. I am still a PNM today. I respect the boss (referring to the PM).”

Dopwell said he was chosen by the PNM to sit on the board based on certain criteria.

“They recognised us in the party. I stood up in 2013 for the mother and two children who were killed and it was offered unto you...,” he said.

“What is the big fuss? It was not offered to a criminal, it was offered to a legal citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. Is it going down that road because I am from Sea Lots? Because that is the road it going down.”

Since the board was formed in September 2015, Dopwell said they had done a lot to uplift and upgrade the plaza and mall.

“I am an active member of the board. The board has been doing a lot of good work. East Side Plaza is much more visual and customer friendly. You used to feel like you are in the market, now you could actually see it is a mall.”

Pressed further, Dopwell opted not to continue with the interview, saying he did not like how the questioning was going.

“The way the questions are being directed now I will see that in tomorrow’s Guardian,” he said.

He suggested that we direct our questions to Johnson.

Two retired judges on the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) have resigned, a statement by President's House has said.

Retired Justices of Appeal Roger Hamel-Smith and Justice Humphrey Stollmeyer have resigned from the JLSC by letters dated June 22, 2017 with said resignations becoming effective on June 30, 2017.

The statement says that Justice Stollmeyer also resigned as a member of the Defence Force Commissions Board (DFCB).

Justice Stollmeyer’s membership to the DFCB was predicated on his membership to the JLSC.

Both judges alluded to reasons personal to them for their resignations and thanked President Carmona for the opportunity to be of service to country.

Justice Hamel-Smith’s resignation concluded 27 years of public service while Justice Stollmeyer served about 16 years as a puisne judge and judge of the Court of Appeal.

The resignations come just over a month following calls for the Chief Justice and the entire JLSC to resign.

There is now uncertain­ty over whether embattled Chief Justice Ivor Archie and the two remaining members of the Judicial and Legal Ser­vice Commission (JLSC) can continue to perform their duties as President Antho­ny Carmona seeks to fill the vacancies left by the sudden resignations of two of their colleagues.

In a press release issued yes­terday, Carmona’s communi­cations adviser Theron Boodan announced that retired Justices of Appeal Roger Hamel-Smith and Humphrey Stollmeyer had tendered their resignations on personal grounds. The resigna­tion letters were received and accepted by Carmona on June 22 and took effect last Friday.

Stollmeyer also resigned his position on the Defence Force Commissions Board, which he held by virtue of his role in the JLSC.

But while the men gave per­sonal grounds as their reasons for departure, the T&T Guard­ian understands the fallout from the handling of the Marcia Ay­ers-Caesar debacle was partly to blame.

The other remaining JLSC members are head of the Pub­lic Service Commission (PSC) Maureen Manchouck and at­torney Ernest H. Koylass, SC.

Questions have now been raised by senior legal and judicial sources over whether Archie and the two remaining members can continue their duties or should wait until the issue is determined by this country’s highest appel­late court.

“The quorum is three so they (JLSC) may still try to act,” one senior judicial source said.

As a secondary issue, lawyers who spoke to the T&T Guardian questioned Carmona’s delay in announcing the resignations.

Senior Counsel Martin Daly said: “My suspicions are that there was some arm twist­ing involved to persuade the members to stay. They won’t fool anyone …We all know why (they resigned) ... I am happy they have done the right thing and that shows value of resolute public opinion.”

Anand Ramlogan, SC, who represented the UNC in a lawsuit challenging the JLSC’s consti­tutionality without a full com­plement last month, also wanted to know the reasons given by Hamel-Smith and Stollmeyer for their departure.

“It is unfortunate that the two distinguished former Justices of Appeal did not make full and frank disclosure and explain why they resigned. This is a necessary part of the principles of trans­parency and public accountabil­ity. It is disappointing that they opted for the diplomatic obscu­rity of “personal reasons.” In so doing, they have short changed the population,” Ramlogan said.

Several calls made to Boodan for an explanation on the delay in the announcement of the resignations went unanswered yesterday.

Senior Counsel Israel Khan meanwhile called on Archie to step down over this and other controversies which have rocked the commission since former chief magistrate Ayers-Caesar’s short-lived judicial appoint­ment in April.

“The best thing for the coun­try now is for the CJ to resign,” Khan suggested, as he called for an official investigation into the commission.

Both Ramlogan and Daly also suggested Archie should re-evaluate his position as head of the JLSC and the Judiciary.

In an exclusive interview with the T&T Guardian following the Law Association’s vote of no confidence in him and the JLSC, over its handling of the Ayers-Caesar debacle, Archie had maintained that he would not resign.

The T&T Guardian contact­ed Law Association president Douglas Mendes, SC, to enquire his organisation’s position on the resignations yesterday.

But Mendes, who is in the UK, said as the announcement was made yesterday, the associa­tion’s council was yet to decide if and when it would meet to discuss the issue.

UNC CHALLENGE TO JLSC STILL PENDING

The issue of whether the JLSC, which is mandated under the Constitution to appoint, promote and discipline judges, magistrates and all attorneys employed by the State, can act without their full complement of members was raised in lawsuit filed by the Unit­ed National Congress last month.

While the Court of Appeal dismissed the lawsuit after hear­ing an appeal over an injunction stopping the appointments of two judges made while the JLSC comprised of four out of five members, the UNC has appealed the decision in the Privy Council. In the case, the UNC agreed with the JLSC’s claim that it can make decisions with a quorum of three members, but its lawyers main­tained that the reduced quorum could only sit if the JLSC was properly constituted with five members.

Appellate Judges Allan Men­donca, Nolan Bureaux and Peter Rajkumar, who sat on the appeal panel, did not give detailed rea­sons for their decision on June 6 but had promised to so within two weeks’ time.

However, the T&T Guardian un­derstands that the written judg­ment, required for the final appeal to the United Kingdom-based court, is yet to be released.

Anand Ramlogan also noted his party’s pending appeal also challenged the decision to have two retired judges in the JLSC, as the Constitution states the JLSC members are the Chief Justice, head of the PSC, a sitting or re­tired judge and two “persons with legal qualification...not in active practice as such.”

The UNC is claiming that a retired judge does not fall in the last category, which was meant for lawyers.

In dismissing the lawsuit last month, the Court of Appeal agreed with State attorneys who claimed that judges were attor­neys before their appointment and were still qualified after retirement, albeit without permis­sion to appear before courts for 10 years.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

April 12: Marcia Ayers-Caesar, Kevin Ramcharan and Avason Quinlan-Williams take the oath as judges from President Anthony Carmona.

April 12: Chief Justice Ivor Archie defends the process used by the JLSC for the selection and appointment of judges at the swearing-in ceremony.

April 19: The Judiciary issues a statement addressing rumblings about a void left in the system by the promo­tion of Ayers-Caesar, saying her departure would not negatively affect the lower court. Court and protocol infor­mation officer Alicia Carter-Fisher says what was before Ayers-Caesar were “paper committals.”

April 23: Law Association expresses concern about Ayers-Caesar’s appointment.

April 24: Ayers-Caesar is warmly welcomed to the bench by attorneys as she made her debut in the San Fer­nando Third Criminal Court.

April 25: Several inmates, mostly murder accused, re­moved from the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrate’s Court after they began shouting and cursing after realising their matters could possibly be restarted due to the elevation of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar to the High Court

April 27: Ayers-Caesar resigns as a judge, apologising for the effect of her actions on the prisoners.

April 27: CJ Archie says Ayers-Caesar will be restored to the Magistracy, but she is not formally installed by the JLSC amid pressure from senior attorneys who said her reinstatement was not possible in law.

May 19: Ayers-Caesar’s attorneys write to President Carmona claiming that she was pressured to resign. She threatens to file a lawsuit against Archie and the JLSC and demands to be reinstated.

May 25: The JLSC meets with several legal stake­holders and announces that the cases left unfinished by Ayers-Caesar would have to be restarted.

June 1: The Law Association meets and passes a mo­tion of no confidence in Archie and the JLSC and calls on them to resign over their role in the Ayers-Caesar debacle.

June 3: Former UNC government minister Devant Maharaj files lawsuit challenging the composition of the JLSC.

June 5: Maharaj files for and obtains an injunction against the JLSC as it attempted to make two more judi­cial appointments the following day.

June 6: Court of Appeal dismisses the injunction and Maharaj’s substantive lawsuit, opening the way for the appointments to be made two days later.

June 20: The JLSC, in responding to attorneys rep­resenting a teenager, whose case was affected by Ayers-Caesar’s promotion and resignation, admits an error was made by the Judiciary on May 25, when it announced that a decision was made by stakeholders to restart the unfinished cases. It claims that the meeting was to simply solicit views from stakeholders and not make a decision on the issue.

June 22: JLSC members, retired Justices of Appeal Roger Hamel-Smith and Humphrey Stollmeyer, tender their resignations taking effect from June 30.

July 6: President Carmona’s office announces Hamel-Smith and Stollmeyer’s resignations.

Former Housing Development Corporation managing director Jearlean John last night labelled as a “distraction,” a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and ten other defendants.

Contacted last night, John said the claim was unprovoked by this “nasty, wicked-minded and incompetent Gargamel government. They are looking for a Smurf distraction as far as I am concerned. They can jump high or jump low, they can produce absolutely no evidence of any wrong doing on the part of the HDC for that transaction.”

However, John said she was certain she would ultimately prevail in the court.

“That is all right ...they are going to pay me my damages. This is really frivolous and vexatious. What did I do? I went to my board. I followed the rules. ... This is absolute nonsense! They filed a claim and hid it for eight months because they and all were ashamed of the nonsense they filed in court.”

The civil suit, filed in the Supreme Court on June 28, raises issues over why the value of a property purchased by the HDC increased by more than $100 million. Allegations of a $50,000 bribe being paid to a public servant to inflate the value of a 50-acre parcel of land were also raised in the lawsuit.

The defendants are John, Henckle Lall, Graig Davis, Peter Forde, Project Specialist Ltd, Ronald Heeralal, Point Lisas Park Ltd, Anthony Sampath, Patrick Soon Ting and Everil Ross.

The claim comes eight months after Al-Rawi initiated legal action against the defendants on allegations of corruption, but the document was only unsealed last Wednesday.

Last November, Al-Rawi had said the action was the first to arise out of extensive audits and investigations ordered by the Government after assuming office in September 2015. The nature of matters surrounded corruption, unjust enrichment, mismanagement and breach of certain duties.

Last March, John was fired by the HDC and shortly after six senior managers were sent on administrative leave to facilitate an audit, which was never made public. John and some of the since dismissed managers have sued the HDC for wrongful dismissal.

In the amended statement of case, concerns were raised about the acquisition of a parcel of privately owned land by a public body using State funds for a sum substantially greater than its market value. It focused on the purchase of land at Eden Gardens in Freeport for the construction of HDC homes.

“The cause of the payment of the excessive sum was the failure to take reasonable and sensible steps to conduct due diligence on the necessity of the transaction and the value of the land being acquired and/or the payment of a bribe by the seller to an employee of the Valuation Division of the Ministry of Finance involved in preparing a valuation of the land to justify the acquisition,” the claim alleged.

The claim stated that these failures constituted breaches of duty by some of the defendants.

In the amended version filed last Wednesday, the claim alleged a $50,000 bribe was paid to an individual at the Valuation Division of the Ministry of Finance. That bribe is linked to the reason why the value of the property catapulted to what is described as a “substantially inflated price for $175 million.” The document further claims the bribe was paid with the understanding that there would be a reward for the excessive valuation.

According to the documents, the process began in 2004, when the land was purchased for roughly $17 million. Based on infrastructure works carried out between 2010 and 2011, it was determined that the individuals who purchased the land spent roughly $34 million dollars.

In November of 2011, well-known valuators Linden Scott was asked to assess the value of the land. They placed the open market value at $52 million. However, that valuation was allegedly categorically rejected by some of the parties named in the lawsuit, the court documents stated. By January 2012, when the HDC board met to discuss the purchase the State alleges the price rose to $200 million.

The documents claimed the individual who received the bribe assisted in assessing the new value of the land and a final valuation of $180 million was given. However, the HDC purchased the land for $175 million, giving the impression that it received a $5 million discount, according to the lawsuit.

A senior official at the State company is quoted in a letter saying the Linden Scott valuation was “grossly understated” and requested that it be sent to the Valuation Division.

Former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal is calling on the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to explain what process they used in awarding Sea Lots commu­nity leader Cedric Burke a Bon Air South housing project contract.

In the interest of transparency, Moonilal said the HDC should disclose the value of Burke’s contract, his track record and when his firm was evaluated.

If Burke does not have experience in building houses, Moonilal said that would be an issue “because there is a pre-qualification and part of the pre-qualification is experience in the particular area, your financial condi­tion, previous work ... those would raise eyebrows.”

Moonilal made the call two days after Burke admitted to the T&T Guardian that his company - Burke and Compa­ny Ltd - had obtained an HDC housing contract at Woodstar Avenue, Bon Air Gardens, Arouca, under the People’s National Movement Government.

Burke’s uninvited attendance to the swearing-in ceremony of Marlene Mc­Donald last week ultimately led to her latest firing by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Sunday. Rowley said his de­cision was ultimately directly related to McDonald’s alignment with Burke.

Last September, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell turned the sod for construction of 60 town houses on five parcels of land on the housing project, which was projected to cost $48 million. The T&T Guardian was reliably told that construction of each town house was $480,000. At that time, Mitchell said contractors for the project had been evaluated and the HDC would announce the successful contractors.

“There is a group of companies at the HDC that pre-qualify for medium size housing construction. He (Burke) would have had to beat out a lot contractors...he would have to win Bhagwansingh, Trinity, Mootilal Ramhit, Pace Con­struction and many others...all these companies, to get that contract,” Moonilal said in a telephone interview.

“Since this is a national issue the HDC should explain what process was used. They need to say what was the pre-qualification process and if the company satisfied their requirements.”

He said Government must also ensure that contracts are properly tendered and evaluated, as well as that they get value for money for work done. Even if Burke was the lowest bidder, Moonilal said he would still have to go through an evaluation process.

“Even as the lowest bidder the com­pany must have a proven track record,” Moonilal added.

Burke, who was detained in the 2011 state of emergency, charged being a gang leader and later released, also revealed that he had received several contracts under the then People’s Partnership government.

Moonilal conceded that Burke may have been awarded contracts under the People’s Partnership administration.

“I can’t say no. I cannot deny that. I don’t know him as a housing contractor. Let us put it that way,” he said.

“But generally you are familiar with the names of the medium and large housing contractors. I can’t recall that Burke and Company Ltd was one of them. If you are telling me that under the PNM that he is building houses now, that is a great leap forward.”

Under his tenure, Moonilal said the HDC had over 150 cleaning and repair contractors, many of whom came from Sea Lots, Laventille, Enterprise and Maloney.

But he added, “I can’t recall him (Burke) as a building contractor under my time.”

But Moonilal also pointed out that the police cannot advise a company or state agency not to give a contract to a firm, unless they have been flagged. He said, however, that if the HDC went through its stringent processes all should be well.

HDC managing director Brent Lyons yesterday did not respond to a text mes­sage querying if the HDC would allow Burke to keep his contract and provide evidence to support that he won the bid to construct the multi-million dollar development.

Scores of workers in the Ministry of So­cial Development food card unit are to be sent home at the end of this month.

T&T Guardian under­stands that the employees who were hired on con­tract to handle the assess­ment and distribution of food cards to the needy in society will be out of jobs by the end of the month.

Employees received a letter dated June 30, stating that their con­tracts expires on July 31 and that they be advised that completed perfor­mance appraisals must be submitted on July 28 to facilitate the preparation of their contract gratui­ty and secondly, all elec­tronic devices including cell phones, laptops, that have been issued to them for the execution of their duties must be returned to the Ministry by July 28.

The letter ended by thanking them for their service and it also wished them all the best in their future endeavours. It was signed off by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.

The senior official said that some employees re­mained optimistic, “some are worried but the thing is we are not hearing an­ything from the human resources. Everyone is in a mood right now, some have mortgages, loans, some are going to school and we all have kids.”

“We help the needy and now, we may be the ones needing that very help because they are shutting us down,” the senior of­ficial said.

Minister of Social De­velopment, Cherrie Ann Crichlow-Cockburn con­firmed workers in the unit were being sent home but admitted that the Social Welfare Unit will be now take over the responsibil­ity of food cards.

“It is not going to con­tinue as a programme on its own. What we are do­ing is that we are adopting an integrated approach, So, what is going to hap­pen is that the food card programme, will be pro­vided through the Social Welfare Unit of the minis­try,” Crichlow-Cockburn said in a telephone inter­view with CNC3 News.

Couva South MP, Rudy Indarsingh said he re­ceived a call on Wednes­day from three people currently employed in the T&T Food Card Unit and told that the workers were being sent home.

“Letters of termination to 200 workers were sent out of the said ministry indicating that they will no longer have their jobs from the Office of the Director to the Deputy Director, all will be sent home and all the region­al offices will be shut down,” Indarsingh said.

He condemned the action, “this is just a continuation of the government’s attack on workers in T&T.” Crichlow-Cockburn did not confirm the number of workers who would be affected.

According to a senior official at the ministry, who spoke on the con­dition of anonymity, said that the entire depart­ment—Targeted Con­ditional Cash Transfer Programme—is going to be shut down.

Labour Minister, Jen­nifer Baptiste-Primus said she is yet to receive information on the matter and added that by law, once more than five employees are being retrenched, her ministry must be informed in ad­vance.

Despite assurances from Education Min­ister Anthony Garcia that the placement of successful SEA pupils was above board, doz­ens of anxious parents gathered at the Victoria District Educational Office in San Fernan­do yesterday, request­ing transfers for their children.

Insisting that the SEA placements were biased, the parents said they could not understand how some students who scored above 65 per cent in the exams were assigned to secondary schools which were not on their list of choices.

For the second con­secutive day, a steady stream of parents went to the office at Sutton Street to request trans­fers. SEA results were released on Tuesday. Over 18,000 pupils wrote the exam and just over 2,000 scored less than 30 per cent score. 1,200 of those students will still be guaranteed a place at a secondary school while 800 of them will be giv­en the option of re-sitting the exam next year.

Debbie Reynold, whose daughter Rebecca Sin­gh attended BienVenue Presbyterian Primary School said she was sur­prised that her daughter passed for La Romaine Secondary School when she scored better grades than her peers.

“Some of the pupils had lower grades but they passed for ASJA. Some­thing is not right about these results,” Reynold said. She said the result slip showed that Singh was the 34th female and 41st national.

“This is the second day that we came here. Yes­terday, one of the school supervisors came out and said nobody getting any transfers but we came back today hoping that she could get in at Mod Sec (San Fernando Cen­tral) or San Fernando West,” Reynold said. Af­ter speaking to a school supervisor, Reynold said she was advised to reg­ister her daughter at La Romaine and leave the transfer form at that school.

“I was told that La Romaine will submit the transfer form to the min­istry but I don’t know if that will happen. I think it is suspicious that my daughter scored a 60 per cent average and she was assigned to La Romaine when we did not even put that school on our choice of schools. She noted that La Romaine was not in their residential zone and having her child attend there was inconvenient.

Another parent, who requested anonymity, said the zoning criteria which the Ministry used was unfair.

“Maybe they zoned the child based on where the primary school was locat­ed and not where the child lives,” the parent said.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Ministry of Educa­tion Dr Lovell Francis said the criteria used to place students included merit, school choices, gender, principal’s 20 per cent selection in denomina­tional schools and where the student resided.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said if parents put high per­forming schools as all four choices and the child fails to qualify on the basis of merit, then the child is assigned to a school clos­est to his/her residence.

Despite assurances from Education Min­ister Anthony Garcia that the placement of successful SEA pupils was above board, doz­ens of anxious parents gathered at the Victoria District Educational Office in San Fernan­do yesterday, request­ing transfers for their children.

Insisting that the SEA placements were biased, the parents said they could not understand how some students who scored above 65 per cent in the exams were assigned to secondary schools which were not on their list of choices.

For the second con­secutive day, a steady stream of parents went to the office at Sutton Street to request trans­fers. SEA results were released on Tuesday. Over 18,000 pupils wrote the exam and just over 2,000 scored less than 30 per cent score. 1,200 of those students will still be guaranteed a place at a secondary school while 800 of them will be giv­en the option of re-sitting the exam next year.

Debbie Reynold, whose daughter Rebecca Sin­gh attended BienVenue Presbyterian Primary School said she was sur­prised that her daughter passed for La Romaine Secondary School when she scored better grades than her peers.

“Some of the pupils had lower grades but they passed for ASJA. Some­thing is not right about these results,” Reynold said. She said the result slip showed that Singh was the 34th female and 41st national.

“This is the second day that we came here. Yes­terday, one of the school supervisors came out and said nobody getting any transfers but we came back today hoping that she could get in at Mod Sec (San Fernando Cen­tral) or San Fernando West,” Reynold said. Af­ter speaking to a school supervisor, Reynold said she was advised to reg­ister her daughter at La Romaine and leave the transfer form at that school.

“I was told that La Romaine will submit the transfer form to the min­istry but I don’t know if that will happen. I think it is suspicious that my daughter scored a 60 per cent average and she was assigned to La Romaine when we did not even put that school on our choice of schools. She noted that La Romaine was not in their residential zone and having her child attend there was inconvenient.

Another parent, who requested anonymity, said the zoning criteria which the Ministry used was unfair.

“Maybe they zoned the child based on where the primary school was locat­ed and not where the child lives,” the parent said.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Ministry of Educa­tion Dr Lovell Francis said the criteria used to place students included merit, school choices, gender, principal’s 20 per cent selection in denomina­tional schools and where the student resided.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said if parents put high per­forming schools as all four choices and the child fails to qualify on the basis of merit, then the child is assigned to a school clos­est to his/her residence.

The Education Ministry is considering remedial initiatives for the 2,170 students who scored below 30 per cent in the 2017 SEA examination, to prepare them for secondary school, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said yesterday.

Initiatives include placing remedial teachers with “at risk” schools,” he said.

Garcia detailed plans in the Senate yesterday replying to queries on the 2,170 students who scored below 30 per cent in the SEA examination. He said students over 13 move on to schools while those under 13 who scored less than 30 per cent will be allowed to return to school and repeat the examination.

Garcia said there are no plans to evaluate students prior to entry to secondary school, but within their first month of entry to secondary school, this will be done.

On remedial work for the 2,170 who scored below 30 per cent, he said there are no plans to conduct vacation programmes. But he said several initiatives by the Students’ Support Services Division in numeracy and literacy are being considered to prepare the students for secondary school.

“These include diagnostic testing to determine the students’ functional levels of numeracy and literacy and evaluation to identify students with specific special needs and to design individualised programmes to meet these needs.”

Other initiatives include guidance to alternative career pathways and holding workshops for parents.

Garcia added, “We’ll also provide the basic programme of work in the foundation areas of numeracy and literacy and will adapt and/or adjust existing curricula programmes to meet students’ needs.”

School supervision/management divisions will also oversee time table arrangements at the schools where these students are placed to afford them adequate time for their tasks.

The divisions will also meet the administrative team of the schools to discuss leadership/management arrangements to be implemented and regular monitoring of the various initiatives will be done.

In the new academic year (2017/2018) the Ministry will engage primary level principals to ascertain what additional support is needed to treat with students who don’t meet the standard for placement to secondary level, he said.

Garcia also said other plans include having social workers to go to homes of students to examine their environment. Attention will also be paid to the training needs of teachers with workshops to manage such issues.

The Police Commissioner and the aide-de-camp at President’s House are “looking into” whether any security breach occurred when a man whose name was not on the guest list for last Friday’s swearing-in ceremony of a government minister, was allowed to access the Pres­ident’s office, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon has said.

Dillon revealed this in the Senate yesterday, replying to queries from Opposition Senator Wade Mark.

Mark had asked if a security breach had oc­curred at President’s House when the man whose name was not on the guest list was allowed access to the Office of the President to attend the event last Friday.

Dillon said he was unable to say if a breach had occurred, adding, “The aide-de-camp (Major Dwayne Edwards) and the (acting) Commissioner of Police (Stephen Williams) are looking into the matter.”

Mark asked when the report will be con­cluded by the aide-de-camp Dillon couldn’t say.

Sea Lots jefe Cedric “Burkie” Burke was able to walk past Special Branch officers and had full access to the President’s Office while pos­ing for photos with now fired minister Marlene McDonald and President Anthony Carmona.

Burke, who wore a yellow shirt, not tucked in his trousers and a tie, to the event said he had been invited by his friend, Kenroy Dop­well, another Sea Lots don, to attend the event to celebrate McDonald’s return to the Cabinet.

McDonald was sacked by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley 48 hours later after she was found guilty by association with a man who has been on the radar of national security agencies for years now.

Among remarks, Rowley said a review of the security situation at President’s House was needed, systems required tightening in­cluding observances of protocols and ensuring water-tight systems there.

Following the overall McDonald issue, Burke has asked the Police Commissioner to say if there is any criminal investigation against him.

Yesterday, security officials explained, the CoP and President’s House aide-de-camp were examining last Friday’s function from two different aspects.

They said the aide-de-camp was looking into it from the President’s House adminis­trative side while the CoP was examining it from the aspect of Special Branch.

On Tuesday, checks confirmed that after news regarding the function broke hours after the swearing-in ceremony, President’s House officials immediately sought to “look into” the matter with an examination by the aide-de-camp.

A source confirmed Burke’s name was not on the guest list, but he arrived with someone else, Dopwell, and they both sat in the outer reception office and were asked to remain there. McDonald arrived shortly after, saw Burke, then everyone proceeded “upstairs.”

Sources claimed the situation occurred “very fast” as “the Prime Minister was ar­riving at the same time she did.” They said Burke was perceived as a guest of a proposed appointee.

The function had occurred at 1.30 pm. By 3.41 pm, watchdog group Fixin T&T had posted a photo from the function featuring McDonald and Carmona, both smiling, flank­ing Burke.