Murder and kidnap in Trinidad

PORT-OF-SPAIN — One man was murdered in the driveway of his home and another prominent businessman kidnapped for a TT$1-million (TT$6=US$1) ransom as the police continue their round-the-clock battle against criminals.

Shot to death at point blank range while still in his car in the driveway of his Chaguanas home was 42 year-old Naresh Ragbir, an upholstery businessman who also operates a private-hire taxi service.

Within an hour of that tragedy prominent businessman, Kenneth Medford, owner of a popular gas station, was driving to his home at Valsayn when his car was hit from behind. When he came out to investigate, he was kidnapped and demands immediately made to his family for a TT$1-million ransom to ensure his safe return.

The Trinidad Express yesterday quoted Chaguanas member of parliament, Manohar Ramsaran, as saying that businessmen of the area were now openly expressing fears for their safety following kidnapping threats and threats to their businesses.

The police were yesterday on the hunt for those responsible for Ragbir’s murder and Medford’s kidnapping.

Barbados still says yes to corporal punishment

BRIDGETOWN — Barbados has no intention of abolishing corporal punishment in its school system even if the United Nations should approve such a resolution at the current special assembly on the rights of the child.

This is the clear message from the country’s minister of state in the Ministry of Education, Cynthia Forde, who stressed that Barbados has a right to retain flogging as a form of punishment since it was incorporated into its laws as an independent nation.

The minister’s comment has come during Barbados’ annual observation of Child Month. This year it coincides with the UN’s special meeting on the Convention on the Rights of the Child at which Barbados is being represented by Minister of Social Transformation, Hamilton Lashley.

Advocates for the abolition of corporal punishment and proponents in favour of retaining this form of punishment have been engaged in debates in and out of the media amid growing incidents of indiscipline and rowdyism at schools.

But Minister Forde said that even if the UN meeting on the Convention should vote against corporal punishment, “we as a sovereign state would exercise our right to retain this form of pubishment in our schools… Corporal punishment,” she stressed, “is on our statute books and we will have to deal with the issue in our own local context.”

Environmentalist threatens to shoot herself

PORT-OF-SPAIN — The Trinidad and Tobago police were yesterday keeping a close watch on a distraught environmentalist who threatened to kill herself on Wednesday because of her frustration with authorities to save a mountain and watershed area from destruction by quarrying operations.

As cameras rolled in the unfolding drama, the woman, Gemma Cemento Hemson, popularly known as “Duchess”, placed her licensed handgun to her head and threatened to commit suicide.

She was eventually persuaded by an official of the Environmental Management Authority to hand over her gun with assurances that her grievances would be addressed.

She was taken away from the scene of the quarrying operations where she turned up to commit her threatened act of suicide, by the police but was later released.

The police explained that it was difficult to charge her for attempting to commit sucide since nothing physical had actually occurred, and further she was the licensed holder of two firearms. The two licensed guns, however, are now in the possession of the police.

“Duchess” said that she has been protesting for a long time now to the ministries of the Environment and Energy about operations at the Hermitage Limestone Quarry that posed senseless destruction to the mountain and watershed area but her representations had been ignored.

A well-known local environmenta-list, Eden Shand, has come out in support of her demands for an end to the destruction being caused as a result of the quarrying operations, and urged more public support for safeguarding the nation’s natural environment from “degradation”.