Panday: Police should investigate

FORMER government minister Subhas Panday yesterday described allegations that Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar “tipped off” former minister Marlene McDonald that she would be locked up, a month before it actually happened, as another Emailgate. He called for police to investigate those people who made this allegation.

During the September 9, sitting of Parliament, the Prime Minister stated that Persad-Bissessar had warned McDonald of her impending arrest, a claim which McDonald later supported. The Attorney General has since stated McDonald told him about the tip-off from Persad-Bissessar.

At a media conference at his Gordon Street, San Fernando law office, Panday yesterday said the prime minister, the attorney general and the minster of national security have “serious questions to answer in this matter.”

“At the time when McDonald told the attorney general and the minister of national security, why did they not inform the commissioner of police and cause an investigation to be launched immediately, if they thought the process was contaminated because tipping-off is an offence,” Panday asked.

“The prime minister must tell the nation when he became aware of this information. If you had information and you didn’t pass it to the police, you are as guilty as anyone else. I call upon the police to investigate them.”

He said the process and procedure used to charge high profile people with offences such as misbehaviour in public office or money laundering is “long and complicated’ with a lot of paper work to be done. He said a file must be sent to the DPP who would then determine whether charges would be laid or sent back for further investigations.

“Up to the time of giving those instructions to the police, no one, not even the police will know whether the charges would have been laid or the nature of the charges. I want to agree with the commissioner of police that no one could have known one month before that Marlene McDonald would have been charged. Nobody!”

“It would appear to me that this is emailgate all over again.” Asked whether the incident could be used to dismiss the corruption charges against Mc­Don­ald, Panday said, “it is hoped that at this point in time that there is no attempt by anyone whomsoever to affect the conduct of this matter thereby perverting the court of justice.”