JAMAICAN sprinter Steve Mullings will know his fate this afternoon when the three-man Jamaica Anti-Doping panel convenes for summation at 2 o’clock at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.

Mullings, who is based in the United States, tested positive for the prohibited substance Furosemide during the National Senior Trials earlier this year. He has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

The 28-year-old athlete was absent from yesterday’s hearing, which saw his lead attorney Alando Terrelonge and Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission’s (JADCo) lawyer Lackston Robinson making final submissions to the panel, which is chaired by attorney-at-law Lennox Gayle.

The other members of the panel are Dr Japheth Ford and FIFA referee instructor Peter Prendergast.

Robinson, flanked by JADCo representative Peta-gay Waugh, gave the first submission, where he outlined the case against Mullings and the implications of evidence given during the previous sittings of the hearing.

He noted that Furosemide is on the list of substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and asserted that there is a “strict liability” policy for what athletes ingest.

According to Robinson, the policy meant that it is “not necessary (for JADCo) to prove fault, intent, knowledge or negligence” on Mullings’ part.

Robinson also stated that the testing process, carried out in a WADA-accredited laboratory in Canada, met international standards.

Near the end of his submission, the JADCo lawyer emphasised to the committee that Mullings did not appear at the hearing, nor did he give any evidence in his defence.

During last week’s two-day hearing, Robinson had called on JADCo’s testing control officer Dr Paul Wright, chaperone Dorel Savage and a JADCo administrator Cara Ann Bennett to give testimony.

Terrelonge responded with a terse submission that threw darts at JADCo’s case and questioned the integrity of the “custody and control of the urine samples” sent to Canada.

He contended that the testing process was error-strewn, which meant that the banned substance was “purportedly” found in his client’s urine sample.

Terrelonge then swung the spotlight on the panel, which he felt “wrongfully exercised discretion” in not allowing evidence from Mullings or a member of his coaching staff, Steve Dudley, by way of affidavit (a sworn written statement) or video conference via the Internet.

He added that the ruling had a “devastating effect” on the athlete’s case and insisted that the “charges against him (Mullings) ought to be dismissed.”

In early August, the former Vere Technical student was reportedly notified that his sample, which was submitted during the Trials at the National Stadium, contained an Adverse Analytical Finding.

Furosemide, commonly advertised under the brand name Lasix, is a drug that increases the release of fluids and other substances from the body. The potent diuretic can be used to mask the presence of other drugs.

Under the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and WADA liability rules, competitors are responsible for anything that goes into their system.

Mullings was banned in 2004 for two years after being found guilty of having elevated testosterone levels in his body. Should he be found guilty today, the sprinter could face a life-long ban from the sport.

He also cited precedence of a significant error that he claimed was made at a WADA-accredited lab in Brazil.