Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 09/Dec 14:57

Judge’s Tobago home broken into

HIGH Court judge Frank Seepersad's private home at Plantations, in Tobago, was broken into over the weekend. The judge is in Tobago for court hearings. Newsday understands a bathroom window was broken and it is believed this is where the intruder entered the house. Nothing was stolen, but it appears, reports said, that the intruder(s) left in a hurry, only rifling through a suitcase. According to reports, a member of the judge's team went to the house, which is in a gated compound and said to be one of the safest places on the island, on December 5 to deliver personal items ahead of Seepersad’s arrival. On December 6, his housekeeper cleaned and prepared the house for the judge's arrival. On December 7, the member of the judge's advance team returned to the house and found the suitcase, delivered on December 5, opened and items strewn about. Initially, it was thought the housekeeper had unpacked the suitcase. But when Seepersad arrived on December 8, she said she had not moved or opened any suitcase. During a walkthrough of the house, the broken window was seen, along with footprints on the wall. Cpl Dennis of the Shivan Road police station is investigating. The scene was processed by PC Abrahams and then secured. Contacted for comment, Seepersad confirmed the incident and said, "Paradise lost. In this twin-island republic, nowhere is safe and no one is safe.” The judge has received numerous threats, many of which were delivered to his home in Trinidad. Earlier this year, Seepersad wrote to Police Commissioner Erla Christopher asking for the urgent reinstatement of Special Branch protection. His security detail had been significantly reduced and he had to hire private security bodyguards. Seepersad had been given police protection since 2017 after reports of a plot to kill him. He received protection under the tenure of former police commissioners Stephen Williams, Gary Griffith and McDonald Jacob. He also wrote to National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds for intervention, since he was presiding over several high-profile matters. He said he felt “scared and exposed” since the withdrawal of his security. On February 1, Seepersad again wrote to the commissioner seeking her urgent assistance after another threat to his life. He reported to police an incident in which a man threatened him, saying, “Dat is d stink c----e judge. Only pressing black people. I sorry I have to use my rounds or I wudda done yuh today.” He also said he had been subjected to racist and hate attacks after his judgment involving calypsonian Weston Rawlins and businessman Inshan Ishmael for defamation of character. The judge said an e-mail death threat he received in 2022 was still under active probe. He expressed concern about the decision to revise his security. The post Judge’s Tobago home broken into appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.