By Hilbert Haar In September 2016 the Court in first Instance acquitted all suspects in the Masbangu-case. That they were later sentenced on appeal is irrelevant for the point I want to make here. Masbangu was about a bunch of police officers who went to the campaign office of the United People’s party in 2010 in an attempt to get money for their vote. A party-representative gave them some money. Case closed: bribery. The court established that the police officers had asked for money and that the party representative had given them money. Why then the acquittal? The court ruled…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance sentenced Secell Daniel Common on Wednesday afternoon to 120 hours of community service for hitting the 13-year old son Jeremiah of his neighbor, who happens to be a warden at the Point Blanche prison. Of the sentence, 60 hours are conditional, and common received a reduction of 4 hours on the remaining community service for the two days he spent behind bars after the incident that took place on April 16. The public prosecutor noted that the 37-year old defendant had confessed that he had hit the boy on his head with an…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance moved the child porn and sexual assault trial against Colin K. on Wednesday morning to September 19. The 59-year old Scotsman is charged with lechery with two girls between the age of 12 and 16 and with his 6-year old daughter. Investigators also found child porn on his phone. K. is furthermore charged with the possession of a Molotov cocktail and cocaine and with fencing jewelry. Witnesses still have to be heard at the Judge of Instruction and the court is also awaiting a psychiatric report about the defendant. A request by the…
PHILIPSBURG – St. Maarten will most likely not need liquidity support for the full 197 million guilders ($110 million) that represents the current deficit on the 2018 budget, Finance Minister Mike Ferrier said on Wednesday. “We will probably need less. We have seen some better results for the beginning of the year. There is a slight improvement over what we expected in terms of revenue and we have managed to reduce some expenditures; they are lower than predicted.” Ferrier said that the liquidity support will have to come from the kingdom in loans or grants. “We do not expect grants,’…
PHILIPSBURG – Is the government finally for or against the civil inquiry the public prosecutor’s office wants to conduct at the harbor group of companies? Last week, the attorney for Minister Cornelius de Weever created the impression that the government is in favor, by saying that the country supports the position of the harbor’s attorney, Chris de Bres, who clearly opposed the initiative. We could not ask Minister De Weever for a clarification during Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing, because he left early. So we posed the question to Finance Minister Mike Ferrier – thinking that the inquiry is,…
PHILIPSBURG – Minister Emil Lee (Public Health) is currently discussing options to protect local tobacco product distributors against parallel import by registering the labels of their products. At the same time, the minister wants to introduce a ‘health-tax’ on tobacco products to finance St. Maarten’s healthcare system. “The industry is thrilled,” the minister said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. “This is a win-win situation. Our healthcare system receives more money, we protect the distribution channels, we make sure we get the revenue we need and the distributorships increase in value – even though they are going to pay…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance sentenced attorney Brenda Brooks on Wednesday to a 6-month conditional prison sentence and a 10,000 guilders fine for bribing an immigration officer on July 2, 2016. The court imposed 2 years of probation. Brooks immediately appealed the verdict. The Dean of the Bar Association, Geert Hatzmann told stmaartennews.com that his board will discuss the situation and issue a reaction as soon as possible. At the trial on May 9, the public prosecutor demanded an unconditional prison sentence of 6 months. The prosecutor also demanded a 5-year ban on a function in the supervisory…
POND ISLAND — The Ministry of VSA recently welcomed a meeting with representatives of Philip Morris and some local distributors on the topic of Tobacco safety labels and taxation legislation. Wholesalers are understanding and supportive provided there are also measures to combat parallel import of products, which also pose a health risk due to the uncontrolled market. Minister of Public Health, Emil Lee welcomed the dialogue, as it is in line with discussions held earlier in 2017 regarding possible funding mechanisms for NHI, and the local health care system. Taxation would include controls, which would better secure the safety of…
SOUTH REWARD — St. Maarten Martial Arts Federation (SMMAF) held the Second Annual Spring Tournament on Saturday, May 26th, 2018, at MPC Gym in St. Peters. The event showcased two combat martial art for adults and children – Muay Thai Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 78 competitors ranging from age 5 to 30 years participated. Invitations were extended to all combat martial arts organizations on St Maarten. Competitors hailed from Marco London’s Sityodtong Foundation, SXM BJJ/Renzo Gracie St. Maarten’s Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Teams and Saint Barths Jiu Jitsu Team. The event began at 12pm after competitors signed…
PHILIPSBURG — Minister of Public Health, Emil Lee reported on the progress of the St. Maarten Hospital Resilience and Preparedness Project during Wednesday’s press Council of Minister’s press briefing. World Bank representatives are currently working on the Project Appraisal Document (PAD), which is mandatory for the funding grant of twenty five million dollars for the project. The project includes the funds for strengthening of the new hospital building design to meet post-Irma specifications, to ensure continuity of care during the worst of disasters and the transition of the current building and staff from now through commissioning of the new building. The World…
