No wake

The situation of observing No Wake zones around San Pedro town is being addressed by municipal authorities.  Love TV’s Maria Novelo reports. 

Indian Ambassador

He has been the Indian Ambassador to Mexico and Belize for the past three years and his term of office is coming to a close. Today Indian Ambassador, Denish K. Jain, left on his farewell visit to Belize in his official capacity. Before he did, however, the Ambassador sat down with Love News’ Marion Ali, during which he explained the many strands of diplomatic achievements, including the closer connections between our two countries.

Ambassador Jain left a parting message for his Indian compatriots in Belize and to all Belizeans on a whole.

India spends one billion each year to assist developing countries like Belize in areas of technical cooperation.

World Telecom Day

World Telecommunications and Information Society Day is being celebrated today by all countries that are members of the international telecommunications Union, a United Nations based organization. In Belize, Belize Telemedia Limited is celebrating with the theme Women and girls in ICT, during a brief ceremony this morning, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at Belize Telemedia Limited, Nestor Vasquez, explained what the day is all about and emphasized the importance of this year’s theme.

According to Vasquez, Information and Communication technology is used in television, internet and mobile phones which also allows for mobile banking and today Atlantic Bank is joining BTL in providing mobile banking to its customers.  Guest speaker during the ceremony was Process and Quality Manager for Atlantic Bank Limited, Claudia Lopez.  The Chief Executive officer in the Ministry of Energy Science and Technology and Public Utilities Dr. Colin Young, reiterated the importance of women in ICT during the keynote address this morning.

The winners of the ICT essay competition were announced and  included two students at the tertiary level and one from the secondary level.  Executive Chairman Nestor Vasquez and CEO Dr. Colin Young proceeded to cut the ribbon and officially open the exhibit in the King’s Room of the Princess Hotel where information on the different sections of BTL will be displayed throughout the day to students and others alike.

CARILED launched

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum meet came to a close last night at the Princess Hotel.  An official closing was held in which speeches were delivered by a representative of the Canadian International Development Agency. CIDA is funding the CARILED project to the tune of twenty three point two million US dollars.  The project was launched by the patron of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamela Persad-Bissessar.  She said that the only path to recovery from the global financial crisis in the region is to focus on sustainable economic growth and development.  And she outlined how that should be done.

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar also announced that her country is deeply investing in CARILED, since the project will be headquartered in the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Persad-Bissessar also outlined another program that is being implemented in Trinidad and Tobago which she says might be of great benefit to CARILED.

According to the Prime Minister, partnership with CARILED will complement the regional planning program and aid in restitution of its activities and she looks forward for this collaboration.  After the closing ceremony, everyone enjoyed a reception at the Calypso Restaurant at the Princess Hotel.  The Board is meeting today at the Princess after which a statement will be given to the press in relation to their meet this afternoon.

MARK KING

Last week attorneys for the appellants and respondents in the election petition application against the UDP’s Lake Independence Area Representative, Mark King, argued on whether or not Mark King violated the law when he did not declare a purported contract that his firm has with the government of Belize. The appellant, Martin Galvez, who lost the elections to King, and his attorney, Senior Counsle Lisa Shoman, claim that King ought to have made a public declaration. King’s attorney, on the other hand, Senior Counsel Denys Barrow, said that there are various types of contracts and the law is specific on those which require public declaration. Today, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin handed down his ruling, and it was in favour of Barrow and King. Shoman, who spoke with reporters first said she saw things differently.

Senior Counsel, Denys Barrow, was confident that he had the better argument.

King himself has been silent throughout the hearings, but today he broke that silence.  And while he did not admit that his security firm does have a contract with the government, he said the firm provides security services to quote … “a lot of people”.

Martin Galvez, in the meantime, is weighing his options of taking the matter to the Court of Appeal.

Smith death

The slick road conditions are thought to be the cause of Wednesday’s tragic road accident at mile forty-four on the Western Highway which claimed four lives.  The small GEO Prizm car with the four casualties was heading towards Belmopan when its driver, forty-five year old school counselor, Karen Tillett Castillo, lost control and slammed into an oncoming Isuzu Rodeo.  One of the persons who perished was forty-five year old Arthur Smith, also known as “Smiggit”, a well-known bus driver who catered to mostly chartered trips out of Belize City.  In retrospect, Smith’s sister, Harriet Smith, told Love News that she never imagined that her brother would be killed the way he was.

Smith was accompanying his thirteen year old daughter, Alicia Smith, her mother, Karen Tillett Castillo and her mother, sixty-eight year old Nicholasia Tillett.  All four perished in the crash.  Another family member, school teacher, twenty-eight year old Monique Robinson was the sole survivor in the Geo Prizm car.

The Crime Beat

Police have conducted an operation at the home of thirty six year old businessman Brian Brown.  The search, which was carried out on Wednesday morning, led  to the discovery of several Ziploc plastic bags containing compressed cannabis, several small plastic bags containing suspected crack cocaine and a bullet proof vest.  According to the police press officer, no one was at home at the time of the search. All drugs were weighed amounting to 1,124 grams of Crack Cocaine and 762 grams of cannabis. They were all sealed and labeled as exhibit in the presence of a Justice of Peace.

KEITH WILLIAMS

25-year-old Keith Williams, a security guard who was charged with robbery and kept firearm without a gun licence was sentenced to seven years today after he was found guilty of the charges.  Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser who imposed the sentences stipulated that the sentences are to run concurrently so Williams will only serve five years.  The incident occurred around 2 a.m. on December 26, 2011 at Good Fortune Restaurant and Bar located on Newtown Barracks.  The complainant, businesswoman Xin Ye Zhang testified that she was about to close when three men entered and one of them of them held her up at gunpoint.  She said they stole her Nokia cellular phone that has a value of $1,000.00.  She said the men also made off with $700.00 and $500.00 worth of phone cards.  She identified Williams as the person who was taking the money off the counter and giving it to a man who was at the door.  In a statement he gave from the dock Williams said he went to Queen Street Police Station to make a report of a robbery and the point 25 pistol the Police found in his pocket was one he took from the robber during a struggle.  After Williams reported the alleged robber the Police took him to Good Fortune Restaurant and Zhang identified him as one of the persons who robbed her.  Williams then took the Police to his house and handed over some dollar coins which he said was his share of the proceeds from the robbery.  A second man, Brasel Gordon was charged jointly with Williams for robbery but he did not have a case to answer because the witness who identified him did not appear to testify.

And while that 2011 case has ended with a conviction; tonight there is another incident involving the very same business establishment.  Forty nine year old Yun Sing He reported to police that on Wednesday night he was inside the Good Fortune Restaurant along with his employees when four men entered, one of whom was brandishing a firearm. One of the men reportedly took Yun Sing He into the kitchen and robbed him of his wallet containing $2,300.00b in cash and two cheques with a combined value of five thousand and seventy five dollars; whilst another went to the cash drawer and helped themselves to six hundred dollars, along with personal documents belonging to the employees.  All four men then exited and made good their escape. Police investigation continues.

Police Department

The alleged forgery of Fuel Orders has been reported at the Immigration Department.  Finance Officer Teresita Castellanos conducted an audit at the end of April based on information that the signature of the Deputy Director was being forged.  Castellanos told police that during her audit a fuel order book could not be located, despite extensive searches.  When a reconciliation of fuel bills for the Immigration Department was done, it showed that the same serial numbers on the missing fuel order books were used on fuel orders tendered at gas stations to obtain fuel. A further examination of the tendered fuel orders allegedly shows that the signature of the deputy director is a forgery. After the internal investigation at the Immigration Department, the matter has now been turned over to the police who are carrying out a criminal investigation.

Local Government Forum meets

Representatives of Local government bodies from across the Caribbean and the Commonwealth are meeting this week at the Princess Hotel in Belize City. Over two hundred delegates are attending various interrelated meetings. At the launch of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum meetings this morning, Belize’s Minister of Local Government Senator Godwin Hulse said that local government is an important sector in a functional democracy.

A highlight of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum meetings is the launch of a six year program funded by Canada, which is designed to assist municipal and village councils to forge a closer working relationship with Central Government while at the same time enhancing their own economic development. Chairperson of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum Zenaida Moya Flowers, in her presentation at the opening outlined various initiatives which the Belize City Council under her administration undertook as a collaborative venture with the business community to establish. Moya told her colleagues that it is this kind of partnership that will ultimately make or break any local government relationship with its constituents and is a key component of the Cardiff Consensus reached last year.

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum is being held under the theme: Strategies for local economic development in the Caribbean.  The twenty three million US dollars CARILEC project will be formally launched this afternoon by the patron of the Forum, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamela Persad-Bissessar.  Chairman of the Caribbean Forum of Local Government Ministers Noel Arscott of Jamaica in his presentation this morning, expressed the region’s appreciation for Canada’s help with the CARILEC project.

Arscott who is the Minister of Local Government for Jamaica says that the CARILEC project comes at a crucial time, when the region is moving to enhance the functional role that Local Government entities in the democratic systems that aid in the development of the peoples of the region.  Also during this week’s series of meetings, the board of directors of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum will begin the process of identifying a successor to the current chairperson Zenaida Moya, who has another twelve months in her leadership of the forum.

JUSTICE SAMUEL AWICH

The other appointment is that of Justice Samuel Langole Awich to the Belize Court of Appeals.  Like Pitts, Awich today took the oath of office at Belize House in Belmopan.   Awich’s elevation to the high court was announced last month, even though there were opposition to the appointment expressed by the Belize Bar Association and the opposition People’s United Party.

BERNARD Q. PITTS

There are two new government appointments to report tonight; but the details are woefully lacking.  The Government press office has provided photographs with captioning that says that former Attorney General Bernard Q. Pitts was appointed as the new chairman of the Election and Boundaries Commission. Pitts succeeds Alberto August, who announced his resignation from the post following the March seventh general elections.  B.Q. Pitts took the oath of office today at Belize House in Belmopan.

JOHN A. SMITH

News has been received of the death of the former leader of the People’s United Party John Smith. According to information received, Smith, who was ninety three years old, died in the United States in the company of his wife and children. John A. Smith was a founding member of the PUP in 1950 and served as its first leader. Prior to his leadership of the PUP in 1950, Smith served as a member of the Belize City Council from 1944 to 1955 including as Mayor from 1947 to 1950. John Smith was a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1948 to 1954 and the founder of the People’s Committee in 1948, a precursor to the PUP which was formed two years later. John Smith was also a member of the General Workers Union and served as its Vice-President. Even though he lived in the United States observers say John Smith truly loved Belize and was always proud to say he was a Belizean. He has passed this love for Belize on to his children. Funeral Services for the late John A. Smith will be held on Saturday, May nineteenth in the US. He leaves to mourn his wife of sixty five years Consuelo Smith nee Riverol, four daughters and many other relatives and friends both in Belize and the United States.

Brian Smith

35-year-old Brian Smith was found not guilty of rape yesterday in the court of Justice Herbert Lord.  The jury of six men and three women deliberated for about two hours and 15 minutes before it arrived at its verdict.  The incident occurred on February 19, 2011 at Smith’s home.  The complainant, a 17-year-old student, testified that she met Smith when she went to stay at her father’s house for the weekend.  She said Smith who was a close friend of her father gave her 50 cents to buy noodles and when she was returning from the shop, Smith called her from his yard and told her he wanted to see her.  She said Smith closed the door and pushed her down on the bed and forcibly had sex with her.  Smith testified and admitted he had sex with the girl but said it was with her consent.  Smith was represented by attorney Brian Neal.  It was Neal’s first case at the Supreme Court since he was admitted to the Bar about four months ago.  Crown Counsel Talia Meighan Francis represented the prosecution.

Guatemalan busted

A twenty one year old Guatemalan national has pleaded guilty to the charge of kept firearm without a license.  Leonel Boteo Ralda was captured in Santa Elena town on Monday night after initially running away from officers who were conducting a search of an area on Joseph Andres Drive in San Ignacio town.  Ralda was wanted for questioning in connection with a burglary report made by a Canadian businessman from Santa Elena town. When police eventually caught up with Ralda and searched a bag he was carrying, they found a Glock 9millimeter pistol with an empty magazine.  The firearm was found to be the property of Alian Langlois.  On Tuesday, May fifteenth, Walter Ralda was arraigned in the San Ignacio Town Magistrate’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to the charge of Kept Firearm Without a Gun License. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.  Ralda was also arraigned for the charge of Handling Stolen Goods; but he pleaded not guilty to this charge.  That case has been adjourned until August sixth.

Matura gunned down

The Crime Wave continues to plague Belize City as another youth fall victim to gun violence. Love TV’s Natalie Novelo, with assistance from video journalists Brian Castillo and Myles Gillett covered the crime beat today and brings you the following reports. 

Fatal Western Highway crash

The Western Highway has again claimed multiple lives in a single deadly traffic accident. It happened near Cotton Tree village in the Cayo district early this morning.  Love TV’s Marion Ali and video journalist Brian Castillo went to the scene and bring you the following report, which we advise contains horrific pictures.

Two persons remain hospitalized, including the sole survivor of the Geo Prism car Monique Robinson and an as yet unnamed passenger in the Isuzu Rodeo. As Marion mentioned in her report, the driver of the Rodeo Corrine Abcock also survived the horrific crash.