UNC: Government must make missing murder case file, NiQuan reports public

THE UNC says if the government has any transparency whatsoever, it will make public the Stanley John report on the State's failure to defend a $20 million lawsuit.

John, a retired judge, reportedly handed over the 60-page report to Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, last week – five months after the start of the investigation.

John and former ACP Pamela Schullera-Hinds were retained by the Government to probe the State’s failure to defend a malicious prosecution lawsuit filed by nine men acquitted of murdering businesswoman Vindra Naipaul-Coolman in 2006. The State was ordered to pay over $20 million in a default judgment.

However, a day after the judgment was delivered by High Court Master Martha Alexander in January, Armour said the case file had “disappeared” from the Office of the Solicitor General. The file mysteriously reappeared. John and Schullera-Hinds were also mandated to enquire into and examine the procedures at the AG's Office and its civil law department as well as make recommendations to improve the management and conduct of civil cases.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, UNC Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial said if the government was "serious about treating with these issues and being accountable to the population about what they have discovered out of this entire scenario, they must disclose this report to the public."

She said Armour and the Prime Minister did not pay for that report but, "We, the taxpayers of this country.

"Therefore, we deserve to see it."

She wondered why there is now secrecy surrounding the report.

In addition, she also called on the government to also make public the report from the investigation into the 2021 explosion at NiQuan Energy Trinidad Ltd's Pointe-a-Pierre plant.

Dr Rowley recently said the report cannot be made public because NiQuan is a private legal entity.

Lutchmedial said, "The whole of south Trinidad was rocked by an explosion and today we don't know what came out of that investigation.

"They jump up hot and sweaty (saying) 'We are investigating, we are investigating.'"She said the public deserves to know what happened, especially after the recent injury and death of Massy Energy worker Allanlane Ramkissoon.

Ramkissoon was injured during a fire at the plant and later died at hospital in Colombia.

"Is the government not concerned about the safety and security of citizens and feel that they have (no) obligation to make findings of reports public?

"Can you simply continue to spend taxpayers money for a secret report? For a file that was never missing?"

"If they had any, they'd come clean and make that report public.

"What's so top secret?"