Three weeks to the date after receiving a death threat, a Laventille man was shot in the head as he awaited transport to his Dan Kelly home yesterday.

According to police reports, Sceall (pronounced Seal) Craig, 35, was standing at the corner of Picton and Africa Roads, John John, Laventille, around 5 am when residents said they heard gunshots.

They later found Craig’s body slumped face down on the roadway.

Police said Craig, a security guard, worked two jobs and about a month ago had to intervene in a physical altercation between a female co-worker and the woman’s male companion.

The woman later moved in with Craig and his fiancé after the same man threatened to kill her. The threats were then directed to Craig, who was accused of being romantically involved with his co-worker by the suspect who lives in St James.

The man told Craig he had three weeks to live. Craig’s co-worker filed a protection order against the man and went to court for the matter on Wednesday. Police said they have not arrested the suspect as yet. Craig’s fiancé, Marissa Matiste, told the media at the Forensic Science Centre that the couple was scheduled to be married on her birthday, August 31 and were to honeymoon in Tobago and then vacation in St Lucia.

The 32-year-old woman said they intended to complete the $1,400 payment on their wedding rings today. Matiste said the couple were teenage sweethearts who broke up but rekindled their love on February 23, 2015.

She said they both were originally from Indian Walk, Princes Town and she moved into his Laventille home when he went there to live closer to his mother and siblings.

“We don’t even have any pictures together we never even get to do that. He was the head of security where he worked. He was a very loving, caring individual,” Matiste said.

In an unrelated killing, police have identified the man who was murdered in Morvant as OJ Saunders, 34, of St Michael’s Village, Las Cuevas. Police said Saunders was found with gunshot wounds around 10.30 pm on Tuesday night at Poinsettia Drive, Morvant.

Police said they suspected that Saunders was murdered after he sought to collect money owed. Homicide officers said Saunders was constructing a house in the area. The killings have taken the murder toll to 257 for the year.

After one year and no justice, a La Romain mother is calling on the police to solve the murder of her son Mark Kern Richardson who was gunned down during a drive-by shooting at Dottin Street, San Fernando.

Andrea Richardson said before her son was killed, he expressed fear for his life and was searching for another place to move out.

“He had a fear where he was living. He told me his life was not safe. That he could not eat nor sleep. I don’t know who the enemy was but they moved him out in a different way,” Richardson said.

She said certain information was passed on to the police but no one has ever been held in connection with the crime which took place on June 16, 2016. She said numerous trips to the San Fernando police seeking answers has borne no fruit to date.

“Every time I go to the station they keep telling me to give them my name and address and they will get back to me. That has not happened.”

Richardson said although her son had a gun case in the court, which she claims was a ‘set up’, she did not know him to be living the life of any gangster.

“He was no drug person. He was not a bad person. He was always working, taking care of himself, depending on no one. He was employed with Peake’s as an air condition technician. He had dreams. He wanted to do so many things, go back to school to better himself so his family could look up to him.”

All of his dreams ended by the eight bullets which entered his body on that morning, she said. Saying that not one day goes by without her grieving for him, Richardson said that her son moved into the Dottin Street apartment only six months before he was killed. She said he left his hometown of La Romain to avoid trouble.

“He was being taken advantaged of. I saw with my own two eyes, two men running after him one day. They feel because he did not have a father they do what ever they wanted with him. That is why he moved out on his own.”

On June 17, she held a memorial service at her home to commemorate the first anniversary of his death in an attempt to get some closure.

“All I could do was keep a little service at home in memory of him to ask God to make peace with his soul.

“Because after a whole year I am just left wondering why he was killed and who killed him. His killer(s) are out there free, at large and laughing, having a good time while my son is six feet under.”

A senior police officer said the case is not closed.

President Anthony Carmona says it is only talk he is hearing after people are murdered in T&T.

He said so during Wednesday’s presentation of national scout youth awards at the Hotel Ballroom of NAPA, Port-of-Spain.

Awards were presented to more than 100 scouts.

In his address, he said he had been “to the funerals of so many murdered children in T&T and all I hear is talk, talk, talk and fluff, fluff, fluff.”

He said those things happen “when those who are responsible for ensuring the safety of our children are not doing as good a job as they should be doing , it comes down to you, our young people who will save the next generation to come because at the end of the day the future lies with you.”

Carmona said, “Sometimes when you feel a sense of hopelessness there are bolts of lightening, not from the adult population in T&T but from our young people.”

He said he had a conversation recently with the first placed pupil in the 2017 SEA exams, Lexi Balchan of the ASJA Primary School in Point Fortin.

He said: “Lexi gave me a sense of renewed hope in our young people.”

But Carmona also spoke about the climate change crisis that looms. He said citizens must take control of the crisis and fight against it.

He appealed to the scouts and young people “to push for more infrastructure development on a national level to save not only our heritage buildings but our legacy.”

He said two heritage projects, one known as Copper Hole, located on Monos Islands and the other at King’s Wharf in San Fernando.

Carmona said Copper Hole “has tragically been invaded by squatters and burnt down and not a single stone has been laid to restore it to its former glory.”

He said the project at King’s Wharf, San Fernando, “has been destroyed to give way to what is now the Water Taxi departure lounge in San Fernando.”

He called on the youths to “promote a culture which places greater emphasis on the preservation of our cultural legacy and the legacy associated with the scout movement.”

President Carmona called on scouts to ban plastic bags at all camp events of scouts.

Retired judges Humphrey Stollmeyer and Roger Hamel-Smith resigned from the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) at the end of last month, according to a release from President’s House.

The announcement of their decision was made on Thursday, although their letters were handed in on June 22 and were effective June 30.

Below is the release President House sent regarding their departure yesterday, after queries were raised about the delay in making their resignations public:

In his letter of resignation as a member of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) Justice of Appeal (retired) Humphrey Stollmeyer, expressed utmost regret and reluctance to resign as a member of the JLSC, effective June 30, 2017

In his letter of June 22, 2017 he thanked His Excellency Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona ORTT, SC President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for the opportunity “for having reposed your confidence in me and given me the opportunity to be of service.”

Another member of the JLSC, Justice of Appeal Roger Hamel-Smith (retired), also on the said date submitted his resignation effective on June 30, 2017. Justice of Appeal (retired) Stollmeyer also resigned his seat on the Defence Force Commissions Board (DFCB) which was an ex 0fficio appointment by virtue of his membership to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.

Justice of Appeal (retired) Stollmeyer stated that “recent events have given me reason to pause and reflect upon my commitment to public life and duty to my country.”

He further stated: “It has become increasingly obvious that fulfilling that duty, or those duties, faces great difficulty in light of the ever-increasing tendency in our society to criticise and condemn unjustifiably … those who undertake the task of serving. Inevitably, it causes distress both to the individual and to his or her family and friends.

“It is unfair of me to continue to inflict that distress upon those for whom I have so much love and regard. I find myself with no alternative but to depart public life,” he added.

Justice of Appeal (retired) Hamel-Smith said his resignation was “for reasons personal to me.”

It must be noted, that President Carmona on almost every occasion during ceremonies at which members to Commissions and Boards are sworn-in, alludes to the reluctance of good, competent, qualified and experience citizens coming forward to serve.

The reluctance, he would note, is in large measure sometimes due to the vitriol, unfair and unjustifiable criticism levelled against persons brave enough to serve and the resulting hardship and undue distress caused to family members and genuine friends.

Last month, at the swearing-in ceremony of attorney-at-law Michelle Solomon-Baksh as Deputy Director of the Police Complaints Authority, President Carmona made it clear to Ms Solomon-Baksh that she was entering the “lion’s den” of a sometimes unforgiving public and she would need the support of dear friends and family. Earlier, he also cautioned Mr Allan Noriega as a member of the Teaching Service Commission to beware of the slings and poisoned arrows that will come his way, but he must remain strong, fair, resilient and independent.

His Excellency would assure that in spite of this apparent reality, the Office of the President will continue to persevere and will not give up in sourcing suitable persons for public office.

The Office of The President is of the view that everyone has a right to criticise and be critical but no one has a right to malign and denigrate another. Criticisms must always be grounded in civility, decency and comity.

The Office of the President has already begun the process of finding suitable candidates to fill the vacancies in the JLSC.

Unreasonable and unfair criticism over the Judicial and Legal Service Commission’s handling the short-lived judicial appointment of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, has been cited as the reason for the resignation of two members of commission last month.

While the Office of the President on Thursday claimed that both retired Justices of Appeal Roger Hamel-Smith and Humphrey Stollmeyer stated they were leaving the commission for “personal reasons,” when they tendered their resignations on June 22 they in fact gave details for their decision.

Some of these details were given in a release on the issue from President’s House yesterday, as it apparently reacted to criticism over the late release of the information on the resignations, including from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. (See editorial on Page A16)

The release quoted more extensively from Stollmeyer’s resignation letter, in which he claimed that the public uproar surrounding the cases left unfinished by Ayers-Caesar upon her brief appointment as a judge in April caused him to reassess his role in public life.

“It has become increasingly obvious that fulfilling that duty, or those duties, faces great difficulty in light of the ever-increasing tendency in our society to criticize and condemn unjustifiably … those who undertake the task of serving. Inevitably, it causes distress both to the individual and to his or her family and friends,” Stollmeyer said in the letter.

He added: “It is unfair of me to continue to inflict that distress upon those for whom I have so much love and regard. I find myself with no alternative but to depart public life.”

The release from the President’s office did not reveal the reasons proffered by Hamel-Smith for his resignation, save to say it was for personal reasons.

The T&T Guardian was told that it is the policy of the President’s Office not to release details of letters of resignation unless granted permission by the author. A source claimed that President Anthony Carmona’s staff attempted to contact Hamel-Smith but was unsuccessful, as he (Hamel-Smith) had travelled abroad as the resignations took effect on June 30. However, the T&T Guardian understands that both Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith cited similar grounds.

The release also did not not address questions raised over the almost week-long delay in announcing the men’s resignations.

In the release, Carmona’s communication advisor, Theron Boodan, also claimed that Carmona had already begun the process of replacing the duo.

Under the Constitution, Carmona selects potential candidates and then consults with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition before announcing the appointments.

Boodan also claimed that Carmona had complained in the past about the reluctance of people to accept positions in public life due to public scrutiny.

“The reluctance, he would note, is in large measure sometimes due to the vitriol, unfair and unjustifiable criticism levelled against persons brave enough to serve and the resulting hardship and undue distress caused to family members and genuine friends,” Boodan said in the release.

Contacted yesterday, a judicial source suggested that Carmona should consider issues raised in the United National Congress’ (UNC) pending appeal before the Privy Council over the constitution of the members of the JLSC when considering his selections.

“His Excellency may be well advised to desist from appointing two retired judges and instead appoint one retired judge and a lawyer who is not in active practice, as it’s better to err on the side of caution in the event that the Privy Council disagrees with the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of the Constitution,” the source said.

Contacted yesterday, Senior Counsel Israel Khan said Stollmeyer’s claims underscored the need for a criminal probe into the the Ayers-Caesar fiasco.

“The so-called facts which were publicly revealed by both Ayers-Caesar and the office of the Chief Justice point to the inescapable fact that either the said Marcia Ayers-Caesar or the entire JLSC committed the criminal offence of misbehaviour in public office for the obvious reasons,” Khan said.

Questions have been also raised over whether the remaining members of the commission - Chief Justice Ivor Archie, head of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Maureen Manchouck and attorney Ernest Koylass, SC - can continue to perform their duties with the appeal pending before the country’s highest appellate court.

While the UNC conceded in the Court of Appeal that the JLSC may make decisions with a quorum of three members, it maintained the reduced quorum could not operate without the commission having a full complement of five members.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley holds the view that the executive arm of the State may very well have to intervene in the ongoing controversy in the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC).

But the PM also admits that while he has power to intervene in the matter, he is not quite sure whether it is the right thing to do.

Rowley was weighing in on the sudden resignations of retired Justices of Appeal Roger Hamel Smith and Humphrey Stollymeyer from the JLSC on returning home yesterday, after attending a four-day Caricom inter-sessional meeting in Grenada.

Both men tendered their resignations to President Anthony Carmona on June 22 and they took effect on June 30.

Addressing the media at the Piarco International Airport yesterday, Rowley said having retired to bed early on Thursday after battling the flu, he woke up yesterday only to discover that the JLSC was now not properly constituted.

“And that information to this effect had been available since the 22nd of June. Now this is not a matter for the Government. I know there are those who would blame the Government for this kind of development,” the PM said.

When things like these surface, Rowley said “these are the contributors to the populating losing confidence in the institutions of the State. Because if this matter is ongoing … as it has been and there are queries, calls and demands and people putting in their letters of resignation without here... trying to engage anybody in controversy.”

He said, however, that he would have thought the population would have been told immediately about the resignations. In doing so, Rowley said one could have easily followed the process “without acrimony and suspicion.”

However, the PM said when the resignations came into effect on June 30 but the public is informed on July 6, “the issue becomes now one of suspicion as to what has been happening in the interim.” That suspicion, he said, could be completely “unnecessary or it could be very troubling that something would have been happening.”

Rowley described the ongoing brouhaha in the JSLC as “institutional unnecessaries which could lead to paralysis and loss of confidence.”

But the PM questioned why these things were in fact happening.

“So now, we are told that we had the resignations. That means there is no JLSC and of course, the process of consultation, which I suspect…and here I am stepping out of my crease to say that the information on the (June) 22nd indicating a coming into effect on the (June) 30th…I read that to be that space was being created for appointments to be made so there would have been no significant hiatus.”

He said by June 30, the county should have been notified of the resignations to avoid suspicion, stating that the institutions of the State ought to have been more responsive in disseminating timely information and full disclosure.

Told that he had the power to initiate an investigation into the

Ex-JLSC members bowed to public pressure but...

Justice Roger Hamel-SmithChief Justice and JLSC, Rowley said he has power to do a lot of things.

“But the questions is, is it the appropriate thing to do? I will only do that if it is the best option under the circumstances. There is a difficulty in the judiciary … there is no question about that, but the executive jumping in to initiate an investigation might only worsen the situation rather than improve it.”

Rowley said, however, that he would continue to monitor the matter.

“When I spoke to you all about the Chinese wall that I observing, it is because not being a lawyer …just being a citizen and an office holder…holding high office in this country, my unadvised guess at that stage was that this matter may end up in the lap of the executive some time and if that happens it would then become a matter for the executive to deal with.”

With fresh controversy swirling, Rowley said he had seen a piece of correspondence which indicated that the 53 criminal matters that former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar left undone may only be solved by Parliament, which he said he would leave in the hands of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi.

“And if that is so…it is for office holders who are involved in this matter to bring it to a head and have it dealt with, even if it means that the Parliament has to come back into special session.

But to pretend that there is some other way when there is no other way, is bordering on description which I do not want to join this morning. There is a problem and it ought to be addressed. And the best way might not be an investigation at this time.”

Questioned if things escalate if he would consider his own intervention, Rowley said, “No, I don’t. I would be advised by the office of the Attorney General on this. These are matters I don’t advise myself.”

Declaring parts of Fyzabad and Rousillac as disaster zones, Chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation, Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh, defied trespassing laws and led work crews onto private lands in order to clear illegally blocked watercourses.

The communities of Silver Stream Road and National Mining Road resembled rivers and lagoons yesterday as thunderstorm conditions over the last two days wreaked havoc in most of the southwestern peninsular, including areas in Otaheite and Guapo.

“This is a public health disaster, so right now we have no choice. We are in a disaster zone and we have to bring relief to the people. We have little choice but to go into their lands and clear the watercourses they have impeded,” Ramadharsingh said.

Some families were not able to sleep in their homes as they had to rush to raise their furniture and appliances onto building blocks in order to avoid further financial burdens that were left by Tropical Storm Bret two weeks ago.

Ramadharsingh said their problem was that the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension Project created a barrier between both sides of the Oropouche lagoon and there was not enough drainage.

However, he said the major issue was that two land developers backfilled their properties, with one of them diverting a river around his property, narrowing its path in the process.

When the T&T Guardian investigated, the river on the eastern side of the highway was significantly wider than the other side where the developer had backfilled the property.

With flood spanning several kilometres, the tunnel along Silver Stream Road, which runs under the highway, was filled with water. It also meant that families such as Ravidranath Ramesar had to spend the night on the road.

Ramesar, who lives with his wife, children, and three-year-old grandchild near the tunnel said it was the first time the area was flooded. Between Thursday night and yesterday morning, he had caught three snakes.

Even though the sun shone brightly in the afternoon, the water around his home appeared not to be moving. Luckily, his dogs were able to climb onto a ledge in their kennel, but his ducks were seen swimming away.

Further along the road, Kaisraj Singh suffered heavy loss and tens of thousands of dollar worth of car parts were submerged in the waters.

Singh, a mechanic, had stored vehicle transmissions and engines in a shed, some of which came crashing down when the river near his home burst its banks.

Over in Rousillac, neighbours Rajesh Bunsee and Dennis Rajgobin were both blocked from entering their homes by rising water.

‘Penalise unscrupulous developers’

Since the construction of the highway between South Oropouche and Rousillac there has been several land develop ments along the way.

Ramadharsingh said because the highway significantly increased the value of land, many people sold their properties to investors for commercial use. He said a small drain was built along the highway, which also cannot contain the run-off.

Under the Waterworks and Water Conservation Act, it is illegal to block, alter or divert any natural watercourse. Anyone found in violation is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $1,000 in the case of a first offence and to a fine of $1,500 and to imprisonment for three months in the case of a second or subsequent offence.

“The drainage department wrote a report but there was no action. So much money is imposed on people for not wearing their seat belts or speeding but there are not enough sanctions for unscrupulous developers. We need to have penalties against these types of people because the greed of the few is what has caused that water to back up,” Ramadharsingh said.

Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young says apart from the individuals named in a lawsuit being pursued by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Government is going after other individuals who may have obtained money through fraudulent means in the matter.

At a press conference at Government Campus in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Young said through Government’s drive of “following the money,” it had unearthed further information possibly linking other individuals to the matter, which may also include “big fish.”

He also detailed some aspects of the civil suit filed in the High Court on June 28, which raised issues over why the value of a property purchased by the HDC at Eden Gardens in Freeport increased by more than $100 million. The claims against the defendants include bribery, a breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. Allegations of a $50,000 bribe being paid to a public servant to inflate the value of a 50-acre parcel of land at Eden Gardens were also raised in the lawsuit.

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

Yesterday, Young said over the last 20 months the AG’s office had been working with several international lawyers, investigators and forensic auditors “in the pursuit of actions against white collar crime.”

“What I would like the public to be aware of is I expect a lot of fearmongering to take place, accusations of political witch-hunting and a lot of other crimes, which are really meant to distract the population away from the real issues,” he said.

“We will not be deterred by that and we have gone about in the last 20 months utilising the best international talent possible in bringing these claims, which has not cost the taxpayers any where near the hundreds or tens of millions of dollars.”

He said in October 2015 there was a movement from gathering information to collating evidence which was analysed by attorneys.

Young said when the claim was initially sent out it was not served on any of the defendants, which is in keeping with the Civil Proceedings Rules that permit a period of three to four months to serve a claim.

“During that period of time, what we did for the first time was make an application to the court and were granted orders to follow the money. This is a transaction where $175 million of taxpayers’ money was spent and under the leadership of the AG we followed the money and this week we have amended the claim which was filed on June 20, 2017.”

He said several new defendants were added to the lawsuit as a result of this process.

Young said as the investigations continued, once there was evidence for criminal proceedings this will be sent to the police and DPP.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has admitted that the Housing Development Corporation may have no choice but to allow Sea Lots community leader Cedric Burke to complete the contract he has on a development in Bon Air, Arouca.

He also admitted his Government did not undertake due diligence in appointing the board of directors of the East Side Plaza and New City Mall, Port-of-Spain.

His comments came yesterday, after he was asked by the T&T Guardian if Burke would be allowed to keep his contract, given that he (Rowley) had fired Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald for aligning herself with Burke.

“If it is that Mr Burke has a contract ...I hope you are not asking the Office of the Prime Minister to disregard the existence of a contractual arrangement, because Mr B or Miss A would simply go to court and the next thing you know we would lose the case and then you’ll ask me why you have done that?”

Asked if he was aware of a “Rasta City” video displaying photographs of community leaders armed with a variety of arsenal, which has been circulating on social media since last August, and if an investigation had been undertaken by law enforcement officers to arrest those involved, Rowley said any video that identifies individuals with weapons which appeared to be pointing of criminal conduct of any kind should attract the attention of all the security services.

“I have every confidence that the police service would be onto it if warrants attention.”

The criteria used in selecting Sea Lots contractor Kenroy Dopwell to the two boards, which fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development once managed by Marlene McDonald, as well as who selected him for the positions were also queried.

In giving an explanation, Rowley said: “I must say we did not do an international due diligence in who goes there.”

Describing East Side Plaza as a Charlotte Street market, Rowley said people who were appointed to these boards were actively involved in their community.

“That’s the basis on which Mr Dopwell’s name would have been accepted under, he being an active person in and around there. I don’t know if it is something that I can assist you with at this point in time as to why Mr Dopwell …. I don’t know who recommended him.”

He said a sub-committee of Cabinet makes recommendations and appoint boards. The committee can make nominations depending on what the boards require or what skills are available in their ministry and community, Rowley added.

“So no minister appoints all the members to a board,” he said.

Dopwell had accompanied Burke to President’s House last Friday to witness the swearing-in ceremony of McDonald, who was later fired as a result of her association with Burke.

In Wednesday’s Trinidad Guardian, Burke admitted that he was awarded an HDC contract in the Bon Air South Housing project in Arouca.

Police investigating the kidnapping of San Fernando businessman Gregory Laing have been given a deadline of of 11.30 am today to charge or release two of the five suspects in custody for the crime.

High Court Judge Ricky Rahim yesterday heard a lawsuit challenging their detention, one of whom is both an imam and a CEPEP foreman. Though the duo’s names were mentioned repeatedly before Rahim, they can not be identified until they are formally charged by police.

Police will be able to detain the other suspects for longer as the court’s decision does not affect them as they chose not to file any lawsuit. Seven suspects were detained on July 1, two days after Laing’s kidnapping.

Three of the suspects, including a 17-year-old girl were arrested at Alicia’s Palace in Maraval, while the others were arrested at their homes in East Port-of-Spain. The teenager, whose six-month-old baby boy was with her at the time of her arrest, and another man were released by police earlier this week.

The T&T Guardian understands police were expecting to wrap up their investigations this weekend before approaching the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice on possible charges on Monday.

However, legal sources said that if investigators are unable to charge the two suspects by Rahim’s deadline, they may have no choice but to release and then rearrest them.

Lawyers representing the two suspects, both from Laventille, filed the application yesterday requesting police justify their protracted detention without charge.

When the case came up before Rahim in the Port-of-Spain High Court around 9.30 am, State attorneys requested additional time to obtain instructions from detectives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit.

Assistant Solicitor General Neil Byam returned to court two hours later and told the judge that the police needed additional time to complete their investigations as they were still in the process of transcribing telephone conversations intercepted in relation to the crime.

Byam also revealed some of the evidence gathered by police in the course of their investigation, which included a cellphone linked to the ransom request made the Laing’s family, and $2,500 in marked bills which was among the ransom money paid by his family to secure his release.

Their lawyer, Criston J Williams, claimed that the application was not merely to secure their immediate release but to obtain an update on the investigation as police had repeatedly refused to provide him with any information.

Rahim ruled the duo’s detention was legal and justified up to the time of the hearing but said that he felt that the police should be able to complete the transcription and close their investigation by today.

As part of the ruling, Rahim ordered the State to pay $8,000, the legal costs incurred by the two suspects.

Laing was kidnapped around 3 am last Thursday as he was opening his family’s Puff N Stuff Bakery at Circular Road, Vistabella. His family is also the owners of Tradewinds Hotel in St Joseph Village, San Fernando. Almost an hour later, his brother received a phone call from someone demanding a ransom of $270,000 for his safe return.

Police traced the call to the Beetham Gardens area and police immediately began conducting search exercises in communities in East Port-of-Spain for the missing man and his abductors.

As police intensified their search, Laing’s relatives delivered the ransom in two payments — $30,000 at a track in Beetham Gardens and later $240,000 near TATECO (Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission) Credit Union in Barataria. Minutes after the final payment was delivered Laing was released unhurt along the Beetham Highway.

Government is confident it will recover $34 million from president of Ebeam Interact Ltd Adolphus Daniell, who was paid the hefty sum for a contract under the Life Sport programme which never materialised.

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young made the comment at a press conference yesterday, saying a civil suit was filed against Daniel to recover the money since “very little, if anything, was received for the payment of that $34 million.”

“We are pursuing a claim against Ebeam for failing to perform any of the adequate services and we are claiming there was a total failure of consideration for the contract. We are going against Ebeam for failing to provide any adequate deliverables. It is the State’s contention it is entitled to a repayment of the $34 million,” Young said.

He said at the outset of the contract there was “suspicious activity,” as the contract was also backdated and there were two payments of $17.5 million of which nothing was received in return.

In 2014, the Cabinet fired the former SporTT board after it decided to pay off a $34 million contract to Daniell’s EBeam Interact for work he did not do in the now defunct Life Sport programme.

The former board, which was chaired by Sebastien Paddington, included Reynold Bala, Norris Blanc, Anyl Gopeesingh, Sabrenah Khayyam, Matthew Quamina, Annan Ramnanansingh, Kent Samlal, Milton Siboo and Harnarine Seeransingh.

Young said all defendants had been served.

Young also said he will be going to Washington to meet with law enforcement experts in the coming weeks.

Speaking briefly on the Clico matter, he said Government was looking at this “very closely” and some decisions were expected to be taken.

A construction worker of Valencia was shot repeatedly at his jobsite at KP Lands, Valencia yesterday.

The victim, Terry Villafana, 34, succumbed to his multiple gun shot wounds at hospital while undergoing emergency surgery.

Police reported that around 2.15 pm, Villafana along with other men were laying bricks at a box drain in Valencia, when a gunman approached Villafana and opened fire. He fell into the drain bleeding from several injuries while his co workers took cover. The gunman escaped in a waiting car.

Villafana was taken to Sangre Grande Hospital but died while being attended to in the operating theatre by doctors.

Residents of KP Lands told T&T Guardian that there have been frequent shootings in the area.

Visiting the scene were Snr Supt Garth Nelson, Insp Ken Lutchman, Sgt Ramkissoon of Eastern Division Police and Insp Christopher Fuentes and other officers from Homicide Region 11 Arouca.

Villifana’s body will be taken to the Forensic Science Centre, St James on Monday for an autopsy. The latest killing brings the number of people murdered for the year to 266.

RALPH BANWARIE

Police probing yesterday’s $600,000 phone heist at Gulf City Mall, La Romaine are investigating whether the suspects had inside help.

Investigators said there are many critical questions to be answered as to how four armed bandits were able to use a hammer to break the main entrance glass door of a manned mall and escaped with 98 Samsung and iPhone mobile phones along with associated accessories from R&J Cell Tech Ltd within three minutes.

Officers said based on video footage, the suspects went directly to the store on the upper level of the mall and again used the hammer to break the glass door and showcases.

Reports stated that around 7.25 pm Thursday, the store’s owner Rabindranath Maharaj, 60, locked up and left the mall.

Around 4.15 am, yesterday, he received a notification from his Blink Vigilance Alarm Monitoring System of a break-in.

When he went to the store, it had already been raided.

Based on the reports investigators received, several of the security officers were attending to another issue in another area of the mall.

The guard manning the entrance was tied up by the bandits.

Their identities were concealed by T-shirts over their faces.

The robbery came a month after Maharaj was exonerated on four charges of extortion and demanding money by menace. It was alleged that he demanded over $200,000 from contractor Rajkumar Ramkissoon during a seven-year period.

When Maharaj first appeared in court charged with the four offences in February 2015, his attorney Keith Beckles submitted that he was innocent and was a victim of fraud.

Beckles also claimed it was ironic his client was charged, as he was a victim of a dishonest cheque allegedly issued by Ramkissoon.

However, in a telephone interview, Maharaj blamed rampant crime and unemployment as the reason for the crime.

Although there are several other mobile phone outlets near his store, he said iPhones were hot sellers and R&J Cell Tech Ltd was a major dealer in the country.

He said it was strange how the robbery occurred and most of the security was not aware of what was taking place at the mall.

“This is very strange, that they broke the front entrance. Four men armed with guns and the security said they held him up.

“The alarm went off at 4.07 and at 4.08 I received the called on my cellphone.

“These bandits knew exactly where they were coming. The guard we spoke to said the men held him up with a gun. They told him to lie on the ground and not to move.

“This is very strange,” Maharaj said.

Police are warning members of the public against buying Samsung handsets and iPhones from off the streets, as they could be receiving stolen property, which is also a crime.

Maharaj has been robbed over 14 times in the last 14 years.

The police has asked that anyone coming into contact with street sellers of such phones to contact the San Fernando CID at 652-2564.

Eight years after the Clico collapse, shareholders in Barbados, St Vincent and Grenada are now calling on the T&T Government to bail them out of the debacle.

But Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday that the last thing his Government intended to do was pay out any Caricom shareholder, since Clico’s future looks quite unsettled. In that regard, the PM gave the assurance that legal steps may be an option to protect the interest of our citizens.

This was one of the discussions that came up at the Caricom inter-sessional meeting in Grenada, which Rowley attended and spoke about yesterday at the Piarco International Airport when he returned home.

Rowley said while T&T has taken steps to financially bail out its citizens who were affected by Clico’s collapse, its shareholders in Barbados, St Vincent and Grenada are now calling on the Government to do the same for them. He said their arguments were based on the Chaguaramas Treaty that no Caricom country should favour its own citizens.

“I think they were bolstered by some agreements that date back to the Manning era which was supported by the Persad-Bissessar’s era, where certain commitments were made to pay certain monies and in fact, those agreements were cemented by payment of US$50 million in the promise of $100 million.” Rowley said, however, that the country was now being called upon to conclude those transactions.

“I did ask for a time to look at it a little closer in the context of the promises that were made, because Trinidad and Tobago will not renege on a country’s commitment to our Caricom colleague,” he said. The PM said the Government asked for the time so it could look at Clico’s current situation.

“I want to take this opportunity to tell the national community that there are some serious developments taking place with respect to this Clico matter and the last thing we can do now is to pay out money now to anybody about Clico, while we are engaged in a very serious matter with the Government’s protection of the national interest with respect to the monies paid out to Clico.”

He said people who had and continue to maintain Clico’s interest through their shareholders, have taken action with the expectation that they would succeed in expelling the Government from the board of Clico, even while T&T taxpayers have not recovered from the $20 billion that was paid out in the bailout plan.

“We are currently engaged in that matter. And against that background, at Caricom I told the claimants that we are not prepared at this time to entertain any further discussions on that matter at the level of Carciom, but we will talk to the country at a bilateral level.”

Rowley said they expect to talk to the three regional countries about the Clico liabilities. Under the last People’s Partnership administration, Rowley said a number of ministers beat their chests for settling the Clico matter.

“The matters are far from settling. The future looks quite unsettled. But along the way the Government of T&T will take all reasonable and legal steps to protect the interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”

He said a favourable memorandum of understanding was signed in the 2009 bailout, which allowed billions of taxpayers’ dollars to be injected into the privately-owned company.

“One thing that was not on that bailout was interest for that monies that were being paid to this private company. There was no provision for interest to accrue. But that was part of the arrangement.”

Over and above that, Rowley said they are now having an issue from the company’s shareholders who are “resolutely resisting a renewal of the memorandum of understanding under which taxpayers’ money went into that company.”

One requirement for that agreement, Rowley said, is that both parties must be in agreement.

“If the other party is not prepared, the Government by itself cannot agree. Those are some of the developments now. We will deal with them along the way. And we will deal with them effectively and forcefully in the interest of the taxpayers, whose billions (of dollars) have been used to support that company and its subsidiaries.”

While retired Justices Humphrey Stollmeyer and Roger Hamel-Smith recently resigned from the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) amid growing pressure, Chief Justice Ivor Archie yesterday remained adamant that he will not be following suit.

Archie’s defiance comes on the heels of calls from some of this country’s legal luminaries for the exact reason why Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith resigned from the JLSC to be made public.

As Chief Justice, Archie is the chairman of the JLSC which now only has three members following the resignations of Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has also been sent by a concerned citizen calling on both Archie and President Anthony Carmona to make the resignation letters of Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith public because they are “of great public importance”.

The FOIA request comes at a time when questions are still being asked by some of this country’s legal luminaries about the delay in the announcement of the resignations and whether the JLSC is properly constituted.

Senior Counsel Israel Khan has also called for a police investigation into the matter.

On Thursday, the Office of the President announced the resignations of Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith.

This announcement came almost a week after both Hamel-Smith’s and Stollmeyer’s resignations became effective on June 30.

Both men submitted their resignation letters on June 22.

The resignation letters of the two justices were not made public, but Carmona, in a release issued on Friday, gave some of the details of their decisions.

Friday’s release quoted more extensively from Stollmeyer’s resignation letter, in which he claimed that the public uproar surrounding the cases left unfinished by Marcia Ayers-Caesar upon her short-lived appointment as a judge in April caused him to reassess his role in public life.

‘Days of secrecy long gone’

Archie was approached by the Sunday Guardian following the induction ceremony of Prof Brian Copeland as Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal of The University of the West Indies St Augustine campus

When approached, Archie said he had no comment on the resignations of Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith.

He, however, maintained that he will not be resigning.

“I have no comment and by the way, I am not going to resign,” Archie added.

On June 2, following an unprecedented vote of no confidence in him by the Law Association and calls for him to step down, Archie told the Guardian he would not be resigning.

He maintained that position last night in the face of mounting pressure.

In an earlier email sent to Sherlanne Pierre, the administrative secretary to the Chief Justice, she said a response to queries by the Sunday Guardian will be forthcoming.

The Judiciary is expected to respond tomorrow.

Even as Archie remained defiant, citizen Matthew Mc Carthy from Sorzano Street, Arima, called on both him and Carmona to make the resignation letters of retired Justices Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith public.

A FOIA request was sent by his attorney Reynold Waldropt.

“Our client is of the respectful view that this information should be provided as it involves a matter of great public importance and that it is in the public interest that it be made public,” the letter stated.

“The Judicial and Legal Service commission is a public body, which performs very important functions under the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

“It is important that the conduct of its affairs be open to scrutiny. Indeed, the days of secrecy and lack of transparency in the conduct of public affairs are long gone,” the letter stated .

“It is therefore our fervent hope that the requested material would be disclosed in the public interest,” the letter stated.

Mc Carthy is also calling for the “reason for the delay in making the resignations known to the public of Trinidad and Tobago”.

Khan: Mess cannot be swept under the carpet

Senior Counsel Israel Khan yesterday said the “mess” cannot be swept under the carpet.

“Justice Stollmeyer’s explanation for his resignation has exacerbated themes and it is now very pressing that a police investigation be launched in order to find out the true facts,” Khan said.

“From his explanation, he is saying that the JLSC did nothing wrong and he was hounded out of office. If this is true, then Marcia Ayers-Caesar is the culprit and thus she should be charged with misbehaviour in public office. But what if she is speaking the truth that she informed the JLSC that she had left behind twenty-eight part heard matters? Why then did the JLSC advise the president to appoint her? Most of all, after the s... hit the fan (with the violent protestations of the prisoners in open court) why did the JLSC force/trick her to resign as a judge of the High Court?

“This mess is getting ‘worser and worser’. Somebody is lying–but who? And that is what the stakeholders in this matter must know. The rule of law demands it. This mess must not be swept under the red carpet at the Hall of Justice,” he said.

Ramlogan: JLSC author of its own misfortunes

Former attorney general Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan said the JLSC was the “author of its own misfortunes”.

“Whilst I sympathise and identify with the distress and inconvenience public criticism often causes, it is a necessary evil. That is why the right to freedom of expression and the right to a free press are enshrined as fundamental human rights in our Constitution,” he said.

“The unfortunate drama that has emerged on a piecemeal basis over the Marcia-Ayers fiasco, illustrates why the public and the media must have a right to criticize and question the conduct of officials who hold public office. There can be no sacred cows, lest there be the perception that there are different strokes for different folks,” Ramlogan said.

He said that the entire situation highlighted the need for “urgent reform” with respect to how judges are selected, and that the JLSC’s handling of the issues have raised more questions than answers.

“The process for the selection of judges has been shrouded in secrecy for far too long. There is great danger to our democracy if this is allowed to continue. There is need for urgent reform consistent with the principles of transparency, accountability and good governance. This will vindicate some of the excellent judicial appointments that have been made and rebuild public confidence,” he said.

“The JLSC is the author of its own misfortunes. They certainly did not help their cause by issuing brief, tersely-worded press releases that said precious little and raised more questions than answers. It did not seem to recognize, far less appreciate the public’s right to know what transpired. It initially attempted to defend the matter by the self-serving statement that there was a ‘robust selection process’. That statement is now considered a joke by many,” Ramlogan said.

Ramlogan said the JLSC seemed intent on “withholding critical information” and acting like an “old boys’ club”.

“It is interesting that the learned judges did not identify the criticisms which they considered to be unjustified as there is merit in much of what have been said based on the facts that were slowly and painfully put into the public domain. The JLSC’s cause would be much better served by recognizing that the public is entitled to ask questions and demand answers and make full and frank disclosure. Instead, it seemed intent on withholding critical information and getting information was like pulling teeth out of a lion’s mouth without any anaesthetic,” he said.

“Our democracy and the administration of justice can emerge stronger and better from this experience if meaningful reform takes place. The JLSC needs to shed its image as an ‘old boys’ club,” Ramlogan said.

He maintained that in his opinion the JLSC is not “properly constituted with three members”.

“For it to be properly constituted, there must be five members. Once it is properly constituted then it can in fact meet with a quorum of three,” he added.

Daly: Pressure and accountability come together

Senior Counsel Martin Daly said he was a “bit concerned” that a public official would decide whether criticism was “justified or not”.

“I am a bit concerned that any public official would take it upon himself to decide whether criticism is justified or unjustified,” Daly said.

“I don’t buy this thing about pressure and I think pressure and accountability come together. If you don’t want to be held accountable, don’t take a work,” he said.

Pres House: We have nothing to hide

Theron Boodan, communications adviser to the President, said the resignations letters of Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith were not “public documents” and therefore did not need to be made public.

“We have to get permission from them to release the contents of their letters of resignation and whatever is in it. We can’t just go and do that (release them),” he said.

Boodan said recent public engagements including the swearing-in of Marlene McDonald as Minister of Public Utilities by Carmona was the cause for the delayed announcement of the JLSC resignations.

He said the excerpts from the letters quoted the President’s release were the essence of what Stollmeyer and Hamel-Smith stated in the resignation letters.

“We have nothing to hide. All this kind of cloak and dagger thing is not there,” Boodan said.

Boodan said the Office of the President has already started the process of finding suitable candidates to fill the vacancies in the JLSC.

Comedienne Nikki Crosby has been left “traumatised and violated” after she and her husband, Gerry Clarke, were among a group of people robbed at gunpoint by masked bandits at a store in Diego Martin, yesterday.

According to police reports, robbers entered Artie’s Meats at Morne Coco Road, Diego Martin, around 2.30 pm and ordered everyone to lie on the ground while they stole phones, cash and personal items including wedding rings.

Crosby said she and another female patron were also physically manhandled by the gunmen.

While Crosby said she felt “traumatised and violated” by the incident, she was grateful to be alive.

After the bandits left the store police apprehended them and recovered the stolen items and a firearm.

Crosby addressed the issue on her Facebook page yesterday evening:

“Thankgodforlife Gerry and I were shopping at Artie’s and gunmen ran in and put everyone on the floor. Proceeded to rob everyone and feel me and another woman up. While coming out they were chased by the Western Division and the Four Rds police. They were apprehended and recovered most of the items. Still at the station feeling traumatised and violated #Anotheroneaffectedbycrime”.

Crosby thanked the police for their prompt response.

Artie’s Meats said it will be increasing security in a post about the incident on their Facebook page.

“Thank you for all of your concern and support. Yes we had an incident this afternoon at our Diego Martin branch. Thankfully nobody was hurt and the police have apprehended the two men. We will be increasing our security and will be open for business again on Monday,” thepost stated.

Speaking at an event yesterday, acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams said we cannot arrest ourselves out of rising crime in this country.

“The more you arrest the more criminals come forward to be arrested,” Williams said.

Williams said the main cause of crime was the failure of parenting and family life.

“When a crime is committed familes are affected and then in seeking to arrest we now have to incarcerate and then you affect families by way of extension,” he said.

Williams said the police’s success should be gauged by how much crime they prevent rather than solve.

“Everybody speaks about the Police Service’s detection rate so the more offences we detect means that we are performing better for me that does not make much sense,” he said.

Williams made the statement during an event where the National Gas Company strengthened its support of Police Youth Clubs for another five years.

The event was held at the Police Academy in St James.

Former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal has described the lawsuit being pursued by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) against individuals involved in the valuation and sale of property purchased by the HDC at Eden Gardens, Freeport, as obscene.

He also described it as a “naked and callous piece of political witch-hunt”.

His comments come one day after Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young said that apart from the individuals named in the lawsuit, Government would go after other individuals who may have obtained money through fraudulent means in the matter. Young said this at a media conference on Friday where he discussed Government’s drive of “following the money”, saying it had unearthed further information possibly linking other individuals to the matter, which may also include “big fish”.

Young detailed some aspects of the civil suit filed in the High Court on June 28, which raised issues over why the value of a property purchased by the HDC at Eden Gardens in Freeport increased by more than $100 million. The claims against the defendants include bribery, a breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. Allegations of a $50,000 bribe being paid to a public servant to inflate the value of a 50-acre parcel of land at Eden Gardens, originally valued at $52 million, were also raised in the lawsuit.

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

During the press conference, Young said he expected accusations of political witch-hunting and a lot of other crimes, which were meant to “distract the population away from the real issues”.

Moonilal also said Young made no reference to the fact that the People’s National Movement (PNM) already reported that matter to the Integrity Commission which, he said, found no breach of law.

“He confuses buying bush land with developed lands.” Moonilal also accused Young of prejudicing the legal matter by embarking on a public prosecution.

“This is tantamount to misbehaviour in public office and I intend to take this further.” Asked how he intended to take the matter further, Moonilal gave no specific details but said Young should face the consequences of making “rash and reckless pronouncements in public”.

“He has quickly imaged himself as the PNM schoolyard bully.” “Minister Young should be concerned with how a $48 million contract from the HDC went to a company with no track record of building houses but linked to a government MP,” Moonilal said, referring to a contract awarded to contractor Cedric Burke, by the HDC.

Earlier this week, Moonilal called on the HDC to say whether Burke had experience building houses.

“There is also a matter of his (Young’s) interference in state enterprises and more will be said of this in the next few days.”

Inundated with calls to address the issue of flooding in some areas following Tropical Storm Bret, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan says illegal land developers will have to face stiff penalties for the devastation they are causing other citizens.

In an interview yesterday, Sinanan said while severe weather conditions were acts of God, 75 per cent of the flooding that followed was man-made, mostly through illegal construction and pollution.

He was responding to questions on the flooding of several communities along the southwest Peninsula over the past three days. Heavy rainfall last Thursday and Friday resulted in parts of Point Fortin, Fyzabad, Mon Desir, Dow Village and Rousillac being under water up to four feet high. Similar to the southern communities, Sinanan said the recent flood and gushing of muddy water through St Ann’s last week was the result of a developer who cut into the hill. He said those developments that cause damage was done without approval “We will have to look at the legislation to ensure people desist from interfering with watercourses because you cannot easily get approval to do any work there.”

Sinanan said he will look at the penalties to see if there was need for amendments.

“Yes, flooding is a natural occurrence, but 75 per cent of the problem is manmade.

Besides the illegal development, we will also have to consider a ban on plastic. When you look in the underground drains and culverts, you’re always finding bottles and Styrofoam blocking the water from flowing,” Sinanan said.

Along the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension, bordering Fyzabad and Mon Desir, the Siparia Regional Corporation was filling parts of the lagoon with sand in order to stop the flow of water into Silver Stream Road, where several houses were flooded. On the other side, Nidco had cut the National Mining Road in order to increase the flow of water into a nearby river.

The communities are part of the Oropouche Lagoon but residents said they have never experienced floods in their homes. Sinanan said unplanned development in low-lying areas usually cause flooding. Since the highway was built, there has been several earthworks done on the surrounding land.

A Picton Road Laventille man has been charged with being in possession of ransom money connected with the kidnapping of San Fernando businessman Gregory Laing.

Jesten Superville was yesterday charged by police under Section Four of the Kidnapping Act Chapter 11:26 for allegedly being in possession of $2,500 from the $270,000 ransom paid by relatives to have Laing released.

Superville is now facing the possibility of 15 years in prison.

According to Section Four of the Kidnapping Act “a person who receives, has possession of or disposes of any money or property or any proceeds thereof, which has previously been delivered as ransom in connection with an offence punishable under section Three, knowing or having reason to believe that the money or other property had, at any time, been delivered as such ransom, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for not less than fifteen years.”

Superville was one of two men who High Court Judge Ricky Rahim ordered police officers on Friday to either charge or set free by 11.30 am yesterday following a writ of habeas corpus filed by attorney Criston J Williams.

Superville was charged yesterday morning while the second man was released by police.

On June 29, Laing, 54, the owner of Puff n’ Stuff Bakery in San Fernando, was snatched outside his business place.

His relatives received a $270,000 ransom demand which was paid later that day in two tranches.

A bag containing $30,000 was dropped off at Phase 1 Beetham Gardens around 8 am, while another bag containing $240,000 was left on the pavement near Tateco (Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission) Credit Union in Barataria, later in the day.

Following the full payment of the ransom Laing was released unhurt along the Beetham Highway.

On July 1, Superville and two others were allegedly held at Alicia’s Palace in St Ann’s where $2,500 cash said to be part of Laing’s ransom payment as well as a cellular phone where conversations related to the kidnapping were intercepted were obtained by police.

A Valencia man is fighting for his life at hospital after being shot in his head and legs.

Adrian Hosein, 26, a PH driver, of Plantation Road, was shot by an unknown gunman yesterday afternoon.

Hosein was rushed by residents to the Sangre Grande District Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery and was warded in critical condition up to late yesterday.

Police reported that around 12.30 pm, Hosein was sitting next to his vehicle on Plantation Road, when a man dressed in a red overall approached him, pulled out a gun and began firing at him.

Hosein ran off but was followed by the gunman. Hosein fell to the ground.

Resident who heard the loud explosions and came out to investigate assisted him.

Police have increased patrols in the area since three men have lost their lives within a few days as a result of shootings.

On Friday, a man of KP lands, Valencia, died at hospital after he was shot while working on a box drain in the area.

Visiting the scene were Sgt Edwards, PCs Khan, Baptiste, CSI officers, Sangre Grande Police.

PC Baptiste of the Valencia Police Post is continuing investigations.

Ralph Banwarie