Author: The Publisher

PHILIPSBURG – De 75 million guilders bond issue Finance Minister Ardwell Irion had in mind will not become a reality. State Secretary Drs. Raymond Knops called Irion to order with a firm reminder that St. Maarten should have repaid a 50 million guilders loan on October 21. Knops offered a conditional 4-week postponement for the repayment this loan. In a letter to Irion, Knops writes: “These four weeks offer you the opportunity to comply with the conditions for the second tranche of liquidity support. When you meet these requirements our countries can engage in talks about the third tranche of…

Read More

PHILIPSBURG — The Detective Department together with the Patrol officers has arrested three suspects for two armed robberies which took place early this morning, Tuesday, October 20th, 2020.  The police patrols together with members of the Special Robbery Unit of Sint Maarten Police arrested the three (3) suspects with the initials R.R.R, A.E-A, and M.P-C, for their alleged involvements in this morning’s robberies.  At approximately 8:50 am, the Central Dispatch received a report that a male suspect, fled a supermarket in the Sucker Garden area, after having robbed the establishment of its earnings. On the scene, the officers were informed…

Read More

Philipsburg, October 19, 2020 Gracita Arrindell reflected on the past ten years and said: “Ten years of constitutional reform arrived fast and furious. October 10, 2020. It’s been a tumultuous decade plagued by hurricanes, and a lack of political will power to acknowledge our mistakes and a commitment to do better. The end of a decade that culminated in a COVID-19 pandemic that caught the world off –guard and brought Sint Maarten to its knees. No one expected this. It has become crystal clear we failed to learn from our mistakes while being an Island Territory under a former constitutional…

Read More

PHILIPSBURG — On Friday, October 16, 2020, around 6:00 pm, the patrol officers arrested a man with the initials E.R. as he had severely injured his girlfriend after an altercation. This incident took place in the area of Mount William Hill. After being arrested, the suspect brought to the Philipsburg police station, where he is being held for questioning. In the subsequent arrest, the patrol officers were directed to A.J.C. Brouwers road on Saturday, October 17, 2020, around 12:40 am for a case of assault. Later it turned out that a man with the initials R.B.J had also mistreated his…

Read More

PHILIPSBURG – Bij het toezicht op de geestelijke gezondheidszorg op St. Maarten houden de minister van Volksgezondheid, Maatschappelijke Ontwikkeling en Arbeid (VSA), de Inspectie voor de Volksgezondheid en het Openbaar Ministerie zich niet aan de wet. Dit collectrief falen heeft ertoe geleid dat het zorgpersoneel van de Mental Health Foundation is overgeleverd aan de grillen van het management en het bestuur van de stichting. De kwaliteit van de zorg is verontrustend: tenminste twee patienten zijn het slachtoffer geworden van nalatigheid. Lees ook: Een audit bij Mental Health, maar geen onderzoek naar dood van patiënt Op 25 augustus dit jaar werd…

Read More

PHILIPSBURG – In the supervision of mental health care in St. Maarten, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA), the Health Inspectorate and the Public Prosecution Office do not comply with the existing law. This collective failure has left the Mental Health Foundation’s health personnel at the mercy of the institution’s management and board. The quality of the care provided is worrying: at least two patients have fallen victim to negligence. Developing story: Another mental health patient dies…. Related article: Psychiatric patient dead in solitary confinement On August 25 this year, a 43-year-old bipolar patient was found…

Read More

PHILIPSBURG – The jury is still out on the cause of death of 43-year old psychiatric patient Caulette Julien. Dr. Kitty Pelswijk, the interim director of the Mental Health Foundation claims that Julien died of natural causes. Dr. Mercuur has a different opinion: he maintains that this is a case of unnatural death. Related article: Psychiatric patient dead in solitary confinement Attorney Cor Merx, who once was a prosecutor in Roermond, wrote in 1988 an extensive article about the distinction between natural and unnatural death in Dutch Forensic Magazine under the headline: The death in medical and legal perspective. Relevant…

Read More

 PHILIPSBURG – Veel buitenlandse eigenaren en huurders van vakantievilla’s en appartementen op St. Maarten twijfelen eraan of zij dit jaar op St. Maarten gaan overwinteren. De kosten van een verplichte Covid-verzekering kunnen voor een echtpaar oplopen tot enkele duizenden dollars, terwijl die extra dekking voor de toch al goed verzekerde bezoekers niet nodig is. Dit is een van de redenen waarom de COVID-verzekering nog niet verplicht is, zegt minister van Toerisme, Economische Zaken, Transport en Telecommunicatie (TEATT) Ludmila de Weever. St. Maarten wil het voorbeeld van Aruba volgen met de invoering van een extra verzekering voor niet-ingezetenen die in geval…

Read More

Dear Editor, I recently read your article concerning a letter sent by Pro Soualiga to the Cft. In said article, there were some erroneous and misleading statements. 1) The Court’s decision had nothing to do with the content of the letter addressed to the CfT. The court deemed Pro Soualiga to be inadmissible because they claimed that the Articles of Incorporations were missing. Additionally, the court stated that the Dutch State was not given enough time to respond to its grievances, and that there was no urgency regarding the CRE because no agreement had been reached between St. Maarten and…

Read More