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Piarco Airport Corruption Inquiry *LINK*

By Francis Joseph, www.newsday.co.tt

CHIEF MAGISTRATE Sherman Mc Nicolls yesterday blocked lead prosecutor Karl Hudson-Phillips QC from making an unprecedented opening statement in a preliminary inquiry against the eight defendants. "Your assistance is commendable, but the well-established procedure in a preliminary inquiry is not for an opening address," McNicolls told Hudson-Phillips. The preliminary inquiry finally started yesterday after a delay of almost a year which saw the defence going to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on the issue of disclosure.

Eight persons and three companies are charged with a total of 21 offences relating to the new Terminal Development Project at Piarco Airport. They are former Government Ministers Brian Kuei Tung and Russell Huggins; Ish Galbaransingh, CEO of Northern Construction Limited (NCL); Amrith Maharaj, financial comptroller of NCL; John Henry Smith, CEO of Maritime General Insurance Company; Steve Ferguson, chairman of Maritime Group of Companies; Barbara Gomes, company secretary; businesswoman Renee Pierre; Maritime General Insurance Company; NCL and Fidelity Insurance and Leasing Company Limited.

As Hudson-Phillips was about to make his statement, the defence, through Frank Solomon SC, objected. Hudson-Phillips, who is also an ICC judge, informed McNicolls, sitting in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Magistrate' Court that in such a complex fraud matter, "not only is the prosecution over generous with particulars, everything must be done to illuminate what the matter is all about." Solomon pointed out that what Hudson-Phillips was trying to do was without precedent.

He said this was a departure from the normal practice "and it seeks to extract from the analogy of a trial on indictment and to try and influence or direct the court in its favour." Solomon said there would be serious objections to a lot of the documentation which the prosecution planned to tender in court. "There will be scrupulous application to the rules of evidence to each document," he warned. Solomon said on an indictment, the prosecution has before the court depositions, and where there is doubt about any matter, no mention is made of that piece of evidence. Defence attorney told the court that no one could find any precedent of a prosecutor making an opening address at a preliminary inquiry.

Hudson-Phillips said what he was seeking to do was for the benefit of the court. He accepted that it is a preliminary inquiry and not a trial. He said evidence in this case was unprecedented in the history of Trinidad and Tobago. "This is not the ordinary run of the mill case," the lead prosecutor told the Chief Magistrate. "It is not my intention to try to submit documents. If the court does not wish assistance, I have no problem. It makes my task easier. I will not have to tell the accused up front what we are alleging." But Hudson-Phillip' generosity did not find favour with the Chief Magistrate and the first witness for the prosecution was called. PC Krishenlal Nanan of the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau, was called to the witness box. No sooner had Nanan started his evidence, the defence objected, saying they had not received copies of documents which the prosecution was seeking to tender into evidence.

After the matter was stood down for 15 minutes, the inquiry resumed with PC Nanan continuing with his evidence-in-chief. All was well as the defence had no objection to the documents going into evidence. When the adjournment was taken, the policeman was still in the witness box. Hearing resumes at 9.30 am today.

Trinidad and Tobago News

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