PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Retired Appeal Court judge Stanley John, Saturday, assured Trinidad and Tobago that the “chips will fall where they may” as he heads an investigation into a missing file that resulted in the state having to pay an estimated TT$20 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16) to nine acquitted of murdering a businesswoman in 2016.
John said he is aware that citizens are “justifiably appalled and outraged” at the outcome of the civil action brought by the nine men, who were freed of charges of kidnapping and murder of the 52-year-old businesswoman, Vindra Naipaul-Coolman.
“Please know that this investigation I lead is interested in one thing and one thing only. That is to say uncovering and reporting within our terms of reference the truth about how the default judgment came to be entered and damages awarded against the state,” John said in a broadcast on the state-owned Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT).
John disclosed the nine-point terms of reference that include reporting in “writing to the Director of Public Prosecutions, any facts, circumstances or evidence, which in the opinion of the investigating team may give rise to, show or establish, the commission of any criminal or fraudulent act contrary to the laws of Trinidad and Tobago relating to the management and conduct of this matter.”
Last week, John was appointed as the lead investigator into the matter as the state seeks to determine how it could not file a defense in a case in which it was ordered to compensate the nine men TT$2.1 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) each.
Last week, Attorney General Reginald Armour told a news conference that a necessary file that would have alerted the Office of the Attorney General to the matter “had disappeared” even though the relevant department had received it.
But on Monday, John announced he had been informed later that evening by the acting Solicitor General “that the file in question” had been handed over to her, adding that he “immediately instructed that the Solicitor General (Ag) secure that file for collection by the Investigative Team, the re-appearance of this file forms part of this continuing investigation.”
John said in carrying out the investigation, the three-member team will do so “fearlessly, but relatively, expeditiously but carefully, objectively and impartially and with scrupulous regard for the requirements of natural justice and the rule of law.
“Our foremost priority within our terms of reference is to trace and assist how this matter went from claim to default judgment to the award of TT$20 million in damages against the state,” he said, adding, “while we shall undertake this investigation with the utmost care and exhaustiveness, given the gravity of it, we shall aim to present our first exhaustive report to the Honourable Attorney General no later than March 31, 2023.
“We say let the chips fall where they may,” John said, noting that while the ire of the nation has “understandably been inflamed by this matter, I respectfully urge the general public to withhold judgment until the investigation is completed.”
He defended the decision not to take questions from the media on the matter, saying that in the interest of transparency, there will be an opportunity to field questions from the press.
“However, that time is not now. The investigative team must be allowed to gather information and deliberate on its findings before addressing the many questions that the public, through the media, must have”
He said that would be best supported “by relevant information,” adding, “I, therefore, commit to fielding these questions at the appropriate time in the process that would allow me to respond without prejudicing or compromising the investigation sufficiently.”
He said the investigation began fully on February 4.
Last week, Master Martha Alexander awarded to the nine men TT$19,168,917.56 for malicious prosecution and exemplary damages; costs amounting to $200,917.56; and the cost of an expert witness of $68,000, making it perhaps the most significant award in Trinidad and Tobago’s judicial history.
Interest will be added to the damages for each man, at a rate of 2.5 percent, from May 29, 2020, to January 30, this year.
Naipaul-Coolman, the former chief executive of the supermarket chain Naipaul’s Xtra Foods, was kidnapped from the driveway of her residence in Lange Park, Chaguanas, in west-central Trinidad, on the night of December 19, 2016. Her body was never found. Her kidnappers had demanded a three million dollar ransom for her release.
The nine men – Shervon Peters, Devon Peters, Anthony Gloster, Joel Fraser, Ronald Armstrong, Keida Garcia, Jameel Garcia, Marlon Trimmingham, and Antonio Charles – were among ten persons who had gone on trial in 2016 for Naipaul-Coolman’s murder.
The nine men had filed a malicious prosecution claim in May 2020, which the state did not defend, despite having entered an appearance.
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