Crabs scuttling across a moonlit street near Mosquito Creek caused a massive traffic pile up on the South Trunk Road on Saturday night.

Motorists who saw the crabs coming up from the mangroves by the dozen stopped to pick them up. Some of the amateur crab catchers, who had no flash lights, used the lights on their cell phones to locate the crabs and used plastic containers, bags and rubber boots to hold them.

Shivon Seepersad, 14, of Batchya Trace, Penal, who stopped at the Creek with his brother-in-law Steven Karpha said it was usual for the crabs to come out during full moon.

However, Karper said it was unusual for so many crabs to be seen crossing the road near the Mosquito Creek: “We have seen it in other areas like in Caroni and Manzanilla but never here. It was a good catch because we caught over 30 crabs.”

Fisherman Boysie Bissoon said the crab crossingcan occur during neap tides when the sun and moon are at right angles to the Earth.

Bissoon said he did not think the crabs were being displaced from the mangroves because ongoing construction of the Solomon Hochoy highway extension has not affected the mangroves.

Cabinet has approved a grant funding facility to boost productivity in the manufacturing and agro-processing sectors. Speaking at the presentation of the master plan for a light agro and industrial park at the St Mary’s Government Primary School, on Saturday, Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon said the facility offers up to $250,000 to firms not less than two years old earning 50 per cent of their revenue from export sales.

The minister urged investors and entrepreneurs to seize opportunities ahead and said the $69.3 million industrial park, which will be completed before January 2019, will be sub-divided into 18 plots of varying sizes to accommodate businesses at all stages of growth. It will also provide commercial space for food and fish processing, she added.

Gopee-Scoon said the park, which is being built on 18 acres of land at Saunders Trace, will allow local farmers to “move up the value chain and increase the country’s capacity for the production of high quality products at internationally competitive prices.”

She added: “The park will play a key role in nurturing trade and exports specifically, while creating new opportunities for less developed communities and reducing the vulnerability of an unpredictable natural environment.

“By developing this facility and thus providing the necessary infrastructure, we are providing the foundation for businesses to grow and prosper, create employment and attract investment.”

The minister said good opportunities will become available soon and T&T’s investors must strive to become more competitive internationally.

“We must work smarter, be more innovative and create new high value products acceptable to both the local and international markets. This project is an excellent platform to achieve just that,” she said.

Gopee-Scoon said in the review of the economy the value of agricultural production in 2016 was $582.8 million—0.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

“Our food import bill continues to expand commanding a considerable proportion of our foreign exchange earnings. In light of this, increased agro-processing is a potential solution to our current circumstances,” she said.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said it is up to stakeholders to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. He said some projects done by the last government, such as the $75 million Guayaguayare Fishing Complex, were built without consultation.

T&T has one of the highest rates of cancer in the Caribbean says Sherine Mungal, managing director of EIDETIC Limited, the communication agency for the T&T Cancer Society.

“Statistics today show that the mortality rates and diagnosis rates in Trinidad and Tobago are among the highest in the Caribbean. About four months ago, BBC actually conducted a report and Trinidad and Tobago was at position four in the world per capita when it comes to prostrate cancer, so it is very prevalent in men,” she told the T&T Guardian yesterday during an interview at the T&T Cancer Society’s annual Health Fair and Family Day at CIC’s Grounds, St Clair.

Commenting on the work of the Cancer Society, which has been the local voice against cancer in T&T for the past 47 years, Mungal said: “Their objective has always been to promote prevention through screening, so the Society not only does promotion and educational programmes, they also offer screening services as well.”

She said a health and wellness component was added to the family day this year where health related companies from across the country were invited to showcase their products and services.

“We have about 15 companies such as an AA Laquis booth. There is Maritime Finance, Ferreira Optical, Precision Cataract is here. They are all going to be offering screening services. Blue Waters is also taking part. There is also a new company, Clinitech, which is offering medical equipment,” she said.

Mungal said the Cancer Society took a new direction this year.

“We launched an education campaign earlier this year called I Care Because Cancer Doesn’t and the objective with that is to target young people and let them be the voice against cancer. Our message is straight to them where we do school symposiums,” she said.

She advises people to cut back on their excessive consumption habits if they do not want to fall victim to cancer.

“A lot of the cancer cases that exist today are based on lifestyle. Take precaution by not smoking and by reducing consumption of alcohol,” Mungal said.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia is planning a series of consultations to address indiscipline and violence among students. In a statement yesterday, he urged education stakeholders to do more to promote a reduction of indiscipline and crime among young people.

“Following a case of young men of school age circulating on the media brandishing firearms, the minister is making the plea that parents, teachers, members of the community and the media all do their parts to reduce the sensationalism of criminal activity,” he said.

Noting that the upbringing of the nation’s young people is everyone’s responsibility, he added: “When we see our children with weapons, engaging in fights or any activity that is unbecoming of the type of citizen that we wish to produce in Trinidad and Tobago, we must remember that these children are but products of their environment and the examples being set by the adults around them.”

Garcia said the Education Ministry will continue to deal with instances of indiscipline and is “committed to working with all parties invested in education to change the current conversation nationally, to be more reflective of the positives that the young people have to offer.”

“It is now critical that we move away from consistently focusing on the viral negativity that has been cultivated among a minority of our nation’s youth and shift focus to the major group of hard working, disciplined and willing young people that are working toward making Trinidad and Tobago a place they want to be in the future,” he said.

Angry over the death of a newborn baby at the San Fernando General hospital last Wednesday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has vowed take action against hospital staff if they are found to be negligent.

His warning came as the infant’s distraught parents, Wendell Weekes and Chez Gomez, prepare to sue the Ministry of Health and the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) following the death of baby Jeremiah three days after his birth. An autopsy on Friday determined that the infant died after ingesting meconium (stool).

Deyalsingh said investigations are already underway into the circumstances of the infant’s death. He said at a meeting with officials of regional health authorities last Friday, he told them in no uncertain terms how disappointed he was at the increase in complaints against the hospital.

“I am very disappointed but we are trying to imbue best practice at the hospital. I want to offer my sincerest condolences to the family and out of this we hope some good will come so that future parents will not have to go through this. Everyone in SWRHA are under no illusions over how angry I am about this,” he said.

Asked what he believed was the cause of the decline in the quality of care, Deyalsingh said: “Poor leadership but we are fixing that. Two weeks ago we had a new head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit. I am concerned and unhappy about these reports but we are fixing this.”

Weekes, 22, and Gomez, 20, of La Pierre Street, Egypt Village, Point Fortin, said they will not rest until they get justice in the death of their son.

“We have to seek justice because this is foolishness. She was there for two weeks and they did nothing to induce. We prepared everything for our son. We had a baby room all ready, clothes, car seat, pram. We could have been enjoying our son all now but because of them he is gone. They could have done better than that,” Weekes said.

Gomez said she is trying her best to be normal.

“It really hard for me. It hard to sleep. I want justice for my son. I don’t know why they treated me this way. It was a horrible experience that I don’t want anyone to go through that,” she said.

The young mother was admitted to the hospital on October 19. She was already 40 weeks pregnant and her private doctor gave her a letter to take to the hospital recommending that they induce labour. Gomez said she was kept at the hospital for two weeks and during this time, no attempt was made to induce labour.

“They told me that I was too young to induce and I have to push out the baby,” she recalled.

She said the nurses were inhumane: “When I was in pain they rough me up and quarrel with me. When I asked them for a vomit bag or for water they tell me I had to get it myself. I was feeling really weak and they told me to go and walk it off. They were very insensitive and inhumane.”

Gomez said most of the time the nurses ignored her and none of the doctors considered her request to induce labour.

Baby Jeremiah’s funeral is expected to take place on Thursday.

Seven guns, including two high powered rifles, were removed from the streets of south Trinidad as police continued their crackdown on illegal firearms over the weekend.

The weapons were found at several locations, with the most recent find at Indian Walk, Petite Cafe, Princes Town. Officers led by Senior Supt Zamsheed Mohammed, Supt Rohan Pardasie, Insp Don Gajadhar, Sgt Roland Ramlogan, Cpl Ramdial and PCs Jackman, Balgobin and Ramkissoon carried out a search at a house and found the rifle along with 100 rounds of ammunition and a quantity of marijuana. Two teenagers aged 16 and 18 were arrested and will appear before a Princes Town Magistrate today.

Police also found a shotgun and a pistol with ten rounds of ammunition in Gasparillo, two pistols were found in Ste Madeleine and a 9mm semi-automatic revolver in La Romaine. In a separate incident, a pistol was found at a bar in La Romaine.

Officers said a total of 152 firearms have been seized by the Southern Division Task Force.

Since 2015, more than 2,200 firearms and more than 38,000 rounds of assorted ammunition have been seized by the police. Despite this haul, the coastlines at Icacos and Cedros remain open for gunrunners to bring in illegal cargo from the South American mainland where guns and ammunition are manufactured.

Eight months after his brother was murdered, Allan Solyn was murdered at Pregnancy Lane, Upper La Puerta, Diego Martin yesterday.

At around 2 pm residents heard gunshots and later found the 32-year-old dead in an outdoor bathroom. Police said the deceased was part of a gang warring with other men from the La Puerta area. That ongoing war was said to be responsible for the murder of Solyn’s brother, Joel,in March. In that incident on March 5, Solyn was at his home with other relatives at around 4 am when four men dressed in dark clothing entered the house and killed him.

Police said the Solyn brothers, along with their friend Sheldon Trimmingham who was killed on February 7, were at war with Curtis “Birdman” Smith Jr Smith, from Riverside Drive, La Puerta, Diego Martin, who was gunned down August 21 at a shop on La Puerta Avenue. The 36-year-old contractor had hours earlier been videotaped kicking a man in the head and abdomen before three men came out of a Nissan AD Wagon and shot him.

In an unrelated incident, an 11-year-old was yesterday fighting for her life after she was shot in the abdomen by a stray bullet when gunmen opened fire at her rented home.

At around 9 pm Darlissa Job was the first floor apartment at Boodram Street, Cunupia, when she was shot. Her mother, Adanna Job, had just returned from work when she heard gunshots coming from upstairs. After the shooting stopped her child said she had been shot.

Darlissa was shot in the abdomen with the bullet perforating her lungs and liver and is warded in a serious condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.

Homicide detectives are expected to approach the Director of Public Prosecutions today for instructions in the murders of Dominican national Chriss Brewster and pensioner Peter Felix.

The 24-year-old suspect, a close friend of Brewster for the past month, was held one day after the charred remains of the 30-year-old mother of two was found at her Wellington Street, Maracas St Joseph home last Monday. An autopsy revealed that Brewster’s throat was slit before her apartment was set ablaze.

Felix, who used a wheelchair to move around, died from smoke inhalation, police said.

Relatives of Brewster, who arrived in the country last week to claim her body, are unsure whether she will be buried in her homeland or in Trinidad since her family lost everything when Hurricane Maria devastated that island.

In an unrelated case, a 33-year-old Piarco woman will appear before an Arima Magistrate charged with the murder of 40-year-old Sherwin Lela.

Lela, a police Constable, died on September 11, days after he was burnt at his Oropune Gardens, Piarco home, on September 3. Reports are that around 1.15 am, the woman allegedly was at Lela’s home with her six-year-old son. Following an argument Lela ordered the woman out of his home and later an explosion was heard followed by screams.

The woman and child escaped the apartment by jumping through a window.

The probe into the pregnancy of a 12-year-old girl has unearthed further allegations of rape and incest against a 17-year-old suspect.

Investigators who went to the boy’s home last week were told that he twice penetrated his 12-year-old sister and it was unsure whether he attempted to attack his 14-year-old sister who is deaf and mute.

The suspect was not interviewed up to yesterday. He was not around when officers visited his home last Saturday.

The suspect along with two of his friends, ages 19 and 20, was already being investigated for having sex with the girl earlier this year. Police said the victim is his cousin. It is not yet known who is the father of the victim’s unborn child.

In the latest development, officers went to the suspect’s home following the fresh allegations. The girls, ages 10, 12 and 14, did not initially want to speak to the police.

It was while talking to a doctor at the district health facility that the 10-year-old revealed she saw her brother having sex with her 12-year-old sister. The three girls were examined and the doctor found signs of penetration only in the 12-year-old, who revealed her brother tried to rape her twice but did not fully penetrate her.

The matter is being investigated by the police’s Child Protection Unit and has been reported to the Children’s Authority for further action.

Two martial arts instructors are facing charges of sexual touching and sexual penetration of a 12-year-old girl while she was attending a class in south Trinidad last month.

Police said the instructors, both age 16, operated out of the village’s community centre.

According to a report, the girl and her brother, eight, attended a class two weeks ago, when one of the instructors asked her for a kiss. After the girl kissed him, he allegedly went to brag to his colleague. The second instructor then followed the girl into the wash room, where she had gone to wash her hands. He reportedly then took off his clothes and had sex with her on a chair.

The girl’s brother, who became curious when he did not see her for several minutes, was given push-ups and other routines to perform by the other instructor as a distraction.

The incident only came to light last week after the girl was banned from using her mobile phone. Police were told during the week, she reportedly stayed at home while her mother went to work. Her mother left her with the phone in case of emergency. However, her mother returned home early that day and noticed the girl running into her bedroom with the phone in her hand. As the mother peeped into the room, she saw the girl having a conversation on the phone with someone. The girl’s father then arrived and took the girl to his home.

Later on that day the father was searching through the child’s phone and saw an Instagram message from someone who expressed being upset that he did not get to have sex with her. Also on the phone was a message from the same instructor asking the girl if she had experienced her menstrual cycle since their intercourse.

The father and mother later took the girl to the Gasparillo Police Station where she was then taken to the Marabella Health Centre where it was proven she was sexually active.

Police also later learned that there were other allegations of sexual misconduct by another instructor at the school who was accused of sexual grooming of another 12-year-old in Chaguanas.

However, her parents chose not to report the matter to the police and instead stopped her from attending classes. (KF)

Acting Prisons Commissioner William Alexander says whatever action is needed to protect the lives of his colleagues should be taken, even if that means arming them with guns while off duty.

Speaking at a joint press conference with acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams at Police Administration, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Alexander admitted his officers were under attack and was assured by Williams that all such reports were being treated seriously.

But Alexander urged his colleagues not to lose hope and remember why they became prison officers. Asked about prison officers being given guns, Alexander said the issue was greater than getting guns.

“T&T is a small place and we have to be wise enough. It’s like playing poker, it is not wise to expose your hand. Criminals look at television, there are televisions in the prisons, it is not wise to say publicly whether we armed or not. Whatever is necessary for their safety it will be done.”

He said although it is difficult to connect the killing of a prison officer to their job, they were recently able to do so with the use of technology. He said as a result of this the officer’s family received the $1 million government payout for officers who lose their lives in the line of duty. He, however, refused to identify the case.

The joint conference came following a meeting the two had with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and acting National Security Minister Stewart Young.

Williams said he has mandated that reports from prison officers be treated as “priority number one”. Asked about the investigation into the recent murder of prison officer Glenford Gardner, Williams said three Diego Martin men held in connection with the case were released but said the investigation is ongoing.

“We want to give the prison officers the assurance that we will not be standing aside while they are under attack. The TTPS sees the prison service as part of the family of law enforcement. We have to be able to team up together to address the criminal elements. We have to be strong and have to stand up and as society we cannot allow the criminals to win any battle,” Williams said.

Alexander also called on Prison Officers Association president Ceron Richards to stop making what he called “irresponsible” and “divisive” comments, noting blaming the Government for the plight of prison officers will only strengthen the criminal elements. He said the comments are creating more harm than good as the prison service deals with the threats facing officers.

The POA will meet with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon today to discuss what legislative support can be given to officers.

The POA last week petitioned the Canadian Embassy seeking asylum for its members following the killings of Gardner and Roger Sandy.

Gardner, 44, was killed on October 26 at one of his homes in Bagatelle, Diego Martin. Weeks before, Sandy was killed by an ex-convict at a bar in South Trinidad a day before his birthday. Gardner was killed hours after the Remand Yard prison was searched and cell phones and other contraband seized. Shortly after the raids there was a threat that officers living in in West Trinidad would be targeted.

A Vistabella man who claimed he got an illegal gun to protect himself from assailants who had set him on fire two years ago was jailed for four years yesterday.

Aaron Mohammed, 33, a mason, who had seven previous convictions in the past ten years, pleaded guilty to two charges.

He appeared before San Fernando Senior Magistrate Cherril-Anne Antoine in the First Court. Mohammed was arrested around on Saturday, at Rude Boy Bar, La Romaine.

Cpl Donald Snaggs and other officers went to the bar around 1 pm after getting a tip-off. Snaggs saw Mohammed standing near a black gate with a metal box attached to it.

The officer searched the box and found the .38 revolver loaded with four rounds of ammunition.

Mohammed admitted to the officer that he owned the gun.

Attorney Shaun Teekasingh, who held for his attorney Subhas Panday, said he had his gun for his own protection because he has been receiving threats that “they will kill him and set him on fire.” Teekasingh said two years ago Mohammed received similar threats and a number of assailants threw a liquid on him and set him ablaze.

He said Mohammed, who still has scars on his neck, face and chest, was fearful he will be attacked again. Although Mohammed gave the police the names and photos of at least two people involved in the attack, Teekasingh said no one was arrested.

However, prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said there were several law enforcement agencies where people could seek redress.

Citing the seriousness and prevalence of the offence, Seedan added, “Members of society must not take the law into their own hands by arming themselves.”

“People seem to think because of the bad crime situation they should arm themselves. I am of the view that that will only make things worse,” the magistrate said.

She jailed him for four years on the firearm charge and nine months on the ammunition charge but ordered that the sentences run concurrently.

The common-law wife of a police officer appeared in court yesterday charged with the officer’s murder.

Kimlee Cezair, 33, appeared before Magistrate Gillian David-Scotland in the Arima Magistrates Court charged with murdering her husband, Constable Sherwin Lela.

Cezair, a baker, of Providence Circular, Arima, will re-appear on December 1. She was represented by attorney Nicholas Rampersadsingh.

Lela, a police constable who was last assigned to Port-of-Spain CID, died at hospital on September 11 after he was burnt on September 3 at his Oropune Gardens, Piarco home.

Former Planning and Development Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie was adamant yesterday that “not a single square foot of land in Chaguaramas” was given away during his tenure.

“Every lease was negotiated above board by the authority responsible, the board of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA). It was negotiated on business and commercial terms. PWC was the chief negotiator appointed by the CDA to do that. This is a professional organisation who looks after matters such as these all over the world,” be said.

Responding to allegations levelled by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that the former People’s Partnership administration gave away acres of prime land in Chaguaramas prior to the 2015 general election, Tewarie said the intent to make the CDA viable and self-sustainable. He is challenging Rowley to a public discussion on the matter.

On Sunday, speaking at a PNM Diego Martin West constituency conference, Rowley said his Government is now moving to reclaim lands given away by the previous government. He said land “all the way from Pier 1, all the way past the Convention Centre to the Museum” was made available to one investor, while 100 acres of “the best land in Tucker Valley” was given as a reward to a UNC activist who campaigned against Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

Commenting on the latter, a reference to Joe Pires, managing director of Caribbean Chemicals Ltd, Tewarie said: “It was the PNM government in 2008 who gave him 100 acres of land in Gran Couva where they are now engaged in agricultural production.”

The former minister insisted: “There was no giveaway of land. It was leased based on commercial negotiations.”

Tewarie said the decision by the CDA to lease 100 acres of land to Pires and a company he set up was done on a commercial basis after review by the Ministry of Agriculture.

He said the company identified 20 acres to begin agricultural development over time on the 100 acres.

“Government has basically strong-armed the company, because nobody wants to fight with a government if that government is bent on giving you hell. They have taken back 48 acres of the 100 acre parcel and they intend to distribute it to farmers in the surrounding areas, possibly in Dr Rowley’s constituency.”

On the claim that land given to an investor for a waterpark, Tewarie said the strategy was to develop two per cent of all Chaguaramas lands for tourism boosted by entertainment, leisure and pleasure opportunities. He identified the investor involved as John Aboud, describing him as a “legitimate investor who was making a significant investment.”

He is denying Rowley’s claim that Government got them to withdraw the boundary away from the beach.

On the issue of the carpark, Tewarie said the land was leased to the investor for a dollar who would build the facility and allow the CDA to manage it in a shared business deal.

A 35-year-old man from Valencia has been granted $100,000 bail after appearing in court for a botched burglary at a First Citizens bank (FCB) ATM in Caparo, last month.

Rohan Ramnarine, of Swan Quarry, Valencia, was granted bail after appearing before Senior Magistrate Joanne Connor in the Chaguanas Magistrate’s Court.

He was charged with attempting to break and enter the ATM, breaking into Shop Rite Variety Store and possession of implements used for burglaries.

According to reports, after midnight on October 18, an off-duty police officer went to the ATM to make a withdrawal when he heard strange noises coming from the back of the building.

He investigated and found holes in the back of the building leading to the ATM and the store. He also saw two men running away from the scene.

Ramnarine was eventually arrested at his home, last Thursday, by a team of police officers led by Senior Supt Ajith Persad, who were selected to probe the burglary and several others, which occurred at banks in Central Trinidad recently.

He will reappear in court on December 4.

Two brothers were granted $1 million bail each while their father was denied bail on three firearm-related charges, including possession of a MAC-10 submachine gun.

Veji Boodoo, 55, his sons Vidharshan, 27, and Shreedhashan Boodoo, 21, all farmers, of Parforce Road, Gasparillo, appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates Court yesterday.

It is alleged that last Wednesday police officers, including Sgt Ali, Cpl Khan and Cpl George, of the South Western Division Task Force, found arms and ammunition in their possession at a farming area along the Connector Road, near Tarouba. Boodoo and his sons were allegedly held with two shotguns, the MAC-10 and 102 rounds of three different calibres of ammunition.

They were charged by Cpl Singh with possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of firearm and possession of ammunition.

In asking for bail, attorney Shaun Teekasingh said the brothers were first-time offenders but their father had two convictions for arms and ammunition from two months ago at the Princes Town Magistrates Court.

Objecting to bail for all of them, prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said the MAC-10 was a prohibited and “very serious” weapon only used by the national security services.

The matter was adjourned to December 4.

The post of Chief Election Officer is yet again under scrutiny — this time from a senior employee at the Elections and Boundaries Commission who has signalled her intention to mount a legal challenge over being bypassed for the post.

Senior legal officer Fern Narcis-Scope was appointed to the post in September and the Opposition had raised a query about her familial link to a government minister.

In a letter sent to the EBC and the Public Service Commission (PSC) yesterday, attorneys representing Deputy Chief Election Officer Lena Sahadeo made requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for information and records related to the PSC’s recruitment for the post.

Sahadeo’s lawyers —Abdel Mohammed and Kent Samlal—said their client was concerned with the recruitment process, which she participated earlier this year, and her fears were compounded by the recent political furore over Narcis-Scope’s appointment.

“Our client has further instructed that at her interview process, she felt rushed and was prevented from answering questions “in the interest of time” and as a result, she instructs that she may not have been treated fairly in the interview process,” Mohammed said.

Sahadeo’s lawyers requested that the EBC and PSC disclose the criteria used for selection, a list of all the persons interviewed, Narcis-Scope’s curriculum vitae, interview notes and Sahadeo’s ranking compared to other candidates.

They gave both public bodies 30 days to respond to the requests and indicated that they felt that some of the documents, which may be exempt from disclosure, should be released nonetheless due to the strong public interest concerns over the appointment.

Sahadeo, the holder of a BSc in Computer Studies and an MBA, has been employed with the EBC for over 24 years. She had previously acted in the position after the resignation of former officeholder Ramesh Nanan.

After she receives the documents, Sahadeo will decide if she wants to challenge the EBC and the PSC for breaches of her constitutional rights and/or challenge the process used by the PSC.

Issues with Narcis-Scope’s appointment were first raised by Opposition Senator Wade Mark in Parliament, two weeks ago.

Mark questioned how Narcis-Scope, a senior legal officer with eight years service, was given the post and claimed she was related to Public Administration Minister Maxie Cuffie.

The EBC has since denied that the two are related and has deflected questions to the PSC, which it says had the sole remit over the appointment.

PSC chairman Maureen Mancouck said previously, “The position was advertised. We had a process and the person who was appointed (at EBC) was the person who topped the list.”

Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the decomposing body of a man which was found hogtied in some bushes in Felicity yesterday.

According to police reports, the body of the man, who was wearing red three-quarter pants and a white vest, was found off Penn Road around 9.30 am.

His hands and legs were tied behind his back and there were marks of violence on the body. Up to press time, the man had not been identified.

Police are expected to take fingerprints of the dead man to aid them in identifying the corpse.

shaliza.hassanali@guardian.co.tt

In a rickety one-bedroom house, perched on top of a hill at Quevador Circular, East Port-of-Spain, the Joseph family lives in abject poverty.

For Troy Joseph, his common-law wife Alana Moscall, 38, and their 11 children — whose ages range from 24 to four — it’s a daily struggle to survive.

On Joseph’s 48th birthday- June 11, one of his sons and family’s sole breadwinner was gunned down in Port-of-Spain by unknown assailants.

Since then, Joseph claimed his life has been turned upside down as the $1,900 monthly National Insurance Board grant is barely enough to feed his family and send four of his children to school in Beetham Gardens.

Two of Joseph’s daughters, Salisha, six, and Soriah, five, have never seen inside a classroom.

“I want them to attend Bethlehem Girls’ RC Primary but never enrolled them. I never got around to it. I lapsed,” Joseph said, bending his head in shame.

Inside the family’s cramped run-down structure, seven of the children sleep on a four by six size bed, while Joseph, his wife and their four youngest children sleep on another mattress.

Earlier this year, a foundation post under their house collapsed causing the house to tilt, while the roof leaks in several places.

Though the family has pipe-borne water, their electricity had to be disconnected after a wall at the back of the house, where T&TEC’s had installed the electrical metre, began to crumble.

Through sobs, Joseph said since Kareem’s murder their lives have turned to misery.

Kareem, 22, who worked as a labourer at the Macoya Wholesale Market single-handedly maintained the family.

“My son was at the wrong place at the wrong time when gunmen opened fire. They killed him on my birthday. This tore me to pieces. I still can’t overcome the grief and pain it has caused because his killers are still running free. Every day he used to put money in my hand…a little $300 to see about his family….to send his brothers and sisters to school,” Joseph said, wiping away tears.

Since Kareem’s death, Joseph said the family has been suffering in silence.

Expecting his NIB grant next week, Joseph had no food in his cupboard to feed his children.

“My wife went clinic this morning. I don’t know what we cooking today,” Joseph muttered, as his three youngest daughters stood at the entrance of their doorway, overlooking their makeshift wooden staircase. With blank stares, the little girls never uttered a word.

Once a day, Joseph said the family would cook what they can afford.

It costs Joseph $34 a day to send his children to school.

For him, putting food on the table for 13 mouths was far more important.

“Today the children didn’t go to school because my pocket is empty. That is how it is every month. I know they should be attending classes more regularly but better cannot be done,” Joseph said.

“We may not eat a good meal every day but what I give my children is love. I try to get a smile from them every day. I treat them equally. Sometimes they does get vex knowing that they have to do without basic things but they know what is love and laughter in this house.”

Joseph said that the Community Police Unit tried to help them in the past but they didn’t get very far.

After contracting cataract in both his eyes in 2014, Joseph claimed he was deemed medically unfit as a security officer.

“I worked for 18 years with the security firm, but I received no benefits. I came home not even with a penny for a rainy day.”

Yesterday, an official at the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services promised that a social welfare officer and social worker will call the Josephs before the end of the day.

Thereafter would do an assessment and once the family fits the necessary criteria they will be provided with overall assistance.

La Brea MP Nicole Olivierre has been ordered to pay the National Gas Company (NGC)’s legal costs after she withdrew a lawsuit seeking documents relating to the company’s employment practices.

Olivierre, the parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, decided to withdraw the appeal after some of the documents she requested were provided by her former employer through a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), earlier this year.

While Appellate Judges Allan Mendonca and Peter Rajkumar granted Olivierre leave to withdraw her claim, they ordered her to pay the legal costs as they ruled that she could have obtained the documents if she had made the application under the FOIA instead of filing the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Olivierre, a former assistant manager enterprise risk management at NGC, made two complaints to the Equal Opportunity Commission over allegedly racial discrimination in promotions within the company in 2012.

She claimed that she was victimised by NGC after making the first complaint and was forced to file a second. Olivierre was eventually retrenched and claimed that the decision was based on her complaints as no one from her department besides her, was sent home. She has since filed a wrongful dismissal claim against the company.

After the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (EOT) ruled on her complaints in 2013, Olivierre filed a separate lawsuit seeking the documents.

Olivierre now has to decide if she wants to make a fresh complaint to the commission considering the evidence she received from the FOIA request.

Questions were raised over Olivierre’s appointment as Energy Minister in 2015 in the face of her legal history with the NGC, a company which then fell under her portfolio.

A little over a year later, Olivierre being replaced by Franklin Khan and given her current portfolio.

Olivierre was represented by Michael Bullock, while NGC was represented by Kerwyn Garcia.