A week after seven business chambers threatened to boycott the use of credit card payments, they have retracted the call, saying they achieved what they wanted by meeting with the Bankers Association of T&T (BATT.)

President of the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce, Liaquat Ali made the announcement on Monday after a meeting of the heads of the five of those seven chambers, including the Penal/Debe Chamber, the Chaguanas Chamber, the Greater Tunapuna Chamber, the Siparia Chamber and the San Fernando Business Association.

The closed-door meeting lasted over two hours and took place at the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber headquarters, Camden Road, Couva yesterday.

At a press conference last week, the chamber heads threatened the boycott unless they got answers from commercial banks regarding foreign exchange.

Yesterday, Ali said the chambers and BATT have instead agreed upon public education sessions on bank fees and charges.

“When we issued the statement one week ago, it was really to get the Bankers Association to listen to us and I think we achieved that. We set out to achieve something and we did achieve that by saying that we were looking at the possibility of not accepting credit cards as a point-of-sale entry,” Ali told the media following the meeting.

“The key decision we would have made is that we need to have a public education programme in respect to banks and bank fees and charges and the way how banks operate. We felt that is sadly lacking for the population of T&T, so we can better understand some of the issues affecting the business community and the bank can relate to the public.”

Asked to respond to Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s directive to the Central Bank of T&T (CBTT) to give priority access to foreign exchange to the trade and manufacturing sectors, Ali said the chambers have no issue with this.

Imbert made the statement during his delivery of the Mid-Year Review on May 10.

However, Ali said the Central Bank has to be careful with the distribution of the already-limited forex as some manufacturers are users of forex but not earners.

“They have to be careful in distributing forex to the manufacturing sector. We are not against the manufacturing sector getting a priority in terms of forex but the distribution must be fair and spread across the board,” he said.

He said with the issue of the limited supply of forex, the chambers have asked BATT for a fair and even distribution of forex among its members.

“We are not of the opinion that there is an abundance of foreign exchange and we are going to request all our demands to be fulfilled. What we are saying is because there is a limited amount of foreign exchange, we ask the Bankers Association to look at the possibility of a fair and even distribution among our members,” he added.

Addressing the media, BATT president and Scotiabank managing director, Anya Schnoor said the banks will meet with the small and medium-sized companies to talk about the different issues affecting their businesses.

Commenting on the decision by Imbert to give priority for forex to manufacturers, Schnoor said BATT will have to seek clarification on the new policies implemented by the minister and the Central Bank.

She issued a call to citizens to abide by the laws and only sell foreign exchange to registered dealers.

“We are also very concerned about the growing elements of a market outside of the official sector. We would recently have seen the Central Bank issuing notices reminding customers that it is against the law to sell and trade foreign exchange outside of the registered dealers and we want to encourage customers to abide by the regulations,” she said.

In addition to the sessions for business owners, Schnoor said in about a fortnight’s time, all banks will start having education sessions in their branches open to the public to speak one-on-one with customers about the various services and charges of the banks.

“All banks will be opening their branches at a specific times to be able to offer customers the opportunity to come in. If they have questions about fees, they want to know about the products in the bank- that is starting in about two weeks and then we would then continue on with the small sessions directed to the members of the chambers,” Schnoor said.

She added that BATT would be seeking a meeting with the CBTT to enhance its education programme in the coming weeks as well.

A property owner fed up with people using his premises for their secret trysts confronted an offender, filmed the confrontation and posted the video on social media. Yesterday, he said frustration made him do it.

The incident occurred on Thursday around 9.30 pm on the compound of Carl Hoi Pong’s Nia Valley Estate in Princes Town.

Hoi Pong yesterday told the T&T Guardian this was not the first time he had caught people having sex on his property.

He said the offenders do not only trespass, they also litter - leaving behind used condoms, sanitary pads, toilet paper and empty food boxes.

“Every morning for the past few years I have had to scour my property and pick up used condoms, toilet paper, pads...all kinds of things,” an angry Hoi Pong said.

“This has been going on for the longest while although I have signs up saying ‘Private property’, ‘No trespassing’ and nothing works.”

On the comments which his post drew on Facebook, he said: “I saw people saying I should not have done that to the man but they don’t know how many times this has happened before. I am totally fed up now.”

Hoi Pong rents his property for weddings and other formal events and said often times he has to leave meetings with clients to run overly adventurous couples off his land.

“Sometimes I have an evening meeting and from my office I would see cars drive up, take off their lights and just remain parked up there,” he said.

He admitted that on many occasions he let offenders off with just warnings.

“If I come up on a young couple I would talk to them and tell them about the risks they putting themselves at by doing these things out in open and on private property and they would apologise and leave.”

But the man in the now-viral video is a repeat offender, Hoi Pong said.

“Less than two weeks ago, I meet this same man and buff him and he leave. And seeing him on my property again just boil my blood. He is a grown man, he supposed to understand he can’t be doing these things in people’s place. And the thing is there is a hotel just three minutes from my compound.”

In the video, Hoi Pong is heard firing a string of questions at the man, who in turn begs for a chance. The offender says it is his first time on Hoi Pong’s land and admits the woman in his car is not his wife, but the land owner rebuffs this saying the offender has been there before.

Hoi Pong posted the video and pictures to social media shortly after the incident. After he thought over his actions yesterday morning, he decided to remove the post to save the man further embarrassment. However, social media groups had already saved and reloaded the video. It has racked up thousands of views, comments and shares.

“In hindsight, I probably should not have done it in that manner, but it was the frustration that made me do it. You know how it feels to have to pick up people’s condoms and used pads? I even buy one of those ‘grabber’ things just to pick up condoms, I’m probably the biggest condom cleaner in Trinidad.”

However, he said he hopes the video will deter future offenders from misusing his property.

“Maybe when people see this they will stop coming here and doing these things. I have caught people in broad daylight naked in their cars and this has to stop at some point. My facility is one that promotes family values and what these people are doing goes totally against that.”

The newly-opened Brian Lara Cricket Academy may be facing a new challenge - deliberate misuse of the facility.

The situation developed yesterday after the locker room area was flooded out, in the wake of another incident in which the toilets developed a leak due to blockage.

An unnamed individual sent the T&T Guardian several photos showing what appeared to be the grey carpet covered in excrement and pieces of toilet paper yesterday. Several ceiling tiles in the area also appeared to have also fallen out, leaving gaping holes. The unnamed person who took the photos also claimed the hallways had a strong and very unpleasant smell and attempts to vacuum the mess were unsuccessful.

These photos came two days after a video released on social media showed patrons scampering away from raw sewage on the compound. The minute-long video, posted on May 20, shows sewage bubbling from several drain pipes on the floor. In one place, a dust bin was placed close to where the sewage was coming up. Comments on the video by patrons said they were forced to vacate three sections as the smell was ‘horrible.’

Contacted on the latest issue yesterday, UDeCOTT corporate communication’s manager, Roxanne Stapleton-Whyms, said a tap was deliberately left turned on at the facility, leading to the flooding of the hallway near the locker rooms.

“Kindly note that what you are referring to where carpets got wet is not sewage,” she wrote in a response to questions sent to her via email.

“A tap was deliberately left on. It was turned off and the wet carpets were vacuumed at no additional cost.”

Questioned further about the wet carpets, Stapleton-Whyms wrote, “Kindly note again, that sewer lines are not run in the vicinity where the carpets were wet. It is possible that the debris to which you refer is the wet ceiling tiles.”

She assured, however, that UDeCOTT is ensuring that contingencies are put in place to counter such activities so operations at the state asset are not hampered.

Asked about the video which appeared to be showing sewage, Stapleton-Whyms wrote, “Kindly note that sanitary napkins; foodstuff; T-Shirts, among others items, were found to have choked the sewer lines and were retrieved by the plumbers on Saturday.”

Stapleton-Whyms said it was not clear when the items were flushed down the toilets, as events have been taking place at the academy for the past month. But she said contingency measures are being put in place to counter such activity going forward.

The Academy had been marred in controversy after work on the facility was stopped by the People’s Partnership government in 2010. The contract for the construction of the stadium, named after legendary West Indian cricketer Brian Lara, was awarded in 2005 at a cost of $275 million and was supposed to be finished in time for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean. However, over the last nine years the cost ballooned to $885 million with several delays, until the project was stopped by the Kamla Persad-Bissessar led administration.

The current People’s National Movement Government restarted the project amidst strong criticism from the Opposition in November 2015.

The academy was opened on May 12 and Opposition supporters held a massive protest demonstration the same day, calling for Government to open the Couva Children’s Hospital instead.

Former assistant commissioner of police Cecil Santana had to detain a businessman yesterday, after another man bleeding from several bullet wounds pulled up in front his home begging for help.

The drama began around 11.25 am when the businessman, 29, of Mayo was driving his Toyota Hilux along Houssa Trace, Gasparillo, in the company of his wife.

According to police, another man, identified as Kerwin Williams, 26, pulled in front of the businessman with a silver sedan and blocked his car.

Police said Williams came out his vehicle and was approaching the businessman, who then pulled out an unlicensed firearm and shot him three times.

Williams, who police said lives at Tahal Avenue, Gasparillo, got back into his vehicle and drove to Santana’s home in Parforce Road, Gasparillo.

An eyewitness who asked not to be identified said he saw the car driven by the injured man come to a stop opposite Santana’s house.

“The car door opened and this man just fall out on the roadway. When we went across he was bleeding from three different places,” the eyewitness said.

An alarm was raised and Santana came out his home where he met the businessman arriving on the scene.

PCs Khan and Costello, of the Gasparillo Police Station, responded and together with Santana, they detained the businessman.

Upon searching him, the officers found a pistol with six rounds of ammunition. Police later went to his home, where an empty firearm magazine was discovered.

The businessman was taken into custody and was being questioned for shooting offences and possession of a firearm last evening.

Williams was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was listed in stable condition up to last night.

Police said the businessman was recently the victim of a robbery at his business place in Mayo.

Gasparillo police are continuing investigations.

Ravi Anthony was shot twice and one of his arms and legs were chopped off by his killers, who then tried to set his body afire before dumping it in a forested area in Sister’s Road, his autopsy has found.

Anthony, 34, a mason, was abducted on May 14 while walking along Mission Road, Freeport, with a male relative. He was returning to his Connector Drive, Nelson Road, Freeport home at the time.

Relatives now say Anthony was killed in retaliation for the January 3, 2o17 murders of Elton Armorer, 35; Michael Kent Brown, 25 and Winston Edwards, 39, at Commonwealth Drive, Nelson Road, Freeport.

A family member had told the T&T Guardian earlier this week that other family members were living in fear after they received a menacing message several days after the abduction.

“Someone send a message that we would never see Ravi again and they would take out our family one by one,” the relative said.

On Sunday, a resident of Francis Trace, Sister’s Road, stumbled across the badly decomposed body of a man in some bushes on the side of the roadway.

Police contacted Anthony’s family on Monday to identify the body, but it was on Tuesday when relatives visited the Forensic Science Centre in St James that they confirmed it was Anthony.

In an interview yesterday, a female relative, who asked not to be identified, said because of the state of Anthony’s body the family will be having a closed casket funeral sometime later this week. Anthony was the eldest of his parents’ 12 children. She said the family was still reeling from the shock of the details of his gruesome murder.

“They wrapped his head in some clothes and tried to set him on fire...now we can’t even open the box (coffin), we have to put a picture of him on top of it. We can’t even buy a suit of clothes for Ravi to go home in,” she said.

“His father run out the mortuary crying when he see the condition of his son’s body. Right now nobody knows how to feel, we can’t even sleep.”

Initially, the family was unable to identify his body as the clothing he was wearing did not match those he was wearing when he abducted.

“Apparently he was wearing clothes my cousin sent for him from New York and they were not sure it was him.”

But the relative again said that Anthony was being falsely targeted as he had no connections to the January 3 triple murders.

“Those guys who got killed in January were warring with a lot of different people from outside. Ravi didn’t have anything to do with those murders. He even went into the police station and told them that he was being blamed but nothing ever came out of it.”

She described Anthony as a quiet person and said she does not understand why the family is being targeted.

“Some guys beat up one of his brothers earlier a few months ago and they chopped another brother too, we don’t know what to do because like they are not stopping.”

Freeport police confirmed that the body found was Anthony’s but said no motive has been determined.

A senior police officer said Anthony was not known to the police and had no criminal record.

By month’s end, some 30 employees of the National Gas Company (NGC) will no longer have jobs as their contracts are not being renewed by the company.

The group, who were called in to meet with NGC officials yesterday in one-on-one meetings, gathered yesterday in Point Lisas after being given the news.

The T&T Guardian understands that the contract periods of these employees were reduced from six months to three months last December and the company began sending home employees by the ‘handful’ since then.

A spokesperson who asked not to be identified told the T&T Guardian the employees are disappointed in the company. “We feel betrayed by our management because we have worked hard to reduce costs, in order to keep the company and the country in a good economic standing for the past years,” the worker said.

“NGC is still making a profit and there are many areas where we can increase profit.” The workers will be sent home from the pipeline services department, support services and administrative staff as an Offshore Field office has been closed.

The spokesperson said the cut is not necessary as the company is still hiring high level employees.

“This move is not needed because NGC is still hiring high level employees while the technical staff pays for the state of the economy. The technical staff are fed up of being treated like dogs while upper management account for the bulk of monies paid in salary.”

Another employee who said he has been working at the company for over three years as a technician said he does not know how he will find work now.

“There are so many people out there who are looking for jobs, I don’t know how I am going to afford to pay my loan now,” he lamented.

The T&T Guardian tried contacting NGC’s Communications Manager Lisa Burkett via phone and email but no response was forthcoming.

A text message was sent to the cellphone of NGC chairman Gerry Brooks but there also no response.

Decima Nottingham, the man who was beaten by Claxton Bay residents who thought he was a thief, is calling on members of the public to think before they act.

Nottingham, 28, was on Thursday held and beaten by a group of residents who believed him to be a truck thief.

Police later revealed the truck had been reported stolen by a Barrackpore man about a year ago.

According to reports, the original owner of the vehicle, a dump truck, sold it to two different men. The first buyer is from Barrackpore and had no idea that his truck was sold to another man in Claxton Bay. The Barrackpore man even reported the truck stolen to police in 2016, but officers investigating the case had made no headway in finding it.

The Claxton Bay man put the vehicle up for sale recently and after it was purchased by a new owner, Nottingham’s friend was sent to collect it. Nottingham said he was asked by his friend to go with him to Claxton Bay so that he (Nottingham) could drive his friend’s car back home after they collected the truck.

During the beating, Nottingham suffered injuries to his head, face, right eye—which is now swollen shut—and his chest and back. His left knee was also damaged.

Recalling the brutal attack at his Carlsen Field home yesterday, Nottingham said: “My friend called me and asked if I could go with him. He said he was going Claxton Bay to collect a truck and he wanted me to drive his car back to Barrackpore.

“He told me to wait and I would drive behind him, but when he drove off and I was driving behind, I saw a white van speeding up behind me and they bounced my car and came out and started beating me and telling me we thiefing the truck.”

Nottingham said his heart hurt knowing the way he was treated by the residents.

“They beat me for real long—at a point in time I thought that was it—because I start to gasp for breath. It was real licks, kick on my chest, in my back and on my head, they had me rolling on the ground. I get about five cuff in my eye, my head was swollen,” he said.

“We are all human beings—they could have asked something first—they beat me like I was nothing.”

Nottingham said he works taxi to support his two children, ages seven and three, and sometimes finds other work.

“I was never prepared to go into a situation like this to get all this licks and face all this embarrassment with people saying I am a known truck thief.

“I have never been in this kind of thing before. I work taxi and I try to make a lil’ hustle here and there to take care of my family, I don’t be on no thiefing thing.”

His only hope now is that justice will be served.

“Random people were coming out of their cars and kicking me, it was like the whole village. They could have just held me and called the police if they believe I was thief, they didn’t give me a chance to explain myself.

“They have to get charged because at the end of the day I just want justice for myself.”

Police sources said yesterday that three of the villagers involved in the attack will be charged for the incident and are expected to be put on ID parade soon.

Although closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the incident in which a woman police constable (WPC) shot PH taxi driver Barry Seepersad emerged on social media yesterday, there are now more questions than before about what really happened on Wednesday evening.

This after the footage conflicted with what was initially reported about how the incident took place.

According to initial reports, Seepersad, 34, parked his car on the San Fernando-Diamond Village taxi stand on Lord Street, San Fernando, and the WPC had ordered a wrecker to take the vehicle.

Seepersad had gone to a nearby parlour to buy a soft drink and told relatives when he got back to the car he tried to drive off and the officer shot him.

Police had said Seepersad tried to run the WPC over with his car and she fell to the ground, got up and then shot him.

Seepersad’s wife, Merissa, had also said on Thursday that a wrecker was not on scene when her husband drove away with their white Nissan B12, but she admitted it was there yesterday.

“From what I understand from last night when I saw the video, there was a wrecker by the vehicle,” she said.

She said Seepersad tried to flee because he was afraid, adding, “He panicked and tried to leave because they were saying they were going to take the car.”

She is still questioning the police’s account of the incident.

“The video does not show the WPC getting bounced down and as soon as he drives off, she runs to the police vehicle, gets in and drives off. How did she manage all of that after he bounced her down?”

She said Seepersad was in a stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday, but had been complaining of a lot of pain and gasping for breath while speaking.

“When he is awake and he is trying to speak, he says a few words and he is gasping for breath—he said he is in a lot of pain,” she said.

“She is at home resting comfortably while my husband is fighting for life in hospital and my children are grieving for their father. What she has to answer now is did the punishment fit the crime?”

The T&T Guardian yesterday contacted Police Complaints Authority (PCA) head David West, who said he did not have all the facts in the matter.

“The PCA does not have all the facts before it, therefore it would be premature to give a comment on this particular case,” he wrote via WhatsApp message.

“However, generally speaking, the TTPS Use of Force Policy gives an officer the right to use deadly force if the officer reasonably believes such action is immediately necessary to protect herself or others from imminent dangers of death or grievous bodily harm.

“Secondly, an officer may use deadly force to prevent the escape of a suspect whom the officer has probable cause to believe has committed an offence in which the suspect caused or attempted to cause death or grievous bodily harm to any person.”

A copy of the CCTV footage was sent to West, but he responded, “The video does not show anything really.”

He said Seepersad and a witness were still to be interviewed.

When asked if the PCA had interviewed the WPC, West said information and evidence obtained by the authority in an investigation was confidential.

The T&T Guardian contacted Senior Supt Zamsheed Mohammed on the issue, but he said he was at a function and could not hear the questions being asked.

Turning the sod for a $40 m Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in Moruga yesterday, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell has promised to shift HDC’s focus back to providing affordable rental units to citizens.

He said although the HDC will not discontinue the construction of units for sale, this type of construction has led the ministry away from its original mandate.

Mitchell and Moruga MP Dr Lovell Francis turned the sod for the project, which is expected to provide 77 single-unit houses for the people of Moruga. Construction of this project will be done in two phases—36 units in phase one and 41 units in phase two.

“The majority of citizens seeking affordable housing earn between minimum wage and $6,000 per month and find it very difficult in qualifying for the affordable mortgages or even the affordable rent-to-own programme offered by the T&T Mortgage Finance Company (TTMF) and the HDC,” Mitchell said.

“So in light of our reduced funding, we have to now focused our efforts to satisfy those applicants who are most in need.”

He said because the HDC constructed so many housing units in the $500,000 to $1 million price range, the private sector also suffered.

“The HDC in building so many housing units for sale in the $500,000 to $1 m range had virtually eliminated private sector developers and private sector investment from that space. The private sector could not compete with a state agency pumping billions in the housing market for middle-income earners.”

He said homes in this price range also attracted a different audience than the one the corporation was mandated to assist.

“The HDC has become increasingly attractive to house seekers such as doctors, lawyers and other professionals who would not ordinarily pursue an application to the HDC...To me, this conflicted with our original mandate.”

Mitchell said future projects of units in this price range will be done through private/public partnership and will rely more on private sector investments.

He said the Gomez Trace development is his fourth sod-turning ceremony since assuming office. The HDC has started developments in River Runs Through in Arima, Bon Air South in Arouca, and Mahogany Court in Mt Hope.

As police prepare to put several vigilante Claxton Bay residents on ID parade tomorrow for the beating of a man whom they had mistaken for a thief, an investigating officer is warning citizens to be cautious when purchasing vehicles.

Cpl Brian Singh said the entire situation could have been prevented if the proper checks were made by the Claxton Bay man who had bought a truck almost a year ago.

“A lot of people are duplicating and creating false documents, then stealing vehicles and selling them to unsuspecting buyers,” Singh told the Sunday Guardian yesterday.

“We are advising the public to visit the Licensing office and make every effort to ensure that the seller is the owner of the vehicle. People also need to ensure that the vehicle is transferred to them within seven days of the purchase.”

He said buyers should also check and compare the vehicle’s chassis number with the chassis number on the documents are produced.

Decima Nottingham, 28, went with a friend to collect the dump truck in Claxton Bay on Thursday and ended up being severely beaten by the residents.

According to reports, the original owner of the vehicle sold it to two different men—The truck was first sold to a man from Barrackpore. The truck was then stolen from the Barrackpore man. He had reported the matter to the police, but they were unable to find the truck. The stolen truck was then sold to a Claxton Bay man.

The Barrackpore man, however, recently saw the same truck being advertised for sale, and Nottingham and a friend went to collect it. Nottingham said he was just doing his friend a favour. The friend was able to drive off with the truck and return it to the Barrackpore owner but Nottingham was captured and beaten by Claxton Bay residents.

Singh said the residents will be put on ID parade and once the suspects are identified, they are expected to be charged with assault by beating.

With no idea why he was shot and no word yet from doctors on his condition, relatives of retired Fire Station Officer (FSO) Robin Sookdeo are today praying for a miracle.

Sookdeo, 56, was shot in the right side of his face at his New Settlement, Dow Village, Couva home yesterday. The bullet is said to have shattered in his head.

His sister, Indira Ali, 53, was also shot once in the leg by a gunman who stormed their home.

According to reports, Sookdeo was accosted by the gunman around 10.55 am and shot in the face. On hearing the gunshot, Ali ran out and the gunman shot her in the leg before escaping in a drain near the roadway.

Sookdeo retired from the T&T Fire Service several years ago. Speaking outside the Emergency Department of the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday, one of Sookdeo’s daughters, Risa Sookhoo, told the T&T Guardian her family had no idea why the two were attacked.

She said her father was had undergone an x-ray and was expected to undergo emergency surgery overnight.

“The entire family is just trying to stay strong right now for him. The doctors are not saying much, they said the bullet shattered into fragments in his head and they have not told us what are his chances of surviving,” she said.

Sookdeo is currently employed at the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation as a security officer and Ali is a security officer with Amalgamated Security Services Ltd.

Ali was listed in stable condition and was said to be recovering well last night.

Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha’s (SDMS) Sat Maharaj is calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to fire Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

Speaking at an SDMS Indian Arrival Day event at the Parvati Girls Hindu College in Debe yesterday, Maharaj drew laughter from the crowd when he suggested his grandmother as a replacement for the minister.

Noting that T&T is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Maharaj said: “Yet everyday we are told that we are in a recession and we do not have money and therefore we must make more sacrifices.

“I want to use this platform to ask the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to have an immediate reshuffle in his Cabinet and what I recommend that you do sir, is that you immediately replace Colm Imbert as Minister of Finance and appoint my grandmother as the Minister of Finance.”

Maharaj said Imbert does not know how to handle tough economic times.

“I believe that old lady has more savvy than Colm Imbert. All Colm Imbert has is mouth and action, no brain power at all. They had been born with a gold spoon in their mouth therefore they don’t know how to eat maar and baat—that is rice and the part you strain out.”

Maharaj also called for Education Minister Anthony Garcia, who he said was a former friend, to hand over two unfinished schools in Debe for the Maha Sabha to complete.

“Give us Ramai Trace Hindu School just as it is and we will complete it. Give us Reform Hindu School just as it is and we will complete it,” he said.

“We will collect cent and penny from our devotees and we will complete it. We will have people working 24 hours a day to ensure that these two schools are completed—this is a challenge to you.”

Barry Seepersad, the PH taxi driver who was shot by a Woman Police Constable six days ago, has been discharged from the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital and taken into police custody.

In a brief interview yesterday, Seepersad’s wife Merissa said he was discharged by doctors and handed over to police sometime around 4 pm yesterday.

“I was going to see him this evening for visiting hours but when I got there I found out that the police had taken him to the station,” she said.

“I don’t know anything else so far, I am just here at the station waiting for the attorney to come,” she said.

Seepersad had been warded at hospital since May 24 after he was shot by the WPC.

According to reports, Seepersad, 34, parked his car on the San Fernando-Diamond Village taxi stand on Lord Street, San Fernando and the WPC had ordered a wrecker to take the vehicle.

Seepersad had gone to a nearby parlour to buy a soft drink and told relatives when he got back to the car he tried to drive off and the officer shot him.

Police had said Seepersad reversed off the wrecker, tried to run the WPC over with his car when she fell to the ground, but she got up and then shot him. Seepersad underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday night to repair damage to his intestines.

The T&T Guardian was told that Seepersad was expected to be placed on an identification parade last night.

ASP Neptune is continuing investigations.

The Anti-Corruption Investigating Bureau raided the offices of three contracting companies yesterday—Namalco Construction Services Ltd, TN Ramnauth & Company Ltd and Motilal Ramhit and Sons Construction Ltd.

This was confirmed by attorney Om Lalla, who represents the La Brea-based Namalco. Lalla said he was told the officers were led by Superintendent Alexander.

In an interview yesterday, Lalla described the raid on Namalco as an attempt to damage the company’s reputation in light of its ongoing lawsuit against the Estate Management and Business Development Company (EMBD).

“The police have executed search warrants on Namalco Construction Services Ltd, TN Ramnauth & Company Ltd and Motilal Ramhit and Sons Construction Ltd in relation to contracts with the various government agencies,” Lalla said.

“Namalco has a matter pending before the High Court, a $1.2 billion claim against EMBD for works done and the matter is far advanced before the courts and all the pleadings as they call it are closed, a trial date is set and today they decide they want to execute search warrants for the very documents that are before the court, which is quite alarming.”

“We view this as not only a malicious and clandestine act by the police but an attempt to damage the reputation and prejudice the matter which is before the court,” Lalla added.

On May 6, 2016, Namalco’s attorneys filed action in the Port-of-Spain High Court, suing the EMBD for over $1.2 billion in unpaid bills. The EMBD is mandated to manage and develop agricultural land held by the State across T&T.

The company claimed that the damages being sought represented unpaid fees for six construction contracts performed for the EMBD over five years.  The company maintained that it was not paid despite completing the projects and having them approved by an independent engineering company, as stipulated in its contracts with EMBD. 

In November 2016, an audit of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) revealed that TN Ramnauth & Company Ltd and Motilal Ramhit and Sons Construction Ltd had received over $2 billion in contracts from the People’s Partnership government between 2011 and 2015.

Up until 4 pm yesterday, Lalla said the officers were still on the compound of the contractors.

He said Namalco’s High Court matter came up for hearing yesterday and a trial date has already been set for June 2018 without any counter-claim of wrongdoing or corruption by Namalco from the state.

“It (lawsuit) is well advanced, there are preliminary applications before the court, the defence has been filed, the counter-claims and all the documents are in it is an advanced state of litigation and there is no claim against Namalco for fraud, corruption, wrongdoing. This matter has been in court over a year.”

He said the officers seemed to be looking for documents that Namalco planned to use to support the company’s claim in the High Court.

“The documents that they want to take are documents that will support Namalco’s argument in the High Court matter and as part of a discovery process in any court proceedings, you are meant to produce your original documents - if the police take the original documents or tamper or interfere with them or add documents to them, it could interfere with the course of this matter.”

Lalla said Namalco will have to wait to see what documents the officers seize before deciding their way forward.

The mother of a mentally ill man killed by police is claiming officers woke him up from his bed before he was fatally shot.

This was the allegation made by Rosalie Paul on the shooting death of her son Daniel Paul by officers of the Ste Madeline Police Station on Monday night.

The incident happened around 8 pm in a track off Richie Street, Ste Madeline, a stone’s throw away from where Paul lived with his family.

Rosalie said Paul began exhibiting violent and strange behaviours after leaving school some five years ago and he was put on medication and being treated at the Psychiatric Clinic at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Rosalie said on Monday Paul took the wrong medication and started to act up, hitting a neighbour’s car with a bottle.

“By the time the police came, he had come home, taken his correct tablet and went in his bed to sleep - they went to wake him to apologise to the woman but like he know they was going to do him something and he didn’t want to get up,” Rosalie said.

Rosalie said she had explained to the officers that Paul had mental health issues but they disregarded her.

“They didn’t want to hear nothing, they went on the bed and shaking him to get up and one of them hit him on his head with a flash-light and that trip him off more and like he was too frighten to come off the bed and go with them. He keep telling them tomorrow he will tell the woman sorry. When I checked his bed after I realise he was so frighten, he pee the bed.”

She said the officers eventually left the house and were speaking to someone else a short distance away when Paul got up and left the house.

“He went outside and pelt another bottle and run and they was chasing him down and I was bawling ‘Allyuh doh kill meh child!’”

She said Paul ran a short distance away into a track and the officers followed him.

“They say he had a stone and was going to pelt the police and that is why they shoot him. They could have shoot the child in his foot, they didn’t have to kill him.”

Rosalie also claimed officers left Paul on the ground for over half an hour before taking him to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The T&T Guardian tried contacting head of the Southern Division Snr Supt Zhamsheed Mohammed yesterday but calls to his cellphone went unanswered.

This was the third police shooting of a mentally ill patient this year.

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

On March 16, 2017, Paul Marchan, 30, was shot dead by officers of the Western Division Task Force who responded to reports he was acting in a deranged manner.

According to reports at the time, Marchan went to a relative’s Diego Martin home and was hurling objects. When the police arrived, he allegedly doused himself in a flammable liquid and locked himself in his car. When the officers finally got him out the car, he allegedly slashed one of the officers on his hand with a piece of broken bottle and stabbed the other with a knife. Task Force officers arrived soon after and Marchan reportedly charged towards them with the knife and they shot him twice.

While Angela Moses was sitting at home waiting for her son Everton to return to celebrate her 57th birthday on Tuesday, gunmen were pumping dozens of bullets into his body, killing him on the spot.

Speaking at her Riverside Drive, Marabella home yesterday, Moses said she was at a loss as to why her son was killed. Everton, 35, was the second of her 15 children and the father of a 13-year-old girl.

According to reports, he was shot several times while walking along Seaview Drive, Marabella, around 8.30 pm on Tuesday.

Police recovered over 30 spent shells from the scene and believe a couple shooters used high- powered weapons to kill Everton. Police said he was not known to them.

“He was a very friendly person who was always making jokes with everyone, he didn’t have any quarrels or disputes, we are all in shock over this,” Moses said yesterday.

“I don’t have a clue why they kill him. He was not a fella in any gang things or anything like that.”

However, she said the family was told that Everton had won money in a card game before leaving the game to go back to his home.

“I don’t know if they were going to rob him or what, we just don’t know,” she said.

But Moses said her son had promised to return home early to celebrate her birthday.

“He used to usually go out every night to lime with his friends, but we were having a little get-together for my birthday and he said he would come back early to lime with me.

“I was expecting him to come back and I was sitting down watching some TV when someone call and said he got shoot by the trainline.”

She said Everton worked various jobs, as he had worked as a labourer for WASA, but his dream was opening his own business.

“He wanted to open a little business to sell fruits for himself, to have his own fruit stall and work for himself.”

Officers from the Southern Division Homicide are continuing investigations.

The United National Congress (UNC) intends to file a no-confidence motion in House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George following a heated sitting of the Parliament on Friday night which culminated in a walkout by the Opposition.

In a media briefing yesterday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the party staged a walkout of the Parliament around 7.15 pm after “racist” remarks were made to Princes Town MP Barry Padarath.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian last night, Annisette-George described the possible motion of no confidence against her as “part and parcel” of the job. “That is their prerogative and if they do so the Standing Orders will dictate how it is done, and I think that is all part and parcel of the job as Speaker.”

During Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives Annisette-George granted permission to Persad-Bissessar to raise a definite matter of urgent public importance related to the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bret.

That debate began at 6 pm.

Around 7 pm, Rowley entered the debate. Rowley said he noticed that during the debate every member from the opposition bench took the opportunity to “grand stand on this tragedy”.

He also defended his stay in Tobago over the weekend. “Let me tell you something, I have to make no apologies to any of you for being in Tobago, I have a house in Tobago and I live in Tobago. So I make no apologies to any of you for being in Tobago and for sleeping in my house in Tobago,” he said.

Rowley said the storm hit on Monday night and he monitored the developments from Tobago.

“By Wednesday after lunch, I was in Oropouche. If the member for Siparia was missing me so much had I known that I would sleep down there. Had I known she was missing me so much I would have gone down there, but I have no house in Siparia,” he said.

Padarath, the MP for Princes Town entered the debate after Rowley.

“The prime minister went to south Trinidad with his hands swinging, not a crix, not a tin of sardines to deliver to the people,” Padarath said.

“I know that he has a disdain for the people in south Trinidad because they believe that they are UNC (United National Congress) people. The people of south Trinidad will not forgive them,” he said.

This statement sparked crosstalk in the Parliament from both benches.

During that crosstalk Padarath claimed Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis called him a racist.

Annisette-George suspended the sitting for ten minutes.

When the sitting was resumed at 7.10 pm, Annisette-George called for the sitting to revert to the debate on the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill.

Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young rose to continue his contribution on that debate.

However, the Opposition called for Annisette-George to rule to have Robinson-Regis withdraw the statement and apologise.

While Padarath was calling for the ruling from Annisette-George, he claimed Rowley said he was in fact a racist.

Padarath countered that Rowley was a racist. Persad-Bissessar then staged a walkout by the Opposition.

At the end of the sitting, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi delivered greetings to the Muslim Community on the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.

The Opposition, however, were not in the House to deliver their greetings.

WE GOT NO JUSTICE IN PARLIAMENT—KAMLA

Speaking yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said the Opposition felt they got no justice in the Parliament.

“The Speaker suspended the House and when we came back we again called on the Speaker under the relevant standing order for a ruling. Again, the Speaker refused to give a ruling and it was at that point we felt that there was no justice in the Parliament and we decided to leave the Parliament.”

She said this incident was the latest the Opposition has faced in the Parliament and this makes it difficult for them to properly represent their constituents.

“Now this is just one in a series of matters that we have great concern about in terms of properly representing our constituents in the Parliament, for our freedom of expression to take up issues in the Parliament. Today, I received a letter from the national executive from the party calling upon us in the Parliament to file a motion of no confidence in the speaker, based on not just last night’s incident but there have been several incidents throughout the course of the year in this session.”

She said Annisette-George was not functioning in the role of Speaker as she should.

“The Speaker’s role is to facilitate freedom of expression within the standing orders. And it is the duty of the Speaker to let parliamentarians have their say in the Parliament. We have experienced a state of affairs and it culminated yesterday where we are of the view that the Speaker has not been facilitating that freedom of expression and we have many examples in that regard.”

PADARATH WAS GROSSLY DISRESPECTFUL—ROBINSON-REGIS

Contacted last night, Robinson-Regis said she felt Padarath was “grossly disrespectful” to Annisette-George on Friday night but that it is the Opposition’s right to file a motion of no confidence against her if they wanted.

“They consistently (walk out of the Parliament) when they feel that they are not getting their way and they consistently disrespect the Parliament and they also take the people’s business for granted,” she said.

“But then again, if they feel that is the way they should conduct their business we consistently stay in the precincts of the Parliament and do the people’s business, and even whilst we were in Opposition we did not resort to that until that time when they put out the Opposition Leader (Dr Keith Rowley),” Robinson-Regis said.

Robinson-Regis said “walking out of the Parliament is not a mechanism for conducting the people’s business effectively but again, I reiterate all these things are their prerogative”.

Robinson-Regis said she felt that Padarath’s statement about the Government treating the people of South with disdain was “highly disrespectful and highly improper” as the PNM has five MPs who represent people from the Southern part of the country.

She said Padarath’s statement had “undertones”.

Questioning when the Government’s $25M relief fund will kick in, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has called on members of the public to donate relief items to flood and storm-affected citizens. Persad-Bissessar was speaking during a media briefing at the Fun Splash Water Park in Debe, where the UNC MPs, senators and chairmen of opposition-controlled regional corporations met for an all-day Strategic Planning Session.

“It is very clear that the Government has collapsed, it is very clear that the Government in the wake of tropical storm Bret has failed and/or neglected to adequately provide for citizens in our country, especially in badly affected areas,” Persad-Bissessar said.

“We will be establishing emergency collection centres for persons who wish to donate in the relief for those who suffered in the storm. These centres...we will start first with the party headquarters in Couva. We are also asking good Samaritans to donate relief items.”

She said in those areas where the regional corporations were UNC-led (the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, the Princes Town Regional Corporation, the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, the Siparia Regional Corporation and the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation) donations can be dropped off at the the respective offices. The party would be setting up special collection centres in all other areas.

She said despite the Government’s announcement of a relief fund, there are many questions as to how the fund would operate.

“While the Government has announced a $25M fund, and this was long after we had called for that, the problem is that we still have no idea how, what, when why, where those funds will be distributed.

“I am told that certain corporations have been told to go out there and give whatever relief they can. But those corporations have no money sitting in their coffers which they can expend. Therefore, Government cannot simply announce the fund without instructing various corporations as to deposits from that $25M. So, we will continue with our relief efforts and I am calling upon those who are willing to assist.”

The party will also be sending medical teams to assist and assess flood-hit areas, Persad-Bissessar said.

“There is a need for medical teams out in the flood-affected areas. Thus far, the Government has not seen it fit to issue one public health advisory and therefore we are going to get medical teams of volunteers.”

She also called for international assistance as she said two organisations outside of the country have contacted the UNC to offer help to flood victims.

“We are also issuing an international SOS for kind persons outside of Trinidad and Tobago who are willing to assist. Already, two organisations have contacted us and they are going to be engaged in efforts outside of Trinidad and Tobago to bring relief to us here in T&T.”

Still reeling from the damage caused by flood waters which swept through her home on Tuesday, Gloria Ramgobin broke down in tears yesterday as her family tried to salvage pieces of furniture and appliances that were under water for the second time this week.

Ramgobin, 56, her husband Kemchand, 61, and their daughter Meena, 28, had to flee their Messiah Trace, Williamsville, home around 1 am yesterday, when the Guaracara River burst its bank. The family survive on the National Insurance pension that Kemchand receives after retiring from the Princes Town Regional Corporation as a labourer.

Dozens of families in Messiah Trace, Reform Village and several streets in Princes Town were affected when heavy rains caused the river to overflow in the wee hours of yesterday morning.

In an interview with the Sunday Guardian around noon yesterday, Ramgobin said the water rose over four feet high and reached inside their home. She said the family was awaiting a visit from councillor Vashti Sookhoo and the Princes Town Regional Corporation for assistance.

“This is the second time this week we dealing with this, everything we had gone again,” she lamented. “We couldn’t stay in the house when water start to come in, cause it came so fast.”

Fearful for their lives, the family fled the small wooden house leaving all their belongings.

When the murky water subsided around 8 am yesterday, they returned to find their freezer, refrigerator and clothes scattered throughout their yard.

“The freezer was pushed out of the house and end up against the fence, I don’t know if it will work again because this is the second time this week that it get wet. There was no place to put anything safe.”

The mattress given to the family by the Disaster Management Unit of the Princes Town Regional Corporation on Tuesday was also soaked.

A short distance away, Sanjay Sanasie and his family were busy trying to salvage items from their home. Fourteen people live in the building and Sanasie said there were four different apartments that were hit by flood.

He said water was several feet high on his property, causing thousands of dollars in damage.

“We would have repurchased some things after the flood on Monday night and all of those things are now destroyed.”

Sanasie is calling on the Princes Town Regional Corporation to dredge the Guaracara River properly as he said this is the cause of the constant flooding.

“This problem has been ongoing for years but this year is definitely the worst, the corporation needs to come and clean the watercourse or this will continue to get worse.”

The body of a 28-year-old single mother was found at her home this morning with gunshot wounds.

Police are now on the scene of the murder in Thompson Street Gasparillo.

The victim has been identified as Ornella Phillips and the discovery was made around 9.45 am.

Police are continuing investigations.