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…
Author: The Publisher
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…
PHILIPSBURG – The Belair Community Center is the stage for a mediation congress organized by the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor in collaboration with VNG International. The congress will take place this Friday, June 1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Speakers at the congress include Public Health Minister Emil Lee, Director-General Recovery Windward Islands Hans Leijtens and Gwendolien Mossel, a legal advisor at the office of the Ombudsman. Minister Lee said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing that between twenty and thirty civil servants have taken part in Mediation Week; the congress that aims to…
Great Bay, St. Maarten – Officials of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) are scheduled to visit St. Maarten, from June 5 to June 7 for an orientation mission. Purpose of the mission is to assist St. Maarten in planning of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. St. Maarten is expected to receive technical support from ECLAC for the design and implementation of an institutional framework for mainstreaming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the country’s national development later this year. SDGs will be addressed in the National Recovery and Resilient…
