Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 01/Oct 02:53

Vicky Boodram applies for bail

Former travel agent Vicky Boodram has applied for bail on a single charge of escaping lawful custody. Boodram, who was recently discharged of over 100 fraud charges last month, is still in custody at the Women’s Prison in Arouca. Her attorney, Stephen Wilson of the Public Defenders Department, made an application for Boodram’s bail on September 30. He contended Boodram should be admitted to bail immediately as the maximum sentence that can be served under the escaping custody charge is that of three years. Boodram has been in custody since 2017. Prosecutors accepted that Boodram has been remanded and would have served the maximum sentence already. But, they asked the court for time to file written submissions on the issue as they did not agree she should be admitted to bail. Also raised before Master Rehanna Hosein was the charge she is still facing. The state submitted that she was charged under the common law, but the defence indicated to the court that that was impossible as the charge falls under section 4 of the Criminal Law Act, which carries a maximum sentence of three years. Wilson argued a common law charge cannot indicate a term of years as suggested by the state. A summons was also issued for the police officer involved when she escaped. That officer can not be found and the state is unaware of his whereabouts. Hosein ordered the state to file their submissions by October 6 and she will make a decision on bail on October 7. Boodram had indicated she had been granted bail in 2020, but the state had no record of this. She also raised issues of other charges where all the documents have gone missing, and the state is unable to account for them. The court asked the state to inform the court of any other charges. Boodram was discharged by High Court Master Lisa Singh-Phillip onSeptember 19. Prosecutors admitted to missing three deadlines to submit witness statements and other filings. Singh-Phillip was told it would be unfair to continue proceedings against Boodram under the circumstances. Wilson had applied for Boodram’s discharge and Singh-Phillip granted the request under section 5.9(5) of the Criminal Procedure Rules, 2023. Boodram, the owner of the defunct Boodram Travel and Ship Ahoy Cruises Ltd, was accused of defrauding clients of more than $1 million in payments for a 2011 cruise that never took place. She was initially charged with 109 fraud-related offenses, but two counts were dismissed when victims died. She also faced two money laundering charges linked to the purchase of a Mercedes Benz and a Palmiste property worth more than $2 million. Her case had been in the magistrate’s court for years before it was transferred to the High Court in March 2024. She has been in custody since March 2016. In October 2019, Boodram and her estranged husband, Ravi Arjoonsingh, were committed to stand trial before the San Fernando court on 107 fraud charges. However, their cases were separated. Public Defender Janeil Chuck also represented Boodram. Three days after her dramatic escape from the Women’s Prison late November 2017 was recaptured in Penal. The post Vicky Boodram applies for bail appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.