The key witness in the alleged assault of businesswoman Sacha Singh by former tourism minister Chandresh Sharma was yesterday interviewed by the police. A police source confirmed that Insp Naim Gyan, the chief investigator in the case, met the witness, a school teacher, at her St Augustine apartment where they spoke about the incident. The witness, 53, was present during the spat between Sharma and Singh on March 12 in the cark park of Grand Bazaar, Valsayn. The squabble and alleged assault is now the subject of a police investigation.
Contacted yesterday, the witness said she was advised by her attorney not to speak about the matter. “I have no comment to make,” she said. Also contacted yesterday, Singh too said: “I have no comment.” On Monday, Sharma resigned from his ministerial post. His resignation was accepted by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar after calls from leader of the Congress of the People Prakash Ramadhar and Fixing T&T for him to step down or be fired.
Sharma’s resignation came one week after former minister of the people Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh was fired by Persad-Bissessar, following allegations of disorderly behaviour on board a Caribbean Airlines flight from Tobago. Singh, the managing director of AMS Biotech Security Concept and AmSure T&T Ltd, met with officers from the St Joseph Police Station on March 28, where she gave a statement of Sharma’s alleged physical abuse outside the mall. Sharma had agreed to meet Singh at the mall. In the back seat of Singh’s car was a 12-year-old girl alleged to have been fathered by Sharma and the child’s mother. It is alleged an argument began between Sharma and the woman and Singh was slapped across the face and pushed by Sharma when she tried to intervene.
Singh fell back, hit her head on her car and blacked out for several minutes. After regaining consciousness, Singh said she was told Sharma helped to revive her. Singh went home and the following day was diagnosed as having suffered a mild concussion and haematoma (swelling of the brain) during the incident. She then reported the matter to Sgt Ogiste at the St Joseph Police Station.
