PHILIPSBURG – With the assistance of Judge Peter Lemaire, the Justice department is developing a standard form for the small claims court procedure. The form will be available on the website of the court starting in September, Justice Minister Cornelius de Weever said at Wednesday’s council of Ministers press briefing. According to the minister, the small claims court procedure is in place but not very well known among citizens. The standard form will be available in English, Dutch and Papiamento, while other languages are still under consideration. The procedure is open for claims up to 10,000 guilders and the initial…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – Covering the $11.2 million financial burden of garbage collection and processing with fees charged to the approximately 7,000 households would cost these households $1,600 per year, Member of Parliament Rolando Brison calculated during the urgent meeting of the central committee about the dump on Wednesday afternoon. “That is more than some households make in a month,” Brison said. He offered an immediate solution: levying an environmental tax on tourists. “If there is anything tourists do not have a problem with it is paying for something that will protect or improve the environment. Some do it already voluntarily, via…
PHILIPSBURG – Kathron Fortune, the convicted murderer who escaped from the Pointe Blanche prison on February 15, 2016, is at the center of a new murder trial. Fortune and two others are the main suspects in the murders of Luiz Diaz-Sarante and Edwin Rosario on December 5, 2016. The other suspects are Tito Jahatan F. (28) and Kalaika Kisha Kalamee S. (32). These two suspects appeared in the Court in First Instance on Wednesday morning for a pro forma hearing; Kathron Fortune attended the hearing via a video link. He is currently detained in the heavily secured prison in Vught…
PHILIPSBURG — Algemeen Pensioenfonds Sint Maarten (APS) has identified a need for Sint Maarten’s own Investment Bank (SMIB). On Friday June 8, 2018, APS hosted a Round Table Discussion on the topic, assisted by financial market experts MGM Source of Aruba for stakeholders from the financial and business community. Prime Minister Mrs. Leona Marlin-Romeo and Minister of Finance Mr. Michael Ferrier were present, in addition to representatives of local banks, insurance companies and institutional investors. The SMIB would help match supply and demand in the country’s financial market. Especially in the aftermath of hurricane Irma, an Investment Bank can recognize…
PHILIPSBURG — With the main part of his trial still pending, Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Tuesday said he is not going to sit back silently and let the Prosecutor’s Office paint a negative picture for the public and tarnish his name. “I have young children, a concerned family and a community I work very hard for. I am not going to let them tarnish me,” MP Richardson said. Richardson said the goal of the prosecutor to link the charges brought against the defendants in the Emerald case, with those it presented against him, is as clear as day.…
PHILIPSBURG – The final settlement of the OZR – the government healthcare costs regulation – will confront the government in all likelihood with 20 million guilders in additional expenditures. This appears from the reaction of the Board financial supervision (Cft) to St. Maarten’s first quarterly execution report for 2018. Finance Minister Mike Ferrier submitted the report on May 24 – technically ten days too late – but the Cft noted in a letter to the minister that St Maarten, “in spite of the IT-problems and the aftermath of the hurricanes, has increased its ability to meet its reporting obligations.” Payment…
ST. JOHN’S ESTATE – The Wizards, specializing in computer repairs and onsite services, is now the official reseller for an environmentally-friendly product that has a very unusual feature: A solar powered LED lantern that is a phone charger as well. We tested this product at StMaartenNews.com and it actually works. Here is our review of the LuminAID Packlite Max, a solar powered lantern and phone charger in one. The Wizards has always been conscious of their role as a responsible corporate citizen. The Wizards has been limiting their carbon footprint on the island of St. Maarten by utilizing solar panels…
PHILIPSBURG — The Inspectorate of Public Health, Social Development and Labor informs the public that Stella Artois announced a voluntary recall of 11.2-ounce bottles of Stella Artois beer on June 11. This recall comes after the detection of a glass-packaging flaw in 11.2-ounce bottles that may cause a small piece of glass to break off and possibly fall into the beer. The bottled beer subject to this recall concerns Stella Artois bottles with a packaging date that falls within the ranges listed below. The codes can be found on the back label of the 11.2-ounce bottles, picture shown below for…
PHILIPSBURG – Attorney Sjamira Roseburg asked the court on Monday permission to hear twelve witnesses in preparation for the trial against her client, member of Parliament Frans Richardson, who is charged with taking $370,000 in bribes from Checkmate Security director O’Neal Arrindell and with tax fraud. The court agreed with most of Roseburg’s requests. Checkmate Security Director O’Neal Arrindell tops the list; on December 15, 2016, Arrindell told investigators that he had extended a loan to Richardson, but the public prosecutor thinks that the $370,000 that ended up in the MP’s bank account in two installments was a bribe. Mingo…
PHILIPSBURG – Three high-profile defendants appeared in court on Monday morning for the highly anticipated first step in the Emerald-trial: Member of Parliament Frans Richardson, suspended Port Director Mark Mingo and Checkmate Security Director O’Neal Arrindell. The next pro forma hearing in this case will take place on October 31. When members of the Team Bestrijding Ondermijning (TBO) – the anti-corruption task force – arrested MP Richardson on Valentine’s Day this year the charges against him included membership of a criminal organization that engaged in vote buying during the 2016 parliamentary elections. But the summons that brought Richardson to court…
