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Key witnesses still missing in NHDC fraud trial
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
The prosecution has one week to decide whether it will be pursuing the $451-million fraud case against east Kingston businessman Danhai Williams and his six co-accused.
When the accused appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday they were ordered to return on April 28. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Lisa Palmer told the court that the two main witnesses for the Crown could not be found.
Palmer said she was asking for four months in which to locate the witnesses. She said the witnesses were said to be overseas and Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields was now trying to locate them. Defence lawyers objected to the application for a four-month adjournment.
Resident Magistrate Georgiana Fraser said she was not granting any adjournment beyond next week Monday.
The seven are accused of defrauding the National Housing Development Corporation, NHDC, of $451 million.
Yesterday was the second time within the month that an adjournment was sought to find the witnesses.
On April 1, prosecutors asked for an adjournment after revealing in court that they could not locate two of the main witnesses in the case.
The prosecutors had said then that a determination would have been made yesterday on the future of the case if the two men were not found. The prosecution admitted that its case could collapse without the two witnesses.
The two witnesses, engineer, Lloyd McLean and quantity surveyor, Gerald Tobias are believed to be overseas. Both were employed to the NHDC and are reported to have signed off on the NHDC/Operation Pride projects.
Williams, his company, Danwill Construction, and the six other accused were charged in October 2003.
The charges stemmed from a one-year probe into financial irregularities into the NHDC/Operation Pride projects.
Williams is charged with 87 counts of fraud.
The other accused are Karl Kirkland, Warren Sibbles, Donovan Hill, Eugenny Porter, Wayne Nash and Dwight Dawkins.
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
The prosecution has one week to decide whether it will be pursuing the $451-million fraud case against east Kingston businessman Danhai Williams and his six co-accused.
When the accused appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday they were ordered to return on April 28. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Lisa Palmer told the court that the two main witnesses for the Crown could not be found.
Palmer said she was asking for four months in which to locate the witnesses. She said the witnesses were said to be overseas and Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields was now trying to locate them. Defence lawyers objected to the application for a four-month adjournment.
Resident Magistrate Georgiana Fraser said she was not granting any adjournment beyond next week Monday.
The seven are accused of defrauding the National Housing Development Corporation, NHDC, of $451 million.
Yesterday was the second time within the month that an adjournment was sought to find the witnesses.
On April 1, prosecutors asked for an adjournment after revealing in court that they could not locate two of the main witnesses in the case.
The prosecutors had said then that a determination would have been made yesterday on the future of the case if the two men were not found. The prosecution admitted that its case could collapse without the two witnesses.
The two witnesses, engineer, Lloyd McLean and quantity surveyor, Gerald Tobias are believed to be overseas. Both were employed to the NHDC and are reported to have signed off on the NHDC/Operation Pride projects.
Williams, his company, Danwill Construction, and the six other accused were charged in October 2003.
The charges stemmed from a one-year probe into financial irregularities into the NHDC/Operation Pride projects.
Williams is charged with 87 counts of fraud.
The other accused are Karl Kirkland, Warren Sibbles, Donovan Hill, Eugenny Porter, Wayne Nash and Dwight Dawkins.
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