Crane operator Nicholas “BJ Dan” Paul was killed and his teenage daughter critically injured when a car slammed into his motorcycle close to his Reform Village, Gasparillo home on Saturday.

Paul, 37, was taking his daughter Nicolette, 15, for a short ride on the Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle he purchased three weeks ago, something he was accustomed to doing, when tragedy struck.

According to a police report, a white Honda Elantra was overtaking vehicles along the Reform Bypass Road, near the Brian Lara Academy, when it came into the path of Paul’s motorcycle, which was heading in the opposite direction.

Upon impact, Paul and his daughter were thrown from the motorcycle, which broke into pieces.  

Paul’s father, Deodath Paul, along with other relatives, rushed to the scene where they saw Paul’s lifeless body. His daughter was bleeding from her injuries, but she was conscious. 

Nicolette, a pupil of the Gasparillo Secondary School, is warded at the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital while the driver of the car is warded in a stable condition.

Wiping away his tears at his Reform Village home, Deodath Paul said Paul’s daughter asked her father to take her for a ride. “He was home and he just drive out to take his daughter for a ride by the stadium.”

When the accident happened, he said, Nicolette asked someone to call her relatives.

“I asked her ‘Darling, you have pain.’ She said yes, her belly and she hold her chest. She had a big cut on her foot and her pelvic bone was pushing out.”

Nicolette asked for her father and still does not know that he died. 

Paul’s sister Roxanne Dookhantie, said the doctors performed surgery on Nicolette, but they still had to run  scans and tests. 

Dookhantie said her brother owned about six previous motorcycles and never had an accident.

“He was a safe driver,” his father said.

Dookhantie added that her brother had a list of goals which he completed, including building his house and doing renovations.

“Everything he planned to do he did it. The last thing he wanted, his bike,” she said. 

Paul who lived close to his parents’ home was married and had another daughter, age 16.

Concerned about the various crises in the country, a senior member of the clergy is hoping that the meeting between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar would not just be a pappyshow.

Speaking at the Rapid Fire Kidz Foundation’s 5th anniversary dinner at Omardeen’s Hall in San Fernando on Saturday night, outspoken Presbyterian Reverend Daniel Teelucksingh, a former Independent Senator, touched on several issues, including the crisis in the judiciary, violence against children and tomorrow’s meeting between Rowley and Persad-Bissessar.

The agenda includes issues relating to parliamentary matters, but Persad-Bissessar said she will be raising issues relating to crime, jobs and economy, although Rowley has said he could have discussions about crime under the anti-gang legislation heading, but the two other issues were not on the agenda.

Teelucksingh said he was happy the two political opponents were meeting, but noted there had been similar initiatives in the past and nothing came of them. 

“They have had all kind of big talk whether in the Hyatt or in this building, they had all kind of talk of meeting issues, dealing with issues in the country and it ended as a grand pappyshow. I hope that wouldn’t happen in 2017. We want to talk about national issues and then there is a deadlock, the same old deadlock.” 

Saying that political hostilities between the estates had been a curse on this nation, Teelucksingh said: “I like that conversation between the two estates, between the Prime Minister and his group and the opposition and her group. I hope they don’t go in the Parliament and have the meeting. They have to go somewhere else. The agenda has to be different and the tone has to be different. There must be a different spirit, different from the one that pervades.”

   He said commoners were suffering because of the bad leadership in the judiciary, executive and legislature.

 Touching on the turmoil in the judiciary, Teelucksingh said: “Those 53 unfinished cases still remain a nightmare for the fellas in the courts and also for the law makers. That has been at the centre of the whole issue of the problems in the judiciary.”

He said there needs to be a panchayat of all the different sectors, including judges, magistrates, the law association and all attorneys, of the third estate to talk about their roles and responsibilities, as any implosion in the judiciary will affect the society.

Commending the Foundation on the good work they were doing with children, Teelucksingh said T&T has the most amount of child rights and protection laws in the Caribbean, but too many children continue to be abused, maimed, ill-treated and murdered. 

“Do you know that that in T&T our household pets are more comfortable than hundreds of children.”

Alluding to the murders of 13-year-old Videsh Subar, Sean Luke and 16-year-old Waterloo Secondary pupil Jesse Beephan who was beaten to death, Teelucksingh said, “I believe that Trinidad is a dangerous place for children, there is no doubt about it. I have only selected three illustrations to tell you that the child’s playground in T&T is like a war zone, a war zone somewhere in the middle east area or so.”

 Saying the death of Kendall “Sausage” Garcia, a suspect in Subar’s murder, was an act of God. Garcia was killed by police in a shootout last week.

He reminded those who are “criminally minded” that there is a “higher justice.”

  Although the Foundation has undertaken several projects and events since its inception, president Kevin Ratiram, an attorney, said their work has only just begun. He cautioned the evil elements that good people of T&T will fight tooth and nail to make the country a safe place again.

  And for the first time, two members Charlene Kalloo and Bisram Ramdatt received the Executive Member of the Year award. Rural and Local Development Minister Kazim Hosein also attended the function.

Almost four years after he viciously fought with a man over his own gold chain, Mark Cooke, 29, was shot in the back, in a revenge shooting.

Now paralysed, instead of seeking revenge against his attacker, Cooke has turned his life to God, and has faith that he would be able to walk again. Cooke, of Sangre Grande, was shot in the back while purchasing a CD at a vendor in Curepe on January 17, 2014.

The shooter was identified as a man he had an altercation with four years earlier. In that initial incident, Cooke said he had lent his $5,000 gold chain to a female friend because she wanted to wear it to a boat cruise.

He said after the boat party, the woman while returning the chain was approached by the man who snatched it from her neck. Cooke said he knew the man as a well-known hustler from the Port-of-Spain area and subsequently confronted him and during a fight he retrieved the chain.

“I beat him up a little bit,” Cooke said. Nearing four years after the fracas, Cooke said, the chain snatcher came back for revenge and shot him in his back and stole the chain from around his neck. “I saw the man as I was walking towards a CD vendor. I did not make nothing of it. But while I was making the purchase I saw the vendor who was standing in front of me looking behind me and then he suddenly ducked.”

By the time Cooke turned around to see what was taking place he had already been shot and the chain was being yanked from his neck.

“The gun jammed. One of his (gunman’s) partners then grabbed the gun from him and I heard him say shoot him in the head. I said, Lord, Father, if I dead here today remember me in Paradise. I said that four times, just like the thief on the cross next to Jesus,” Cooke said.

Cooke was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope where he underwent surgery and warded for two weeks. While in the hospital he was only visited once by officers of the St Joseph Police Station who took a statement, but he has never heard from them again.

“I don’t ever think I will get justice,” Cooke said. The suspect was never arrested. Cooke said he was told by doctors that the bullet which missed his heart by two inches, travelled downwards, broke three of his ribs and punctured his lungs before it lodged itself between the kidney and liver. His spine was also damaged.

“The bullet is still lodged in me,” Cooke said. He said doctors told him if they had removed the bullet he could have bled to death.

Cooke who worked as a delivery driver is now confined to a bed and wears a catheter. He has also been nursing a three-inch-deep bedsore on his right buttock for the past two months.

“I am now a prisoner in my home because of my paralysis. I am not giving up hope. I have feelings in the legs because if I drinking something cold and I put it on my legs I would feel the coldness.”

Cooke’s father Steve Cooke has been his caregiver and pillar of strength.

“It’s a full time job just seeing about him every day…changing his bandages and cooking his vegetarian meals. I never expected this to happen to my son. From a healthy robust man Mark has dwindled to nothing. It pains my heart to see him in this condition,” Steve said, as he tried hard to contain his emotions.

The elder Cooke said in the blink of an eye his son’s life changed.

“People taking your belongings and then shooting and killing you for it. That is the stage we reach now. I have to thank God Mark did not die as a result of the bullet wound.”

Though Cooke receives an $1,800 a month disability grant, Steve said it was barely enough to cover his medication, toiletries and meals. Though bedridden, Cooke said he was still thankful for life.

“As I get up on mornings I does reach for my Bible and read. I live through the inspiration of Prophet Jeremiah and the teachings in the book of Revelations. I am a Seventh Day Adventist and my greatest wish is to be in Heaven and in seeking the Lord right now I believe that I will walk again,” Cooke said.

“God does also bless and He could heal me through a doctor because He works in mysterious ways. But, I have to help myself too,” he said.

Cooke said he would like Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh to look into his matter.

“If there is anything the minister can do to help me I would appreciate it. I am not asking for sympathy or pity. I just want a second medical opinion.”

Last Thursday, Cooke had to be admitted on Ward 6 at the Sangre Grande Hospital after he developed an infection as a result of the catheter, which led to a high fever and vomiting.

“I could have died if I was not taken to the hospital on time. The doctors told me this morning that the bacteria in my body is travelling. This has me worried to no end. But by my faith I shall be healed.”

Chief Justice Ivor Archie’s appointment gave the Judiciary “hope” of healing, a judge stated.

However, “the mood quickly transitioned from one of hope to one of dismay”, because of what was perceived as Archie’s lack of “interpersonal skills” by some, a judge stated.

“In the face of the recent controversy, he behaves as its business as usual. Many believe that he simply does not care as he seems to be enamoured by the trappings of office,” a judge stated.

Another judge, however, felt Archie was simply being used as a “scapegoat”.

“He is not perfect. He has his shortcomings like all of us but he has the Judiciary at heart and I think he is just being used as a scapegoat,” the judge stated.

One of the shortcomings Archie has been accused of is the delay in completing outstanding judgments.

In November 2013, attorney Criston J Williams took Archie to task, questioning delays in the delivery of appeal judgments.

Williams issued a pre-action protocol letter to Archie claiming the delays breached his clients’ constitutional rights.

Williams represented convicted killers Lester Pitman and Gerald Wilson who had been awaiting judgments in their cases for three and four years respectively.

In a second letter to the Supreme Court Registrar, Williams signalled his intention to send a complaint to then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar asking her to exercise her discretion under Section 137 of the Constitution which deals with impeachment proceedings against a Chief Justice.

The letters caused a stir among legal circles with Williams explaining that when he initially drafted the second letter dated December 5, 2013, it included all three appellate judges comprising Archie, Paula Mae Weeks and Alice Yorke Soo-Hon.

However, acting on the advice of a Queen’s Counsel the letter was eventually addressed only to Archie.

On July 3, Archie was part of a Court of Appeal panel that delivered a judgment that was heard two years earlier on July 24, 2015.

“There is a judge attached to the Family Court who has been de-rostered for a substantial time so as to complete outstanding judgments but how can one call upon judges to account when you as the leader are simply on your own beat,” a judge stated.

Volney, who left the judiciary to become a candidate for the People’s Partnership in the 2010 general election, said he would have thought twice about early retirement had Archie not been chief justice.

“Rather than accepting responsibility and offering any kind of genuine regret for it, Archie has refused to man up for this crisis created by him, so much so that two members of the JLSC have quite honourably resigned clearly for lacking in confidence in the Chief Justice for his dogged obstinacy,” Volney stated.

“As I said before, Ivor Archie has a moral duty to step down as Chief Justice so that the Judiciary may breathe again,” he said.

Meanwhile, the imbroglio involving Archie, the JLSC and former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar continues.

The Collymore family and the Parris family of Union Park East, Marabella, stood outside the still smoking rubble, trying to figure out how to go about piecing their lives back together. The families were unable to save anything in the blaze which also destroyed a Ford Laser car.

Recalling the incident, Cuthbert Collymore, 45, a driver for a catering company, said his brother Cleyon and relative Ronnie Braithwaite lived in the house, in which he grew up and he still occupies a room there. Collymore said he also built a house to the back of his family home where he lived with his wife, Liz Singh, two sons, Triston, nine and Trey, seven, and nephew, Jerome, ten.

He said around 3.45 pm he was in his family’s house when he smelt smoke, but neither the children nor Braithwaite were alerted by the smoke.  “The children were playing with the phones,” he said.

“When I went into my room I saw a wall blazing,” said Collymore and he immediately raised an alarm. He said there was no water in the tap so they could not even try to extinguish the blaze.

Collymore said his wife had already bought their children’s school books for the new term in September.  Meanwhile, Nigel Parris, 49, a landscaper, said his wife Bettyann Kanhai and three children, twins Nikesha, 18, and Tereisha, and Josiah, six, were at home when the fire started. Kanhai said she was outside with the children when they saw smoke, but she did not pay any attention to it.

“It was only when we see the other people pulling out the mattress and thing we ran to the back of the house where we saw the wall (which separates the Collymore’s house from their’s) on fire. There was no water so we try to throw water from the barrel, but we were not able to retrieve anything, the fire done spread,” said Nikesha.

The families said the Office of Disaster and Preparedness Management gave them mattresses, pillows, water and a hamper, but neither the local government councillor nor MP David Lee visited or contacted them. The families had to split up and are staying by different relatives. They are appealing for assistance to rebuild their homes.

Burglars broke into the Cunupia branch of Scotiabank on Saturday and stole an ATM vault containing an undisclosed amount of cash.

The bank is located a short distance away from the Cunupia Police Station.

The break-in took place less than a month after burglars broke into the St James branch of the bank and failed to make off with any loot.

According to police reports, security guards who arrived at the bank yesterday noticed the office ransacked and later found that a hole had been cut in the roof of the bank and a vault missing.

Police said the vault was used to dispense cash for one of the two automated teller machine (ATM).

Yesterday notices were posted at the bank informing customers that the ATM was “temporarily out of service” and advised customers to go to another branch.

In the earlier incident, sometime between June 17 to 20 burglars made two attempts to break into the vaults of the bank but left empty handed.

Both break-ins are being investigated by police and investigators believe the criminals in both are the same. Grinders and other tools were left behind in that attempted heist.

A fire scare at RRM Plaza, on High Street, San Fernando catapulted fire officers into action last night. Officers arrived at the building shortly after 5.45 pm and found the building filled with smoke.

Divisional Fire Officer Ramdeo Boodoo said they did a “ventilation of one of the buildings on the first floor to try and get out the smoke.”

He said when T&TEC took off the electricity supply the smoke began to subside. “At this point we have not seen any fire. We are still trying to ventilate to determine what was on fire,” he said.

Boodoo said a hair dressing salon was affected, but other stores could also have been affected by the smoke. Further investigations he said will have to be done to determine what caused the incident.

The 31-year-old man arrested for the kidnapping of a courier attached to the Chinese Embassy will appear in court today charged with kidnapping for ransom, possession of a firearm and other offences.

The El Socorro man will also face charges of abducting another man days before he was captured on July 13.

It was his first victim’s car that the man allegedly used to bundle the courier Sajio Zhang in around 5.30 am last Thursday.

He will appear charged with robbing the first victim of his Honda City as well as robbing him of cash and other valuables.

The man’s first victim escaped and reported the matter to police.

Zhang was rescued by police in Woodbrook hours after he was snatched. A $20,000 ransom had been demanded for his safe release.

A close friend of Matthews yesterday told the T&T Guardian that Matthews had been using a variety of pills for a prolonged period.

The friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Matthews was warned many times about the abuse of these pills. He said the singer/songwriter would use a particular weight loss pill that was supposed to cause drastic weight loss over a short period of time.

He believes this practice may have well caused the rising star’s demise.

According to www.healthguidance.org, in an article written by international health author Laura Ciocan, she warns about the health risks of diet pills. Ciocan said even the best diet pills could trigger a host of adverse effects. The symptoms of diet pill abuse can be uncomfortable and unpleasant causing (stomach pain, headache, vomiting) or potentially fatal (irregular heartbeat, seizures).

While social media reports stated Matthews died at the St Clair Medical Hospital while doctors tried to revive him, his friend told the T&T Guardian, Matthews died after collapsing at St Mary’s College Grounds backstage.

He said during Matthews’s emceeing of Tribe’s Carnival band launch he kept walking to the backstage area every now and then patting his chest and saying it was hurting him. He said Matthews was also sweating unusually.

“At one point he just could not make and he told (Ancil Issac Jr) Blaze something and came backstage and sit down and that was it,” the friend said.

Another friend Ismali Mckay said Mathews was complaining about having feelings of indigestion and was given water by McKay after which he collapsed. McKay said Matthews did not seem his usual high spirited and energetic self before his performance.

The 35-year-old was doing what he loved best—supporting local culture when tragedy struck. Matthews and Slam 100.5FM’s Blaze, were co-hosts of Saturday’s Tribe’s Festival of Bands launch. Mathews suffered a massive cardiac arrest shortly after performing his largest hit to date, D Journey, a collaboration with veteran calypsonian Ella Andall.

President of I95.5FM, Anthony Lee A Ping in an immediate release extended condolences on behalf of family stations Red96.7FM and W107.1FM/The Word, to the family and friends of Matthews saying “We are very saddened by the sudden passing of Devon Matthews and we extend condolences to his family, his friends and all who enjoyed the artistry of Devon.”

Lee A Ping said they treasured the years Matthews spent at the station and added he pivotal in making the urban frequency the country’s premiere urban radio station and for that the team was eternally grateful.

Tribe in a statement also extended condolences to the family, friends and fans of Matthews. The statement said Tribe joined the nation in mourning at the sudden passing of deejay, soca artiste and cultural advocate Devon Matthews. It stated the entertainment sector had lost a strong and versatile talent who was a star on the rise.

Social media was flooded by tributes to Matthews many questioning the reason for his sudden demise. An autopsy is expected to be done on his body today.

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Mathews came into the limelight when he recorded his first soca single in the late 90s, after meeting with producer Joe Miller, who worked with breakout artistes like Bunji Garlin and Benjai at the time. The tune, Chippin, a duet with radio personality Kevin Baker, was a hit for J’ouvert masqueraders that Carnival.

In a previous interview with the T&T Guardian Matthews noted his greatest accomplishment at that time, was performing alongside International acts, T–Pain, KC and The Sunshine Band, and Beres Hammond at St Kitts Music Festival.

In his career as a soca artiste, Matthews penned over 30 songs, among them, Dutty, Wine Down Low, La La Remix with Lord Nelson and Bumper, songs that got him into the semi and at times, finals of the International Soca Monarch competition over the years. This year he enjoyed the success of hard work when the Arima native placed second in the Young Kings Calypso competition, and third in the Soca Monarch Finals.

The love shared by childhood sweethearts Oswald Ayers and his wife Julia was literally torn away from him by a speeding driver who did not even stop after colliding with the couple on the Priority Bus Route on Saturday.

They had been married together for 41 years and did almost everything together. As he would always do, Oswald said, he held his wife’s arm as they crossed the road at the Bon Air Gardens intersection around 7.30 pm.

They had moments before emerged from a maxi taxi and were on their way home after running errands to prepare for the funeral of his wife’s brother who died hours earlier.

“The traffic light was on green still but we didn’t see any vehicle coming until the split second before it hit. I see the light coming, where it come or how far I don’t know. It was coming fast. All I know is that I was holding her, and she was behind me and the car pass and ‘voosh’ took her away. If it was a six, seven inches again it would have taken me too,” Ayers said.

Recounting his wife’s last moments at their Wood Nymph Crescent, Bon Air Gardens Arouca home yesterday, Ayers said one of his feet was on the sidewalk and he was just about to step up when the car struck his wife.

Ayers said a speeding silver Nissan Wagon heading west along the Priority Bus Route struck his wife.

The force of the impact pitched her several feet away. Ayers was also thrown down by the impact. He recalled hearing a “bap” as his wife’s body landed on the asphalt.

“I couldn’t even think straight, I just called my son and tell him his mother dead because the way that sound when she hit the ground I know she was dead,” Ayers said.

Ayers said as he had a longer stride than his wife he was a few steps in front of her. Asked if he had any message to the driver who took his wife’s life, he said: “What I go tell the driver? Don’t drink and drive? Don’t speed? Don’t be on the PBR? It won’t bring back my wife. I can’t kill him, I would get lock up. I can’t damage him, I would get jail.

“I mean I’m pretty hurt. I know her since she going to school,” Ayers said.

He said his wife was a geriatric nurse and had taken care of her brother, Vernon Wheeler, up to his death at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex on Saturday. He said his wife was an all round person who had to be told to stop helping others otherwise she would do without to facilitate others. 

Ayers, 67, a retired TSTT employee, and his wife, 62, celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary on June 26. They have three sons.

“It has been 41 great years with no regrets. If I had to do it all over again I would still take the chance with her. She was a community person, always jovial, very outspoken, straightforward with no malice. And I loved that about her,” Ayers said as he summed up his relationship.

“We understood and loved each other. I had a good wife and she knew she had a good man. We had planned to take a trip to Barbados or Tobago to celebrate our anniversary but had put it off to later this year or early next year,” Ayers said.

Ayers buried her mother one week ago. His wife would have celebrated her 63rd birthday on Wednesday. She had planned to bury her brother on Thursday and one of her three sons’ birthday is on Friday.

Police said around 7.30 pm on Saturday they were informed of a fatal accident along the Priority Bus Route and appealed to the driver to come in.

The couple’s second son, Cordell Ayers said he received a call from his father telling him that his mother had died, and then the call dropped. Cordell said he had been waiting for a call from his parents telling him that they had arrived home and when he received the call he was expecting to hear his father say they were home.

At the end of the conversation, he raced to the scene where he saw his mother’s body lying a few feet from the intersection.

Cordell said he would seek counselling for his father who he said remained “shaken up” by the incident.  To date 44 people have died as a result of road traffic accidents.

CAL’s communications manager Dione Ligoure yesterday apologised to the hundreds of passengers affected by the delays. However, she denied flights were cancelled as there was the “consolidation of flights.” She explained that when the pilots flying the ATRs called in sick, 737 jets were brought in to supplement the service. She said “consolidation was necessary because of crew constraints” and apologised for the delays in the services.

From last Friday (July 14) to Sunday (July 16), the 737 jets operated a total of 55 flights between the islands. Despite this, problems on the air bridge continued yesterday, prompting CAL to make some flight changes.

Asked about the safety issues raised by the pilots, Ligoure said, “Caribbean Airlines is uncompromising with respect to safety.”

She said the airline has a “rigorous maintenance programme and we go above and beyond in the context of maintenance of the aircraft, since safety is foremost in everybody’s mind at CAL.”

President of the Airline Pilots Association Paul Foster told the T&T Guardian they had met with CAL management and a joint statement would be issued. Asked whether their concerns were being addressed, he answered in the positive.

CAL employs 177 pilots and they account for 12 per cent of the airline’s workforce and 43 percent of the airline’s overheads. The T&T Guardian understands that the pilots’ wage bill with perks amounts to US$30 million annually. A well placed industry source said a CAL captain is paid just over TT$60,000 a month, while a senior captain earns upwards of TT$100,000 a month. They also benefit from perks including US dollar allowances and cockpit passes.

Efforts to contact CAL’s CEO Jagmohan Singh and Chairman Mohammed were unsuccessful yesterday.

But Tobago Chamber president Demi John Cruickshank yesterday described the situation on the air bridge as “untenable.” He said it was “causing havoc and mayhem, people cannot get from Trinidad to Tobago or vice versa and people missing their international connections. You cannot build a tourism industry like this.”

Public Services Association president Watson Duke said he fully supported the pilots in the current impasse, as he was also concerned about mechanical problems on the ATRs. He is advocating that the ATRs be replaced.

“We do not want a fix up or patch up ATR, we want new planes,” Duke said.

The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision on an appeal in which Soca superstar Machel Montano and music producer Kernel Roberts are challenging their convictions for assaulting a group of friends at the Zen nightclub, almost a decade ago.

Appellate Judges Alice Yorke-Soon Hon and Mark Mohammed said they needed more time to consider their decision after hearing detailed submissions from the defence lawyers and those for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) yesterday.

Central to the duo’s appeal is the failure of former Magistrate Maureen Baboolal-Gafoor to give written reasons for her decision when she convicted them and freed fellow Soca artists Joel “Zan” Feveck and Rodney “Benjai” Le Blanc of the crime in December 2012. Baboolal-Gafoor retired from the Judiciary months after the completion of the case and both the Office of the DPP and defence lawyers agreed that she did not have to power to return to give her reasons.

During yesterday hearing at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain, Montano’s lawyer Jagdeo Singh submitted that Baboolal-Gafoor’s reasons were essential as they would show the Appeal Court how she analysed the law and the evidence in the case to arrive at the verdicts. Roberts’ lawyer Keith Scotland expressed similar views as he called on the court to quash the duo’s conviction.

“The only issue that should trouble this court is whether there should be a retrial,” Scotland said.

But, Scotland claimed that a retrial in the case would be unfair as the offences are alleged to have occurred over 10 years ago and the previous trial took almost five years to complete.

In response, Assistant DPP George Busby acknowledged the impact of Baboolal-Gafoor’s inaction on the issue.

“I do not attempt to suggest that provisions of reasons is not important. It is public policy to encourage magistrates to provide reasons,” Busby said.

While Busby made the admissions he suggested that reasons were not vital as the court could analyse the over 3,000 pages of transcripts of the hearings before Baboolal-Gafoor.

“In my respectful submission, there will be no difficulty in examining the record as the law and facts are simple. The State’s case was strong and free of any material discrepancy that strikes at the heart of the case,” Busby said.

Montano and Roberts are also being represented by Larry Williams, Daniel Khan, Kiel Tacklalsingh and Ananda Rampersad.

Six people including an insurance claims analyst and a manager were placed on $1.8 million in bail after they appeared before a Port-of-Spain Magistrate yesterday charged with conspiracy to defraud Trinre insurance company.

Anthony Mohammed, 38, a claims adjuster of Cipero Road, Lengua employed with LA adjusters, Glenwyn Joseph, 38, of La Platte Village, Maraval, a claims officer employed with Massy United Insurance; Temika Toussaint, 31, of Ninth Street, Barataria, a former claims analyst at Trinre; Ricardo Ramdhanie, 30, an operations clerk at Southern Sales, San Fernando; garage owner Totaram Sookoo, 52, of Libertville, Rio Claro and Roomel Gangaram, a lorry driver of Railway Road, Rio Claro, appeared before Magistrate Christine Charles at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court. Sookoo is the owner of Sookoo’s Garage at Rio Claro.

They were each charged with conspiracy to defraud Trinre Insurance of $151,000 by falsely pretending that a certain motor vehicle was damaged in a road accident. It is alleged that the accused submitted fraudulent claims for payment drawn from the account of Trinre Insurance.

Investigators led by Senior Supt Totaram Dookie, ASP Ken Ghiswayan, Sgt Francis, Cpl Badree, Cpl Bassarath and WPC Catherine O’Brian.

Each accused was granted $300,000 bail. The matter was adjourned to August 18.

Thirteen hours of torment for the Gorkin and Gibbs’ families turned to grief yesterday, after they realised their own error led to the drowning death of three-year-old Messi Gorkin on a beach outing at Williams Bay, Chaguaramas on Sunday.

When little Messi went missing at the around 5 pm, his family members initially feared he had been kidnapped. In fact, according to police reports, a call was not made to the T&T Coast Guard for help until about 9.30 pm. Shortly after 6 am yesterday, little Messi’s body was found floating in the waters off Pier 1.

An autopsy conducted later at the Forensic Sciences Complex, St James, revealed the little toddler died from drowning. His lungs were filled with water.

Following the autopsy at the FSC, little Messi’s parents – Atiba Gorkin and Patrice Gibbs – were too distraught and inconsolable to talk about their only child together. Messi had two step brothers, Ajala Gorkin, 12 and Jeremiah Gibbs, seven.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian, however, Messi’s aunt Shinelle said he was one of four children among ten adults on the beach lime. She added that for years they had been on beach limes and never had a child gone missing from their sights.

“That is why we initially thought that someone would have snatched him, because the beach was very crowded. Even the maxi driver who would take the family on outings for years said that no child ever drowned under his watch, as he is very protective of the children around him,” Shinelle said.

“Whole night we thought that someone kidnapped Messi, because no way none of us thought that Messi ran back into the water. When he went missing none of us thought that we should search the water because all of us doubted that he went back in. Is only later on one of his aunts said search the water.”

Shinelle described little Messi as a “very innocent” child who had no fear of anything or anyone.

“He was a mummy’s child as he was always clinging on to his mummy. He would always be reaching to hold the hands of his mummy and daddy whenever they are around, so it was a shock to us when he just went missing,” she said.

“Messi was such a sweet child, very babyish, even at three years he could not have spoken properly yet because he was very slow. He was loved by all. We are just not doing so good at all.”

Shinelle said officials at the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) has promised to show them surveillance footage of the beach at the time little Messi went missing.

“We are hoping that we get further closure by this. We are just waiting patiently to see what happened on Sunday.”

Funeral arrangements are yet to be made.

When 17-year-old David Sancaro rushed to a bar to protect a woman he didn’t even know from physical abuse being meted out by her enraged lover on Sunday, little did he know his gallantry would have cost him his life.

After his valiant attempt to temper the situation, the abuser turned on Sancaro moments afterwards. Using his Ford Ranger pick-up as a weapon, the 38-year-old South Oropouche man ploughed into the young boy and then reversed the heavy vehicle on him.

As the attacker attempted to roll over Sancaro for another time, his friends started pelting the pick-up with stones, causing the driver to flee straight to the Oropouche Police Station, where he is still detained.

Sancaro died hours later at the San Fernando General Hospital. 

The incident began around 9 pm when Sancaro, of St Mary’s Village, South Oropouche, was liming along the Southern Main Road, Otaheite, with friends Stephen Tannis, 22 and Kadeem Elliot, 14, both of Fyzabad. While liming, the group observed the suspect and his girlfriend having a heated argument. Witnesses said the man became violent and the boys rushed over to defend the woman by talking to the suspect. However, the enraged man allegedly picked up a cutlass and chased the boys. The boys ran off and the suspect got into his pick-up and chased them along the Southern Main Road.

Knowing they could not outrun the pick-up, Tannis and Elliot ran onto the slope of an adjacent drain. But Sancaro, who recently underwent surgery to remove an abscess, could not keep up. Witnesses said Sancaro was first knocked over before the suspect reversed over his body. The suspect then drove off and later reported the incident to the Oropouche police.

Paramedics who arrived on the scene attempted to resuscitate Sancaro before taking him to the SFGH, where he died while receiving treatment. Both Tannis and Elliot were assisting police with investigations yesterday.

In an interview outside her home, Tannis’ mother, Joanne Tannis, said Sancaro lived with her family for six years and was considered a son to her. She said Tannis called her on Sunday night with the harrowing news, “Mammy, David is dying you know.”

Relating the account she got from Tannis, Joanne said Sancaro saw the suspect hitting the woman and went across to talk to him. She said the suspect became angry and pushed David.

“They were talking peacefully, but the fella did not like that. He pushed David and David pushed him back, so the fella ran and took up a blade, and that was when my son stepped in, slapped him (suspect) and the blade fell. The fella did not like that so he went to his van and shouted ‘I coming back for allyuh’ and he really did,” Joanne said.

She said while the boys were running Sancaro attempted to climb a wall, but couldn’t because of his surgical wound and ran back to the road and was knocked over. As the driver attempted to roll over Sancaro again, his friends began throwing stones at the pick-up.

“Tell me what kind of human being is that? Don’t tell me it was because of alcohol in you, you can’t be that ignorant.”

Sancaro’s stepfather Junior Andrews said he had urged his stepson to stay off the road several times. Andrews said when he reached home from work on Sunday and asked for his stepson, he was told Sancaro had gone to a “function” in Fyzabad. He said Sancaro’s brother took him to Fyzabad so they believed he was there. It was around 10 pm that someone came to his gate and told him Sancaro saw a man beating his wife and intervened.

Although Sancaro was killed while attempting to rescue someone, Andrews said it was dangerous to be a peacemaker.

“Helping people now is a risk because you can see certain things and get licked down for seeing those things. Talking now is also a risk, we have to face facts,” Andrews said.

He said Sancaro recently got a job as a welder but could not begin this week because of the surgery.

A 54-year-old Arouca man was last night fighting for his life at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope, after he was doused with a flammable liquid and set ablaze by his lover, who died after the house they were in went up in flames.

According to police reports, they received a call after 7 pm informing them that Clifford Samuel had suffered burns when his companion, known only as Anika, doused themselves with the liquid and lit a match.

As the house caught fire around them, Anika reportedly became trapped and died, while Samuel was rescued.

The house and two others nearby were gutted by the fire.

Over 20 people, including an 11-month-old baby, had to be ziplined across Pool 2 by members of the Fire Service at the Caura River, Tunapuna, last night, after they were stranded for over five hours when the river became swollen following heavy rains.

The group had been busy cooking and having a good time at the popular spot when the rains came and the river began to rise. Eventually, those gathered realised the water was too rough to cross and it was getting higher and called for help.

Just after 7 pm, a fire officer strapped the toddler, who was strapped in a car seat, onto himself and zip-lined across the water as his mother looked on awaiting him with an umbrella. As each person was taken across they were asked to identify themselves and given a brief check by one of the fire officials before leaving. Fire officials arrived to rescue the stranded people just after 2 pm the T&T Guardian was told.

Speaking the media after the rescue exercise last night, Shiraz Ali said of the five hours or so the Fire Service was there, three of them were spent assessing the danger.

But some of those rescued said the Fire Service had also wasted time by not listening to their suggestions on how to rescue them.

In fact, during the rescue effort, one man, who did not identify himself, chastised the officers and crossed on his own. He then encouraged others to do the same. At first his calls were unheeded, but as time went own at least ten of them, trapped as water as high as four feet raged along the river, decided to take a chance and cross. With gas tank and coolers in hand, they later made it across despite the best efforts of police and fire officials to convince them otherwise.

One man identified only as Errol later said: “We were further up the bank, we had to back up and find a place to cross. But I not sure if these officers know the river so. We was telling them they can’t send people to swim across because the rapids will carry them away. But they try it twice and the man almost wash away. The fire officers get vex with we because we telling them what to do. We are regulars, we know how the river is. But to them, them is professionals. We are not trained so we need to shut up and listen to them.”

Ali, who went to the river for a birthday lime for his wife, said more resources should be given to the Fire Service, noting they took three hours before the first person was rescued due to a lack of equipment and possible training. He said while he was thankful for the assistance, he too believed if the Fire Service had listened to some of the stranded limers the rescue mission may have ended hours earlier.

Matthew Ramsawak, who told the T&T Guardian he and a group totalling 12 came from San Fernando to have a time, said he and one of his cousins chanced the raging waters and swam across.

Some of the limers had to leave behind their pots filled with stewed pork, curried duck, curried chicken and goat, as well as coolers filled with drinks of varying spirits, as fire officers warned against them bringing anything with them.

The Caura River wasn’t the only one that overflowed its banks yesterday. The Maraval River also overflowed its banks, causing major flooding in the area, while the Saddle Road in Santa Cruz was for a time impassable due to water from swollen rivers crossing the roadway. As of 9 pm, the Saddle Road through Maraval, near the river, was deemed dangerous to pass and motorists were advised to proceed with caution or take alternative routes. There were also reports of landslides in San Juan and a tree fell and blocked the Maracas Road for some time until it was cleared.

Caribbean Airlines was yesterday forced to cancel five flights due to the impending passage of Tropical Storm Don and the closure of the Maurice Bishop International Airport in Grenada.

A release yesterday said three flights (BW 448, 449 and 415) between Trinidad and Barbados and one flight between Trinidad and Grenada (BW 438) were cancelled yesterday, while one flight from Grenada to Trinidad carded for today was also shelved.

Tropical Storm Don was set to hit Tobago last night.

CAL said affected customers travelling on the services will be permitted to change or cancel their reservations without penalty subject to some conditions.

Antigua-based carrier Liat also cancelled flights to and from Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia and Guyana as a precautionary measure due to Don.

The airline said passengers affected will be allowed to rebook within the next two weeks.

Don’t expect Parliament to resolve the 53 unfinished matters left in limbo by former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar. The Government, Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions will have to come up with a solution.

This was the lone issue Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar could not see eye to eye on following a three-hour long meeting at the Parliament Building, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

Having met to iron out issues on self-governance for Tobago, anti-gang legislation, the judiciary, Integrity Commission, campaign finance reform, a code of conduct for Parliamentarians and service commissions’ effectiveness, Rowley said while their discussions were fruitful and productive, they could not come to an understanding on the main problem of the backlog in the courts and the furore in the judiciary due to the Ayers-Caesar fiasco.

“The unpleasant fact is that there are persons who are incarcerated and whose cases cannot progress through the courts because of recent developments,” Rowley said.

Rowley said last week when he noted the matter may end up in the Parliament, it was after the AG came to him with proposals from the DPP indicating the solution could be legislative through the Summary Courts Act and Preliminary Inquiry Act.

But after suggesting this with Persad-Bissessar, he said, “The Opposition Leader made it quite clear that the Opposition is not prepared to support this approach, because they do not believe that that approach is sound and there would be more problems created than solved because people who are affected have already begun to challenge the situation and that there are certain rights, privileges and protections to which they are entitled and this arrangement of having the DPP intervene and make rooms and interventions would trample on some of those rights.”

He added: “That solution did not find favour with the Opposition. That to me is a clear signal that all the persons involved need to take that on board.”

Those involved, Rowley said, are the DPP and the CJ.

Rowley said Persad-Bissessar made it clear that whatever they legislate “would be open for challenge” against the argument used in the judgement of the repeal of Section 34. He said Persad-Bissessar suggested a tribunal be used under Section 137 of the Constitution.

Asked if he would consider this route, the PM said: “I am not going to advise myself on this matter. So I will say no more on it for the moment.”

However, he said the Opposition pointed out that there was pertinent information that was unavailable and would only become available and established by way of a tribunal.

Asked if they had explored whether the JLSC should be held accountable to a committee of Parliament, Rowley said no.

Given the nature that people are incarcerated and their rights being infringed, he said the Government would not want to fight the Opposition. Rowley said having listened to Persad-Bissessar’s argument, he agreed there was good reasoning on her part.

“If we don’t solve the problem we might create new problem,” he added.

At the same time, Rowley said it appeared that the judiciary was having difficulty in a way out.

“So I would wait to be properly advised on this matter.”

While Opposition Senators have called for the removal and Chief Justice Ivor Archie, the PM said this matter was not raised.

What was agreed to

Internal self-government for Tobago: Bring to Parliament by way of Cabinet what has been produced from Tobago in the form of a draft legislation and put this before a House Committee of Government and Opposition members to undertake a consultation and try to come to decision of what the people of Tobago want.

Campaign Finance Reform: Have this legislation enacted before 2020 general election. The matter will also go before the Law Reform Commission as an assignment and to conduct whatever public consultation is required, as well as to come up with a Green and White Papers for consideration of Parliament.

Anti-gang and bail legislation: It is the Government’s intention, through the Attorney General, to bring to Parliament the anti-gang and bail legislations. The Government will introduce any amendments that may be required to consider improvements or concerns the Opposition may have which will remove all obstacles in passing both legislations.

Crime: The Government will provide by month end an update of its crime fighting initiatives. On the legislative side, both leaders agreed, by way of the AG, to repeal and replace the current arrangement for a Commissioner of Police.

Service Commissions: Insisting that there was poor accountability and questionable performance, the PM said the service commissions will be reviewed and adjustments made. They agreed that T&T should pattern a Canadian model with respect to the commissions’ modernisation.

Integrity Commission: PM expressed his view to Persad-Bissessar that the commission has lost the confidence of the national population. The IC will be reviewed and other models will be considered to bring about results, which will be taken to Parliament once there is Opposition support.

Code of Conduct for Parliamentarians: Rowley will ask the Clerk of the House to canvass the Commonwealth, including the Parliamentary Association, to have a proper code of conduct for Parliamentarians.

Jobs: They agreed to legislative reform of the Severance Benefit Act to treat with the closure of companies.

Economy: Rowley gave Persad-Bissessar the assurance they are trying to secure jobs, while they fight to increase the country’s revenue.

Couva Hospital: Rowley said while the Government tried to get a private/public participation on the operationalisation of the hospital, the response was not encouraging. The Government may change its position and reopen the hospital seeing that the main block of the PoS General Hospital is not structurally unsound and would have to be demolished and replaced by a new building.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday rejected a proposal by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for a legislative resolution to what she called “the debacle” over the more than 53 unfinished matters left behind by former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar.

The matter has created turmoil in the courts with acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle still awaiting instructions on how to proceed with the affected cases, after Ayers-Caesar was forced to resign after being appointed a judge in April and leaving behind the cases in the lower court.

Rowley proposed that the matter be resolved through a legislative intervention but Persad-Bissessar objected yesterday, saying such a proposal may only create a bigger problem. She said Rowley did not give any details about the proposal except to say he wanted to amend the Preliminary Inquiry Act and Summary Courts Act.

“He did not state exactly what will be done,” Persad-Bissessar said during a news conference at the Opposition Leader’s office in Port-of-Spain.

Persad-Bissessar said the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) matter was “a mess” but insisted the Opposition was not of the view “a legislative intervention should be undertaken.”

She said she presented evidence to Rowley about the infamous Section 34 case between former UNC financier Steve Ferguson and the attorney general, which showed a “legislative intervention would not stand up and can be struck down if we should pass legislation.”

She said in the Section 34 matter people would not have been severely disadvantaged by the repeal of the law, but in the current matter there were more than 53 cases before the courts and some of the accused have been incarcerated.” She said they were “entitled to a judicial determination and not a legislative one.”

Persad-Bissessar said the issue of the separation of powers also arises in this matter, but there was no agreement on that issue at the meeting as Rowley was “very vague” on it. She said the only way the matter could be properly resolved was by triggering Section 137 of the Constitution for the appointment of a tribunal to investigate it.

However, Persad-Bissessar said the Opposition was of the firm view that the JLSC debacle had “brought the administration of justice at the lowest point it has ever been in T&T.”

“We cannot just move on as though nothing has happened,” she said, adding that possible litigation being brought by Ayers-Caesar against Chief Justice Ivor Archie will further demean confidence in the administration of justice.

She said Rowley gave no commitment on a tribunal.

On the system of the appointment of judges, Persad-Bissessar said she agreed with Rowley that this process should be looked at.

Dealing with the Integrity Commission, Persad-Bissessar said she did not share Rowley’s view that there was a total loss of confidence in the body. She said, however, that there was need to strengthen the commission.

Earlier, Persad-Bissessar said following the meeting it was clear the Government was in need of advice and help in many areas.

On the need for internal self government for Tobago and legislation on election campaign financing, Persad-Bissessar said there was agreement in principle. She said the meeting was a good exercise and welcomed further such meetings with the PM.

“It’s been a fruitful day, well worth the discussions,” she added.

Central Division Police are seeking the public’s assistance to identify the body of a man who was shot dead and dumped at the side of the road at Carlsen Field, Chaguanas yesterday.

Police were alerted around 4 am by residents who reported hearing gunshots in the district and later found the body, lying face up, near Roosevelt Avenue.

Police described the victim, of East Indian descent, as approximately five feet nine inches tall. They said he had a distinctive tattoo with the word “Loverboy” on one of his arms.

The body was removed to the Forensic Science Centre pending an identification before an autopsy is done.

Anyone with information can contact Homicide Region III at 652 0495, Chaguanas Police Station at 665 9958, 999 or 555.

This was disclosed to the T&T Guardian by the PCA’s Director David West in an interview yesterday.

According to West, for the financial period October 1, 2016 to yesterday, a total of 57 completed files were sent to the acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) Stephen Williams “for disciplinary or other action.”

“Six files were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for prosecution or other action,” West said.

For the period of October 1, 2016 to July 13, the PCA is aware of 30 fatal shootings by police officers, according to West.

There are 1,259 active investigations being conducted by the PCA during the period October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016, West said, quoting from the annual report which is expected to be laid in Parliament soon.

“Since then that figure has significantly gone down,” West said.

According to the PCA’s fifth annual report, 1,809 pieces of official correspondence relative to investigations were being conducted by the PCA.

During the period under review, pursuant to Section 44 of the PCA Act, Chapter 15:05, the Authority approved recommendations made by the Legal Counsel, Compliance and Complaints Unit (LCCCU) to close 179 investigative files; forwarded 10 investigative files to the DPP with recommendations for prosecution and 42 investigative files to the CoP’s office with recommendations for the institution of disciplinary proceedings against defaulting officers or for further action to be taken.