A lawsuit from a convicted murderer challenging a prison rule mandating supervised meetings between death row inmates and their lawyers is set to be determined on September 30. High Court judge Carol Gobin set the date during a hearing in the Port-of-Spain High Court on Tuesday, moments after she dismissed a preliminary application from Prisons Commissioner Conrad Barrow, who was asking for the lawsuit to be thrown out before the issue could be ventilated in court. 

Barrow was claiming he should not have been named as a party in the lawsuit as it dealt with the constitutionality of the prisons regulations, “an area which falls out of his purview.” Delivering an oral decision, Gobin rejected Barrow’s claim as she stated the prisoner, Garvin Sookram, had raised a valid issue which required the court’s analysis. Sookram, an inmate at the Port-of-Spain State Prison, filed the lawsuit last year after prison officers sat in on several meetings with his lawyer Varun Debideen. 

He is contending that Rule 296 (4) of the Prisons Rules which establishes the practice is unconstitutional as confidential communications between a person and his/her lawyer is an “inherent and fundamental right in a democratic and civilised society.” In response, Barrow’s lawyers have claimed the procedure was in the interest of institutional security and ensured the safety of not only inmates but legal advisers visiting inmates and prison staff.

They also claim that it is an essential element in preventing and in some cases intercepting prohibited items from being trafficked into prisons. Sookram, also known as ‘Beam,” is serving a life sentence for murdering Kerwin “Richie Rich” Hinds and Kerwyn “Ox” Cyrus. Both men were shot dead in a track near to their homes at Sawmill Avenue, Barataria, on July 28, 2004. Sookram was jointly charged with Keron Lopez for the crimes, with both men being convicted in March 2009. 

Their appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council were both dismissed with the latter opting to commute their death sentences to life imprisonment because of the length of time between their convictions and the exhaustion their appeals. Sookram is also being represented by Gerald Ramdeen. Barrow’s legal team is being led by Senior Counsel Deborah Peake. 

Questions have been raised over how two policemen accused of a combined total of 12 criminal charges, including bribery and grievous sexual assault, were released on bail before appearing in court.

Magistrate Gail Gonzales raised the issue yesterday as PC Adrian Jack and Special Reserve Police (SRP) Omari Gonsales appeared before her in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court to answer the charges. 

“I am shocked that bail was granted at the station. I am very concerned by this because these are very serious allegations,” Gonzales said as she revoked the duo’s $300,000 bail bonds, which were granted by a justice of the peace shortly after they were charged by detectives of the Professional Standards Bureau on Thursday night. 

She then granted Jack and Gonsales $500,000 and $300,000 bail, respectively. 

Gonzales’ decision meant that the officers’ relatives were forced to scramble to obtain the documents required to secure bail for a second time yesterday. And although they were able to do so by yesterday afternoon, the T&T Guardian understands that they were unsuccessful in obtaining approval from a clerk of the peace at the St Vincent Street courthouse. As a result, the two policemen will be forced to spend the weekend at the Port-of-Spain State Prison.  

It was also a difficult day for media personnel covering the case yesterday, as Gonzales cleared the court of all members of the public except for the policemen’s families before she read the charges—a process sometimes followed in cases of sexual offences to protect the identity of the victim. 

The policemen also received the sympathy of their colleagues, who formed a human barricade to block photographers, cameramen and curious onlookers from catching a glimpse of them as they were being transferred out of the court. 

Jack and Gonsales will reappear in court on April 9.

Jack, of Curepe, and Gonsales, of Laventille, are facing a total of 12 criminal charges arising out of an incident involving a female suspect which occurred last month. 

Both officers are jointly charged with kidnapping the woman, falsely imprisoning her and corruptly accepting $1,800 and $3,000 from her as a reward for not prosecuting her for marijuana possession. Jack is facing four additional charges for perverting the course of justice by dishonestly attempting to manipulate the outcome of an investigation, for soliciting a bribe from the victim and for committing indecent and grievous sexual assault on her. 

All the charges arose out of an incident on February 25 which started with the woman’s arrest during a road block exercise at Saddle Road, Maraval. The sexual assaults allegedly took place later in a police car along North Coast Road, Maracas. 

The officers, who were last assigned to the Maraval and Four Roads Police Stations, will be suspended by the T&T Police Service until their case is determined. 

A 29-year-old Special Reserve Police (SRP), accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl almost two dozen times in less than two years, was granted $350,000 bail yesterday. The SRP’s court appearance came less than three days after two of his co-workers from the Maraval Police Station were charged with 12 criminal charges, including bribery and grievous sexual assault. 

Atiba Thomas, of Tomato Drive, Diego Martin, was not called upon to plead to 11 charges of grievous sexual assault and 11 charges for having sex with a minor who is under the age of 14, after he appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar. Dressed in a brown shirt and black trousers, a stony-faced Thomas stood silently in the prisoner enclosure in Port-of-Spain Eighth Court as the charges were being read to him. Thomas spoke only to confirm his name, before deferring to his lawyer, Patrick Godson-Phillip, who applied for bail. 

Godson-Phillip pointed to Thomas’ clean criminal record as he asked Ayers-Caesar for “reasonable” bail. She acceded to his request after the bail application was not opposed by police prosecutors in court. As part of the conditions of his bail, Thomas was ordered to surrender his passport and to report to police twice a week for the duration of his case. He is also barred from coming within one mile of the child’s school and home. 

Because his home is located within the parameter set by Ayers-Caesar, she ordered him to move in with his uncle, who lives in La Horquetta, Arima. “You are prohibited from any form of communication with the victim, including via Whatsapp, Viber, Tango or any other form of social media. You are also prohibited from asking others to communicate with the victim,” the magistrate said. Thomas, who has served as an SRP for less than a year, is accused of assaulting the teenager at his home, which he shares with his common-law-wife and child. 

The attacks allegedly began on a unknown date in 2012, while the child was 12, and continued until July 19 last year, when she eventually reported the abuse to her parents. A report was made to acting Cpl Quincy Marcelle of the West End Police Station and after several months of investigation Thomas was arrested and charged last week. He will reappear in court on April 13.

Still no bail for Maraval cops

Meanwhile, Thomas’ colleagues — Adrian Jack and Omari Gonsales — are yet to access their bail for 12 criminal charges, including bribery and grievous sexual assault. Although Jack, a police constable, and Gonsales, an SRP, were granted $500,000 and $300,000 bail respectively when they appeared in court last Friday, their relatives were unable to secure approval for their bail bonds that evening. The T&T Guardian understands their relatives made a second attempt yesterday but were again unsuccessful. 

Jack and Gonsales will continue to be remanded at the Port-of-Spain State Prison until approval is granted by a clerk of the peace at the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court. Both officers are jointly charged with kidnapping a woman, falsely imprisoning her and corruptly accepting $1,800 and $3,000 from her as a reward for not prosecuting her for marijuana possession.

 Jack is facing four additional charges for perverting the course of justice by dishonestly attempting to manipulate the outcome of an investigation, for soliciting a bribe from the victim and for committing indecent and grievous sexual assault on her. All the charges arose out of an incident on February 25, which started with the woman’s arrest during a roadblock exercise at Saddle Road, Maraval. The sexual assaults allegedly took place later in a police car along North Coast Road, Maracas.

The project management company initially responsible for the controversial Las Alturas Housing Development was replaced shortly after it discovered structural issues which threatened to derail the project. 

This was revealed by Winston Riley, chairman of the company Planning Associates Ltd (PAL), as he continued his evidence in the commission of enquiry into the multi-million dollar housing development, at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)’s Henry Street, Port-of-Spain, headquarters yesterday. 

As he was being led through his evidence by lead counsel for the commission Pamela Elder, SC, Riley explained that although his company was hired by the State-owned Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott), it was informed that its services were no longer required by its successor Civil Engineering Management and Services (CEMAS). 

Referring to a letter between the two companies sent in January 2007, Riley described CEMAS’s dialogue with PAL as “an insult” as he thought such important communication should come from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), which had replaced Udecott as developers while the project was still in its planning stage. Riley also questioned whether a proper tendering process had been employed in selecting his company’s replacement. 

Riley was then cross-examined by CEMAS’s lawyer Emerson John-Charles, who questioned whether PAL had responded to his client’s request to provide all the material it had relevant to the project to the HDC. 

“If CEMAS was on the site they would have all the information,” a fiery Riley quipped before saying, “I suspect it was.”

Questioned by the HDC’s lawyer British Queen’s Counsel Vincent Nelson on how his company learnt that the project was being built on an active fault line, Riley admitted that PAL did not conduct an extensive geotechnical survey at the time. 

Instead, he said, his company discovered the issue of the shifting land from its own surveys and its experience on the site located off the Lady Young Road in Morvant. 

He added that while still involved in the project, PAL explored several options to address the problem. However, he said, a long-term and cost-effective solution could not be found. 

“We looked at four different foundation types but these were not feasible for low-cost housing,” Riley said.  

In his evidence on Monday, Riley said that PAL had informed Udecott of issues with contractor China Jiangsu International Corp T&T Ltd before it eventually signed a contract for the project. The Chinese firm has sent a pre-action protocol letter to the commission requesting that it be removed as a party to the proceedings. 

Commission chairman Mustapha Ibrahim and members Dr. Myron Wing-Sang Chin and Anthony Farrell were hoping to complete Riley’s evidence yesterday; however, their plans were hampered after lawyer for surveying firm Geotech Associates Ltd, Justin Phelps, indicated that he was not ready to proceed with his cross-examination. 

Phelps said he only recently received the documents and witness statements being considered by the commission and could not properly defend his client’s position without having some time to consider the evidence.

Phelps said, “It is unacceptable. I cannot carry on like this.” 

“Are you seeking leave to withdraw from these proceedings?” Ibrahim responded. 

Phelps said he would have to consult his clients before indicating his position to Ibrahim. 

As a result of Phelps’ request for additional time, Riley’s evidence has been put on hold until tomorrow.

The commission will resume this morning with the evidence of Dr Robert Ratay, an international forensic structural engineer who conduced several tests on the site which led to the eventual demolition of two of the buildings which were most affected by the unstable land.  

Caricom nationals who are homosexual are not barred from entering T&T, despite immigration laws to contrary. So said acting Chief Immigration Officer Gerry Downes as he gave evidence on Tuesday in a landmark Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) lawsuit brought by Jamaican gay rights activist Maurice Tomlinson, who is challenging this country and Belize’s anti-gay immigration laws.

While being questioned by Tomlinson’s lawyer Douglas Mendes, SC, at the CCJ headquarters, Henry Street, Port-of-Spain, the senior public servant explained that his department had formulated an unwritten policy to circumvent local legislation. “There are practical challenges in identifying a homosexual so we do not enquire as to sexual orientation,” Downes said. 

While he could not say when the policy was implemented or by whom, Downes said its existence was proved by the fact that there were no known cases in T&T’s post-Independence history where entry was denied to a visitor based on his or her sexual orientation. Mendes took issue with Downes’s claim as he suggested that the policy offered no protection to his client and others like him as it could be subject to change so long as the discriminatory legislation was still in existence. 

“This is a practice of dubious legal validity. If there is a policy why don’t you amend the law to remove the prohibition,” Mendes said in an obvious jab at parliamentarians. In response to Mendes’s questioning on the case of openly gay British singer Elton John, who had to obtain a special permit for his performance in Tobago in 2007, Downes said this rule only applied to non-Caricom nationals. 

Downes also dismissed Mendes’s criticism of a case involving a transgender woman from Belize, who experienced issues with immigration officials on a visit to T&T, as he said that was only because there were obvious differences between her and the picture in her passport. Belize’s Director of Immigration Maria Marin was present for Tuesday’s hearing and testified that her country had a similar policy as described by Downes.

As she referred to a case in 1998, when a cruise ship with approximately 700 gays came to Belize and all the individuals were allowed into the country, Marin said: “The policy is not to prosecute anyone because of their sexual orientation. The person would be allowed in. If they engage in homosexual activity for profit, then they are prosecuted.” Judgement has been reserved to a date to be announced.

The investigation into the alleged abduction and assault on a San Juan man at the hands of three police officers earlier this month is expected to be completed early next week. 

Police sources said two of the officers, a sergeant and a police constable, were pointed out by the victim, Garrison Augustus, during an identification parade held on Tuesday evening. 

The third, a constable, was also expected to be put on a similar parade on Tuesday but investigators were unable complete this exercise.

Once the last parade is completed lead investigator Insp Hollis Jacob, of the Santa Cruz Police Station, is expected to hand over his file of the incident to head of the North Eastern Division Senior Supt Radcliffe Boxhill. 

Boxhill will then consult Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, for instructions on what charges could be laid against the policemen. Police sources said investigators were already considering charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment and assault. 

According to reports, around 5 pm on March 3, Augustus was at his home on Hunt Street, San Juan, when he was kidnapped by the three policemen. Garrison claims he was taken to a secluded area where he was badly beaten. He claimed it stemmed from a dispute with one of the policemen over his ex-wife. 

The incident was first raised in the public domain when Augustus participated in several television interviews. 

Almost all the cases in High and Magistrates’ Courts in Port-of-Spain had to be postponed because of yesterday morning’s nationwide police roadblocks. Judges, magistrates, lawyers and even police officers were not immune from the situation as most had not arrived at the courts by the 9 am daily start. The few police officers of the Court and Process Branch who did manage to evade their colleagues actions were seen patrolling the corridors of both courts as they updated members of the public on the situation.  

Only two magistrates at the St Vincent Street courthouse had arrived for work by 10 am with both of them spending the rest of the morning adjourning cases. Among those affected was businessman Shaun Sammy, who was due to be sentenced for drunk driving. Sammy, the son of contractor Junior Sammy, was present in court for yesterday’s hearing but the case was adjourned to April 23.

The T&T Guardian understands that despite having police escorts at their disposal, prisoner transport services were also crippled by the action, preventing remand prisoners from being brought to the courts on time. People in police custody who were brought to court for their first court hearings were either returned to the police stations where they were charged or were forced to wait several hours as the handful of administrative staff present at the court processed their paperwork. 

The situation was not much different at the civil and criminal courts at the Hall of Justice, Knox Street, Port-of-Spain. Justice Malcolm Holdip was forced to adjourn the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman trial in the absence of the 12 accused men. The case is expected to resume tomorrow. Several civil judges who live in south Trinidad attempted to mitigate the situation by conducting their scheduled hearings in Port-of-Spain via video conferencing from courtrooms at the San Fernando High Court. 

Despite their efforts, they were still forced to adjourn their cases as lawyers were unable to attend either court. The situation is also said to have affected other courts acrosss the East West Corridor. This is the second time in less than a month that the police’s ongoing wage negotiations have crippled the courts. Similar scenes occurred when police, fire and prison officers engaged in a go slow on March 9.   

Five students of a Islamic school in Cunupia who were arrested over the weekend for terrorising residents of Munroe Road, have been granted a total of $750,000 bail. Abdul Aleem Mohammed and Zaheer Mohammed, both 18, and their three friends—ages 13, 16 and 17—who cannot be named as they are minors, were each granted $150,000 bail when they appeared before Magistrate Joan O’Connor in the Chaguanas Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

However, the teenagers’ relatives could not access bail for them by late yesterday afternoon and as such they were remanded to the Golden Grove State Prison and the Youth Training Centre (YTC), Arouca. As part of the conditions of their bail, O’Connor ordered them to report to police every Saturday and gave them each a 6.30 pm curfew. The five teens were slapped with charges for assault, common assault, possession of an imitation gun, unlawful possession of a walkie talkie and possession of dangerous weapons, knives and a taser. 

The teens, who are students of the Darul Uloom Islamic School, Cunupia, were arrested on Sunday when Cunupia police responded to a report. During their brief court appearance yesterday, their lawyer Fareed Ali claimed the two teens suffered physical and verbal abuse while in police custody. Ali said the 17-year-old was forced to take a “push-up” position before he was ‘planassed’ with a cutlass. He claimed the teen collapsed and was kicked several times in the face but still refused to talk to police. 

“He was placed in a push up position again for 15 minutes and told to not bend and again he refused to talk. It was then the officer stamped on the back of his head smashing his face against the terrazzo floor, causing him to suffer facial injuries and three broken teeth,” Ali said. O’Connor expressed shock over Ali’s claims but said she could do very little apart from making a note of the allegations. The teens will reappear in court on April 20.

A High Court judge levelled harsh criticism towards two doctors who engaged in a war of words over each other’s qualifications and professional conduct. Justice Frank Seepersad did so in the Port-of- Spain High Court as he ordered the former president of the Medical Council of T&T, Dr Steve Smith, to pay Professor Courtenay Bartholomew and his daughter, Maria, who is also a doctor, $200,000 in compensation for defamation which arose out of a series of exchanges in 2006.

Seepersad described the conflict between the two parties as unfortunate and unacceptable. “No one, no matter how qualified or distinguished ever attains the right to adopt a stance of moral superiority over members of his chosen profession,” Seepersad said.

While he criticised both parties actions, he said Smith’s statements “exceed the parameters of an acceptable response.” He also ruled the Bartholomews were not entitled to a large amount of damages as the family failed to prove Smith’s comments had a negative effect on their respective practices.

“There is also no evidence before this court that the claimants’ social interaction was adversely affected nor is there any evidence that the claimants’ distress and hurt affected their ability to discharge their professional obligations or that ​there was an impact upon their ability to engage socially or undertake public appearance,” Seepersad said in his tenpage decision.

The Bartholomews filed the lawsuit in 2010 as they alleged Smith’s statements, contained in two letters sent under the council’s letterhead between June and July 2006, attacked their professional reputations and integrity. The discourse between the two began when Smith allegedly criticised Maria’s academic qualifications, prompting the elder Bartholomew to respond.

Smith responded in two letters in which he alleged Bartholomew was suffering from a mental disorder. Bartholomew, who is credited for diagnosing the first case of AIDS in the Englishspeaking Caribbean, obtained a default judgment after Smith’s lawyers failed to meet the court’s deadline for filing his defence in the case. The Bartholomews were represented by Michael Quamina while Krishendath Neebar appeared for Smith.

Acting Prison Commissioner Sterling Stewart has been summoned to appear before a High Court Judge today to give information about the failure of remand prisoners to attend court. For the past three days, operations at the nation’s courts have been crippled by the non-attendance of prisoners. Justice Malcolm Holdip issued the summons in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday after he was forced to adjourn the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder trial for a third successive day because of the absence of some of the 12 accused men.

“This is the third day the courts are being denied the presence of prisoners. I should not comment on what is in the public but we have been effectively shut down. We all want to do our work,” a seemingly frustrated Holdip said. Monday’s adjournment has been attributed to gridlock caused by nationwide police roadblock exercises. However, there was no explanation for the absence of the dozen men on Tuesday nor for yesterday’s situation where only eight of the accused men were brought to court. 

Holdip said that he was informed that yesterday’s situation was caused by a shortage of prisons officers at the Port-of-Spain State Prison, who are responsible for handing over inmates to prisoner transport services officials to take to court. Besides the issue within the prisons, Holdip said he also observed that there was not a full complement of police officers from the Court and Process Branch yesterday at the Hall of Justice. 

As a result, Holdip also opted to summon Senior Supt Kenneth Cordner, the head of that unit, to account for the situation in the court. While Holdip said he was not allowed to speculate as to the reason behind the issues affecting both institutions, lead state prosecutor Israel Khan, SC, suggested that it was part of an industrial relations strategy by police and prisons officers, who are currently locked in wage negotiations with the Chief Personnel Officer. 

“It is no coincidence and common sense will tell us that this is some sort of industrial action being taken. The judiciary has come to a standstill. What do we do?” Khan said. Khan’s view was supported by defence attorney Wayne Sturge, who called upon Holdip to also summon the heads of the Police Service and Social Welfare Association and the Prison Officers Association. “This is clearly industrial action. It doesn’t take an ounce of common sense to know this. How come they are sick when negotiations are taking place?” Sturge said. 

Holdip did not agree with Sturge’s call for additional summons to be issued as he said the two senior national security officials identified by him were best placed to apprise the court.

Association response

Contacted to comment on the situation on Tuesday, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, Gerald Gordon, did not confirm or deny that the prisoner transport issue was caused by his membership. Although he denied that his members were engaged in work-to-rule action, he admitted that they were “peeved” by the state of the negotiations.

Chronic under-staffing within the T&T Police Service Court and Process Branch has been identified as a major factor affecting the efficency in transportation of prisoners to and from the nation’s court. The issue was raised by head of the department, Senior Supt Kenneth Cordner as he sought to give an explanation for the virtual shutdown of criminal courts in Port-of-Spain earlier this week because of the absence of remand prisoners. 

Cordner was summoned to court yesterday by the presiding judge in the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder trial, Malcolm Holdip, after he (Holdip) was forced to adjourn the high profile case over three consecutive days this week. As he was being questioned by Holdip, Cordner admitted that only 35 police officers were currently assigned to the Hall of Justice—half the complement required for guarding prisoners and the courtrooms at the Hall of Justice. 

He said that 24 officers were absent on Monday because of gridlock caused by nationwide roadblocks, with an average of ten missing work on Tuesday and Wednesday for various reasons including vacation, maternity and sick leave. “Because of this low strength it would not have been prudent in the interest of safety, to escort the prisoners as normal,” Cordner said. 

Despite admitting to the staff issues affecting his department, Cordner sought to divert blame to the Prison Service for the situation on Wednesday when four of the 12 men on trial before Holdip were not transfered from the Port-of-Spain State Prison. “It is out of our hands if prisoners are not handed over to us. We always arrive on time but we have no say when we reach the prisons,” Cordner said. 

Asked about what measures were being taken to rectify the situation, Cordner said the police service was currently engaged in a major recruitment drive. However, he admitted the process was tedious and time consuming. Holdip urged Cordner to find a temporary solution as he stated that this week’s delays had significantly impacted on all parties involved in the trial. “It is not like we got a day off. We have things planned and prepared and this just scrambles our day,” Holdip said.

A private medical institution and a specialist doctor have been ordered to pay over $18 million in compensation to former finance minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira for their alleged negligence leading to her husband’s death after a prostate operation in 2004.

Nunez-Tesheira yesterday won quite possibly the highest ever payout in a medical negligence case in T&T’s history at the conclusion of an over decade-long legal battle with Gulf View Medical Centre and anaesthesiologist Dr Crisen Roopchand. 

Although she scored the major legal victory after overcoming numerous hurdles, including the dismissal of the lawsuit at a preliminary stage, Nunez-Tesheira will have to wait some time before she can claim the significant sum, as both the institution and doctor have indicated their intention to appeal.

An emotional Nunez-Tesheira repeatedly broke down in tears, and had to be comforted by her two children, as High Court Judge Vasheist Kokaram read excerpts of his 91-page judgment in a small courtroom at the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain.  

Speaking afterwards, Nunez-Tesheira, currently a university lecturer, said her family was happy and relieved to finally get closure in the death of her husband, former Clico insurance executive Russell Tesheira. 

“There is just a sense of relief that this has come to an end. Although there is a possibility of an appeal, it is a happy day and I am going to enjoy it,” Nunez-Tesheira said.

In his analysis of the case, Kokaram identified Gulf View and Roopchand’s lawyers’ decision not to adduce their own evidence as a significant reason why their defence failed. He said as a result of the tactical manoeuvre, he was only able to assess the evidence of Nunez-Tesheira’s witnesses in determining the case, as lawyers for Gulf View and Roopchand were unable to discredit them. 

“Despite the rigorous cross-examination, their scientific knowledge was not questioned and they have sufficiently set out a reasonable body of medical opinion which suggests on a balance of probability that there was negligence on the part of both Gulf View and Dr Roopchand in the pre-operative and post-operative care of Mr Tesheira,” Kokaram said. 

As he left the court, an infuriated Roopchand criticised the judgment, as he suggested Kokaram over-stated the effect of the legal decision taken by Gulf View’s renowned British medical negligence lawyer Mary O’Rourke, QC, who opted to make a no-case submission at the end of a week-long trial in December last year. 

“Granted we chose to not say anything on the advice of our foreign attorneys, but this judge should seriously take a second look at this case,” Roopchand said in a brief interview before he was led away by his team of local lawyers.

As he spoke generally of the role of negligence lawsuits in ensuring proper medical care for patients, Kokaram acknowledged that doctors were expected to perform “superhuman procedures and miracles” even in risky situations. 

“Doctors faced with emergencies ordinarily will try their best to redeem the patient. However, they must, where it is within their power to do so, make reasonable attempts to prevent such emergencies from occurring in the first place,” Kokaram said, as he suggested his judgment should not serve as a mental impediment to doctors when called upon to make “life and death decisions” in the future.

Kokaram also criticised the defendants’ apparent lack of regret as shown by the allegedly “cold and unhelpful responses” Nunez-Tesheira received shortly after her husband’s death. 

Nunez-Tesheira was represented by Douglas Mendes, SC, Simon de la Bastide and Marcelle Ferdinand. Gulf View’s legal team included Anand Beharrylal and Winston Seenath, while Roger Kawalsingh and Ravi Mungalsingh appeared for Roopchand. 

About the Case

Insurance executive Russell Tesheira died at age 54 after undergoing an operation for transurethral resectioning of the prostate at the Gulf View Medical Centre on April 13, 2004. 

During the procedure an instrument is inserted into the patient’s urethra to remove the section of the prostate that is blocking urine flow. Two hours after the procedure, Tesheira was found to be bleeding excessively, prompting doctors to perform a secondary operation and emergency blood transfusion. Tesheira died on the operating table. 

Six years later his widow, Karen Nunez-Tesheira, filed the lawsuit claiming her husband died because the hospital and the two doctors who did the procedure—anaesthesiologist Dr Crisen Jendra Roopchand and urologist Dr Lester Goetz—were negligent. 

In 2011, Justice Vasheist Kokaram dismissed the lawsuit at a preliminary stage after Nunez-Tesheira failed to meet two successive deadlines he set for filing her evidence against the three parties. 

While appealing the decision, Nunez-Tesheira came to an agreement with Goetz which saw him being removed from the lawsuit. Nunez-Tesheira eventually won in the Court of Appeal and the lawsuit was reinstated. 

In assessing compensation for Tesheira’s family, Kokaram considered the salary and benefits he would have accrued if he had continued to work at Clico, where his last bonus before his death was almost $4 million. 

The effect of government’s bailout of the cash-strapped insurance giant in 2009 did not have much bearing on the assessment, as Kokaram said he would have attained retirement age by then. 

Twelve police officers have been arrested in connection with the alleged abuse of 22-year-old Ralph Lewis of Sangre Grande. The officers, who were arrested yesterday, will be placed on identification parades today at the Sangre Grande Police Station. When contacted yesterday, Lewis confirmed that he was called in by investigating officers to identify the officers who allegedly abused and burnt him while in custody on February 24.

Lewis, of Boys Town, Coronation Road, Sangre Grande, said he went into the district station after he learnt he was wanted in connection with house breaking and larceny. It was not until the next day, having been forced to stay at the station, that he was badly beaten and burnt. Lewis sustained burns to the genital area and his buttocks after he was doused with hot water, allegedly by a woman police officer while at the police station.

He also claimed that subsequent to the incident he was offered monetary bribes as much as $150,000, to drop all proceedings against the officers. Lewis’s incident was initially highlighted on the Crime Watch programme with host Ian Alleyne, on March 2, one week after the alleged incident took place. Once the identification parades are completed, investigators are expected to approach Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, for advice on possible charges. 

Police sources said one of the officers, an acting Inspector, was detained by detectives of the Professional Standards Bureau at his Sangre Grande home yesterday morning. Before the team of investigators could visit the homes of the others, a corporal and a constable, the men surrendered themselves at the Sangre Grande Police Station—where the incident occurred. Three officers who were present in the interrogation room when the incident of police brutality allegedly occurred, were taken to police stations in Port-of-Spain where they remained detained up to late yesterday.

The Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder trial resumed yesterday with a verbal battle between lead prosecutor Israel Khan, SC, and the state’s main witness Keon Gloster. 

Since Gloster decided to recant his evidence at the start of testimony last month, Khan has spent a considerable amount of time quizzing him on a series of statements he allegedly gave police in 2007 which implicated the 12 accused men on trial. 

Yesterday was no different, as Khan again focused on Gloster’s claim that he was threatened by police and forced to sign the statements. 

Khan: Did you sign the statement?

Gloster: The police force me. I was young and don’t know how to read. My uncle tell me not to sign anything. 

Khan: Did they put a gun to your head or a pen in your hand?

Gloster: No sir, a pen, but they still force me. 

Khan: What the police force you to say?

Gloster: To swear I see them (the accused) with the woman. 

Khan: Did you tell police you saw Vindra Naipaul-Coolman?

Gloster: I don’t know Vindra Naipaul-Coolman. Why are you asking me these questions?

As Khan pressed Gloster further using specific quotes from the statements, Gloster refused to answer and kept repeating his allegations. “I would have never said anything about them men,” Gloster said, as he pointed to the accused men who were seated in the prisoner enclosure of the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court. Although he said he could not remember the police officers, when Khan invited Insp Suzette Martin, the homicide detective who recorded his statements, into the court, Gloster identified her as one who had threatened him.   

In the light of Gloster’s claims against Martin and her colleagues, presiding Judge Malcolm Holdip has deemed him a hostile witness and has agreed to allow prosecutors to tender one of his statements into evidence. 

The statement in which Gloster claimed to be present when Naipaul-Coolman was killed and dismembered in a house in Upper La Puerta, Diego Martin, and her body parts buried in a desolate area of the hillside community was read to the 12-member jury, yesterday. Khan is currently attempting to have the rest of Gloster’s alleged statements entered into evidence. 

Naipaul-Coolman was abducted from her Lange Park, Chaguanas, home, on December 19, 2006. Prosecutors are contending that she was held captive in a house shared by three of the accused men before she was eventually killed. 

Her body has never been recovered by police.

Gloster’s testimony will resume this morning. 

MORE INFO

Who’s in court

The 12 men before the jury and Justice Malcolm Holdip are Allan “Scanny” Martin, twin brothers Shervon and Devon Peters and their older brother Anthony Dwayne Gloster, siblings Keida and Jamille Garcia, brothers Marlon and Earl Trimmingham, Ronald Armstrong, Antonio Charles, Joel Fraser and Lyndon James. A 13th man, Raphael Williams, was charged with the crime but died in prison in 2011 of complications arising from sickle cell anaemia.

Legal team

Their legal team includes Ulric Skerritt, Joseph Pantor, Selwyn Mohammed, Lennox Sankersingh, Ian Brooks, Wayne Sturge, Mario Merritt, Richard Valere, Kwesi Bekoe, Colin Selvon, Vince Charles, Christian Chandler, Delicia Helwig and Alexia Romero. The prosecution team includes Senior Counsel Israel Khan and Gilbert Peterson who are being assisted by senior state prosecutors Joy Balkaran and Kelly Thompson. ​

A British forensic expert is expected to testify in the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder trial in three weeks time. So said lead prosecutor Israel in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court yesterday at the conclusion of the last hearing of the case before the start of the Judiciary’s annual Easter holiday period. Although State prosecutors have not completed the testimony of their main witness Keon Gloster, Khan explained that the expert, Michael Molden, a retired United Kingdom crime scene investigator, was only available to come to Trinidad to testify between April 19 and 24. 

Khan said if Gloster did not complete his evidence between when the trial resumed on April 13 and when Molden arrived, his (Gloster) testimony would be put on hold to facilitate the foreign witness. Molden was assigned to the Special Anti-Crime Bureau of T&T (Sautt) when Naipaul-Coolman was abducted from her Chaguanas home on December 19, 2006. 

He supervised local police officers in collecting forensic evidence at the scene of the kidnapping as well as in Upper La Puerta, Diego Martin, the hillside community in west Trinidad where prosecutors contend the businesswoman was held captive before she was eventually killed and her body disposed of. Her body has never been found. 

Gloster, who was allegedly present when the former Xtra Foods chief executive was killed and dismembered, has repeatedly claimed he was coerced by police into signing a series of statements which implicated  the 12 accused men, most of whom are his relatives. Khan has spent the last month quizzing Gloster on his allegations and has since been granted permission by presiding judge Malcolm Holdip to have the main statement read to the 12-member jury. 

As with previous hearings, Khan spent most of yesterday in a verbal battle with Gloster, who has not wavered from his position. Khan is seeking to have Gloster deemed a hostile witness in relation to the other statements in a bid to have them tendered into evidence as done with the first. When the case resumes on April 13, Khan is expected to call two police officers, including lead investigator retired ACP Nadhir Khan who was present when Gloster allegedly identified each of the accused men. 

Who’s in court
The 12 men before the jury and Justice Malcolm Holdip are Allan “Scanny” Martin, twin brothers Shervon and Devon Peters and their older brother Anthony Dwayne Gloster, siblings Keida and Jamille Garcia, brothers Marlon and Earl Trimmingham, Ronald Armstrong, Antonio Charles, Joel Fraser and Lyndon James. A 13th man, Raphael Williams, was charged with the crime but died in prison in 2011 of complications from sickle-cell anaemia. 

Legal team
Their legal team includes Ulric Skerritt, Joseph Pantor, Selwyn Mohammed, Lennox Sankersingh, Ian Brooks, Wayne Sturge, Mario Merritt, Richard Valere, Kwesi Bekoe, Colin Selvon, Vince Charles, Christian Chandler, Delicia Helwig and Alexia Romero. The prosecution team includes Senior Counsel Israel Khan, Gilbert Peterson and Dana Seetahal, who are being assisted by senior state prosecutors Joy Balkaran and Kelly Thompson. 

Police are investigating the death of a 32-year-old man who drowned after jumping into waters outside the International Waterfront Centre at Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, on Thursday. 

According to reports, around 7.52 pm, limers at the seafront complex contacted police when they noticed the man behaving suspiciously as he walked along the edge of the embankment near to the five-star Hyatt Regency Hotel. 

Homicide detectives said the man spoke with two concerned onlookers before he jumped into the sea. Eyewitnesses did not dive in to save him because of choppy water and poor lighting conditions. 

Coast Guard officers and divers were dispatched and the man’s body was eventually recovered. Emergency Health Services (EHS) personnel were unable to resuscitate him after he was brought to shore around 9.30 pm. 

The man was later identified as Satyam Mahabir, of Cipero Road, Golconda. An autopsy will be performed at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Tuesday.  

Investigators believe that Mahabir may have committed suicide, as he was fully clothed and ignored several “No swimming” warning signs before he chose to dive in. 

Eyewitness interviewed by police said the man was incoherent and did not explain his reason for taking his life. 

“More than likely he had some underlying psychological issue or issues. We will only be able to confirm when we speak more with his family, but usually depression is not widely diagnosed,” a senior homicide detective said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Detectives of the Region One Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations. 

Easter Warning

Contacted yesterday, Coast Guard public relations officer Lt Commander Kirk Jean-Baptiste also issued a warning for all people spending the Easter weekend at the nation’s beaches. 

“We would like to remind people that at Easter the sea is particularly different from what you would know it as during the year. The sea is no place to play,” he said. 

He also warned people using small vessels to wear their life jackets at all times. 

“Please supervise all small children in any water facility, be it at the beach or river,” Jean-Baptiste said. 

Twelve police officers will appear in court next week to answer several criminal charges arising out of an incident in which a suspect was doused with hot water during an interrogation session at the Sangre Grande Police Station in February. 

When the 11 policemen and one woman police constable (WPC) appear in the Sangre Grande Magistrate Court on Tuesday morning, they will join a long list of police taken before court this year to answer criminal charges related to their on-duty exploits. 

The police officers have been in custody since they were arrested by detectives of the Professional Standards Bureau early last week. 

Police sources said investigators wrapped up their investigation on Thursday evening when the victim, Ralph Andre Lewis, participated in the last of a series of individual identification exercises carried out. 

Unlike the other identification parades, where Lewis allegedly fingered the officers from batches of decoys while standing behind a one-way mirror, Thursday’s procedure reportedly took place at a bar in Sangre Grande.

Under the lawful procedure, which is refered to as a “confrontation,” Lewis was taken to the bar and asked to identify the officer under investigation, who was disguised as a patron at the bar. This is usually employed in cases where the victim knew the suspect before the incident occurred. 

After it was completed, the officers, who were being detained at various police stations acrosss north Trinidad, were transfered from the Sangre Grande Police Station—their former base and the venue of Lewis’ alleged attack. 

Yesterday, investigators began processing paperwork required to facilitate their colleagues’ court appearance.   

The dozen officers, an acting inspector, a sergeant, an SRP sergeant, three acting corporals and six police constables (including the WPC), are facing charges which include assault occasioning actual bodily harm, beating by assault, misbehaviour in public office and perverting the course of justice. 

Each officer is to face varying quantities of charges depending on their role in the alleged attack. 

The charges reportedly do not include bribery offences related to Lewis’ claim that he was offered money to forego reporting the incident to police, as the alleged communication was done through third parties.

The officers will spend the rest of the long Easter weekend in custody, as they were not allowed to access station bail, which is sometimes offered to people charged with lesser criminal offences as well as high profile accused. 

“Even the ones who did not interfere with the man (Lewis) and just get one charge for failing to report the thing have to stay inside. They are being treated as common criminals,” a source close to one of the accused officers said in a brief interview yesterday.

Lewis, 22, of Coronation Road, Sangre Grande, who first appeared on the CrimeWatch programme with host Ian Alleyne on CNC3, claimed that on February 24 he went to the Sangre Grande Police Station after he learned he was wanted in connection with house breaking and larceny.

Lewis was detained overnight and was interrogated the following day. Lewis claims that after he repeatedly refused to confess to the crimes he was accused of committing, he was stripped naked, with one of the five officers questioning him heating water in a microwave before pouring it on his lower extremities. 

He sustained burns to the genital area and his buttocks and was hospitalised at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope for close to a week. 

He has indicated his intention to sue the State for compensation for the injuries he sustained. 

Rough time for service

The first three months of this year have been tough period for the T&T Police Service’s image, with several officers being charged with criminal offences against civilians. 

Most of the offences have been violent or sexual in nature, but several of the accused officers were also charged with taking bribes, with the exception of the most senior officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Peter Reyes, who is accused of civil aviation crimes.

The following is a list of the police who were charged this year and a synopsis of the crimes they are accused of committing-

January 5: Special Reserve Police (SRP) Tamika Phillip and Ronaldo Rajcoomar appeared in court for assaulting wheelchair-bound homeless man Robby Ramcharitar along High Street, San Fernando. They were charged after a short video clip of Rajcoomar repeatedly slapping Ramcharitar was circulated on social media websites. 

January 10: Sgt Dane Sorzano, a police court prosecutor, appeared in court for raping a teenager from Fyzabad on three occasions between 2010 and December, last year. He was already facing a separate charge for raping another woman in 2011. 

January 30: ACP Peter Reyes appeared charged with three offences under the Civil Aviation Act for endangering the lives of passengers and crew members on a Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) aircraft by refusing to switch off his cellphone. The incident took place at the Piarco International Airport on a domestic flight to Tobago, where Reyes was due to start duties as head of the Tobago Division. 

March 13: PCs Adrian Jack and Omari Gonsales were slapped with 12 criminal offences, including bribery and grievous sexual assault. Charges arose out of an incident on February 25, in which they allegedly solicited several bribes from a woman who they arrested for marijuana possession. 

March 17: SRP Atiba Thomas, of Diego Martin, charged with 22 offences for having sex with a minor and for grievous sexual assault. Thomas is alleged to have attacked the 12-year-old girl 11 times between 2012 and last year. 

Three more police officers could join this list by the end of next week, as investigators work to complete a investigation into the assault of a San Juan man last month. The victim, Garrison Augustus, was allegedly abducted by the officers from his Hunt Street home and taken to a desolate area where he was beaten. He claimed it stemmed from a dispute with one of the policemen over his ex-wife.  Despite being identified by Augustus two weeks ago, the suspected officers are yet to detained and charged by investigators. Police sources said the investigation will be concluded early next week.​

Five police sergeants have lost their bid to secure compensation for an administrative error which they claimed led to them being bypassed for elevation to the rank of inspector. 

In a judgment delivered in the Port-of-Spain High Court, Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh said although the officers were affected by the error in the promotion procedure, they were not entitled to compensation because even if the error had not occurred they still would not have been eligible for promotion at that time.

“Sympathy for the officers adversely affected cannot lead the court to create remedies which cannot be justified in law or on the basis of evidence,” Boodoosingh said.  

The five sergeants Sherma James, Lucian Ferguson, Arnold Lutchman, Mathew Andrews and Auldric Neptune were relying on a 2013 lawsuit brought by a group of 18 officers who had filed a similar suit. 

In that case the court had ruled that the Police Service’s Promotion Advisory Board had failed to consider its own departmental order when it compiled a merit list for promotions in 2012 from which 51 officers were promoted. 

The order granted prospective candidates maximum points in the examination component of the process once they had passed an English Language qualification exam and possessed sufficient CXC/GCE exam grades and/or a university degree. 

No compensation was awarded in that case either; however, those affected officers were placed high on a revised list prepared following the judgment and were eventually promoted. 

“Nonetheless, it is hoped that all of the interested parties appreciate better now the value of appropriate consultation and reform to ensure that a proper system of assessment is followed in the future if only to avoid the disappointment and anguish that many police officers must have felt by what took place,” Boodoosingh said. 

Boodoosingh also commended acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams for the interim measures he took to alleviate the situation including granting the affected officers acting appointments and promoting them on the basis of the revised list when vacancies opened. 

“It is really a matter for the Government to decide if and when an increase to the organisational structure of the police service is feasible and warranted,” Boodoosingh said, as he acknowledged that there was a limit to the officers Williams was allowed to promote each year. 

The officers were represented by former Police Service Commission chairman Nizam Mohammed and attorneys Kenneth Thompson, Cedric Neptune and Khadeen Bocas. Gerald Ramdeen, Lemuel Murphy and Shankar Bidaisee represented the State.  

Inspector Wellington of the St Joseph Police Station is continuing investigations. 

Triple murder accused Azmon Alexander is seeking permission from prison authorities to attend his mother's funeral.

Alexander's mother, Mary, suffered a heart attack at her Arima home on Sunday night. She was warded at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, for almost 24 hours before she died on Monday. 

In a telephone interview yesterday, Alexander’s lawyer Fareed Ali said he was awaiting a death certificate from his client’s family before making an official request to acting Prisons Commissioner Sterling Stewart. 

While Ali admitted that Alexander’s request was not guaranteed in law, he said there was no reason why it should be refused as a similar courtesy had been afforded to other murder accused prisoners in the past. 

“The prison service regulations has a policy inspired by practice through the years. This will be accommodated by prison security measures being put in place, as has been done in the past,” Ali said. 

He said if Alexander’s attendance could not be facilitated, a brief closed-door visit to a funeral home to view his mother's body would suffice. 

“He (Alexander) should be treated no different,” Ali said as he referred to the cases of murder accused Aaron De Souza, who was allowed to attend his grandmother’s funeral, and Barry Alphonso, who was allowed to view his 11-year-old son’s body after he was murdered in 2012. 

In Alphonso’s case, he had to seek an order from a High Court Judge after prison authorities refused his initial request. 

Funeral arrangements for Alexander’s mother are yet to be finalised as family members are awaiting his approval before a date is set. 

Alexander and his 17-year-old relative face a combined total of 64 charges related to the disappearance of five members of a Brasso Seco family last year. 

On October 26, Irma Rampersad, 49; her two daughters Felicia, 17, and Jannelle Gonzales, 19; Jannelle’s 14-month old baby Shania Amoroso; and their next door neighbour Felix Martinez, 52, were reported missing. 

After days of consecutive searches by police and soldiers, Martinez’s body was found on November 8. 

Three days later police found Rampersad and Amoroso’s bodies in a duffle bag in a forested area in the community. On November 15, police rescued the sisters from a make-shift camp which they stumbled upon while searching deep in the forest. 

Alexander’s relative, who cannot be named as he is a minor, surrendered to police that day, while Alexander was captured at Lennox Yearwood Boulevard, Malabar, a week later. 

Their preliminary inquiry in the Arima Magistrates Court resumes on May 19.