Trinidad and Tobago Bulletin Board
Homepage | Weblog | Trinbago Pan | Trinicenter | TriniView | Photo Gallery | Forums

View Trinidad and TobagoTriniSoca.comTriniView.comTrinbagoPan.com

Trinidad and Tobago News Forum

Ex-minister in court on corruption charges
In Response To: Dhansook wants protection ()

$600,000 bail for Williams

By FRANCIS JOSEPH

ERIC WILLIAMS stood in the dock, his face drawn, and stared directly at the magistrate as seven corruption charges were read to him. He did not smile, nor did he budge except when he was invited to take his seat on the bench in the dock.

Williams, who held the senior Cabinet post of Minister of Energy in the Patrick Manning administration, was before Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Magistrates’ Court on seven charges of accepting $75,000 in bribes to PNM Councillor Dansam Dhansook in 2003.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson had given directions last Friday for Williams to be charged. On Saturday, Justice of the Peace Ackbar Khan endorsed bail on the warrants in the sum of $350,000 to cover the seven charges.

However, Williams was not arrested nor did he surrender to the Fraud Squad over the weekend. He turned up at the Fraud Squad shortly after eight o’clock yesterday morning and surrendered to the investigator, Supt Glenroy Woodley.

One of his attorneys, Rajiv Persad, was also at the police station. The Member of Parliament for Port-of-Spain South was then processed and escorted to the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court shortly after 9.30 am.

It was not until 10.27 am that Williams was brought into the court.

Dressed in a black suit, Williams stood before Lee Kim who read the seven indictable charges to him. Williams, who resigned his Cabinet post in the wake of the charges, stood still, sometimes breaking the solemnity of the occasion by chewing.

Desmond Allum SC, who appeared for Williams, told the magistrate that bail had been set on the warrants.

The police prosecutor said he had been informed by the Office of the DPP that a Senior Counsel will be appointed to prosecute the case.

Lee Kim spent a few moments looking over the documents before she informed the accused that she was resetting bail. She then fixed bail in the sum of $600,000 to cover all seven charges. The matter was then adjourned to January 19.

The hearing was over in eight minutes.

Williams, whose late father Augustus Williams was a former mayor of Port-of-Spain, was then escorted to the holding bay of the courthouse while his bail documents were being processed.

But the wait for freedom was long. It was not until 1.20 pm that Williams emerged from the courthouse with his mother Edris and brother Ernest.

His spirits were lifted when he walked out and saw some of his constituents on the pavement on St Vincent Street.

These constituents, mostly women, were very vocal in the midday sun. They made noise, they chanted, they were critical of those not perceived to be PNM members. They were very harsh on a court regular who was supportive of the Opposition UNC.

This made the wait for Williams somewhat exciting with the exchange of words. But Williams’ presence caused the supporters to rush to touch their Member of Parliament who managed a smile and a wave to those who were present.

Williams said nothing and was rushed into his car which was driven by his brother Ernest.

While there were constituents outside the court, there were not many political colleagues present to support Williams.

Among them were Deputy Port-of-Spain Mayor Rishi Lakhan and councillors Cynthia Piper and Wendell Stephens.

THE CHARGES

Eric Williams, former minister of energy, and Member of Parliament for Port-of-Spain South:

1) On a day unknown between January 1, 2003 and February 3, 2003, at St James, being a Minister of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, a public office, did misconduct himself in the said office by corruptly accepting from Dansam Dhansook, $15,000 cash, as a reward for having secured for Dhansook a contract to supply labour, security, and transport to Terra Seis Trinidad Ltd, a company engaged in seismic surveys in Trinidad and Tobago, contrary to common law.

2) On a day unknown between February 4, 2003 and March 4, 2003, at St James, being a Minister of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, a public office, did misconduct himself in the said office by corruptly accepting from Dansam Dhansook $10,000 cash, as a reward for having secured for Dhansook a contract to supply labour, security and transport to Terra Seis Trinidad Ltd, a company engaged in seismic surveys in Trinidad and Tobago, contrary to common law.

3) On a day unknown between March 4, 2003, and March 31, 2003 at St James, being a Minister of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, a public office, did misconduct himself in the said office by corruptly accepting from Dansam Dhansook $10,000 cash, as a reward for having secured for Dhansook a contract to supply labour, security and transport to Terra Seis Trinidad Ltd, a company engaged in seismic surveys in Trinidad and Tobago, contrary to common law.

4) On a day unknown between April 1, 2003 and May 5, 2003, at St James, being a Minister of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, a public office, did misconduct himself in the said office by corruptly accepting from Dansam Dhansook $10,000 cash as a reward for having secured for the said Dhansook a contract to supply labour, security, and transport to Terra Seis Trinidad Ltd, a company engaged in seismic surveys in Trinidad and Tobago, contrary to common law.

5) On a day unknown between May 6, 2003 and May 31, 2003, at St James, being a Minister of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, a public office, did misconduct himself in the said office by corruptly accepting from Dansam Dhansook $10,000 cash as a reward for having secured for the said Dhansook a contract to supply labour, security, and transport to Terra Seis Trinidad Ltd, a company engaged in seismic surveys in Trinidad and Tobago, contrary to common law.

6) On a day unknown between June 1, 2003 and June 30, 2003 at St James, being a Minister of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, a public office, did misconduct himself in the said office by corruptly accepting from Dansam Dhansook $10,000 cash as a reward for having secured for the said Dhansook a contract to supply labour, security and transport to Terra Seis Trinidad Ltd, a company engaged in seismic surveys in Trinidad and Tobago, contrary to common law.

7) On a day unknown between July 1, 2003 and July 31, 2003 at St James, being a Minister of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, a public office, did misconduct himself in the said office by corruptly accepting from Dansam Dhansook $10,000 cash as a reward for having secured for the said Dhansook a contract to supply labour, security and transport to Terra Seis Trinidad Ltd, a company engaged in seismic surveys in Trinidad and Tobago, contrary to common law.

http://www.newsday.co.tt/stories.php?article_id=32354

Messages In This Thread

Dhansook wants protection
Ex-minister in court on corruption charges
Trinidad and Tobago News

NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Copyright © TrinidadandTobagoNews.com