HART DOCUMENTS REALBy NALINEE SEELAL Monday, March 15 2010
THE Hart documents are real, according to Malaysia Interpol officers. The documents including birth and marriage certificates showing a family link between then Udecott chairman Calder Hart and two directors of Sunway Construction Caribbean Limited, which got $820 million in Udecott contracts, were handed over to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard by the Congress of the People (COP).
Following this confirmation from Malaysia Interpol, detectives from the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau (ACIB) said they are now seeking Hart for questioning. They also want to question a former PNM Cabinet member and a current UNC Member of Parliament.
Police sources said that when Carl Khan, former husband of Sherrine Hart, was interviewed by them last week, Khan confirmed that in his two years of marriage to Sherrine Hart, he received emails, birthday cards and other correspondence from two persons who were directors of Sunway and relatives of his then wife. Khan had previously made this information available in sworn depositions at the UFF Commission of Inquiry.
Khan’s statements at the commission were not challenged by Udecott or Calder Hart’s lawyers at the inquiry, but Prime Minister Patrick Manning described Khan’s evidence as that of a “jilted lover”.
The documents which were obtained by the COP disclose that Mrs Sherrine Hart’s sister is Lee Soeh Chin. Lee’s husband Ng Chin Poh (also known as David Ng Chin Poh) was a director of Sunway. The documents also identify Lee Hup Seng, another Sunway director, as Mrs Hart’s brother. Sunway was awarded $820 million contracts for the Ministry of Legal Affairs Tower in Port-of-Spain.
Last Tuesday, DPP Gaspard passed on a file to Acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) James Philbert advising that police investigate with dispatch the issue of Mrs Hart’s family link to Sunway. Gaspard told Philbert he found that there are reasonable grounds for a criminal investigation to be pursued.
The Anti-Corruption Investi-gations Bureau (ACIB) was mandated to begin investigations as advised by DPP Gaspard. ACIB officers were soon joined by detectives from the Special Anti- Crime Unit (SAUTT) in the investigation.
Last Friday, investigators led by Snr Superintendent Terry Young interviewed Carl Khan the ex- husband of Mrs Hart. Officers also interviewed attorneys Vernon De Lima and Timothy Hamel- Smith, who are both COP members.
During that meeting at the law office of Hamel-Smith, investigators also perused the original birth and marriage certificates of Mrs Hart and her relatives, which are in the possession of Hamel Smith and De Lima, which both attorneys said, were obtained for them by a Malaysian law firm at the cost of US$3,000.
The documents bore original seals and did not appear to be false. It was then that the police sought the assistance of Interpol in Malaysia.
Hart resigned on Saturday March 6 and fled the country with his wife Sherrine and daughter and went to Ft Lauderdale, Florida, as reported by Newsday. On Saturday, there were reports that Hart had returned to Trinidad but this could not be confirmed as his home in Cascade remained tightly shut and no one answered the calls to the house.
At a press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Manning who has been a staunch defender of Hart, said that because of the evidence now coming forward, Hart has a case to answer. The Attorney John Jeremie at a press conference last week, after the certificates were made public, said he had begun investigations into the issue since last September and advised the Prime Minister of the investigation.
Hart’s lawyers have indicated that he is available at any time to return to Trinidad but it could not be confirmed whether he had returned over the weekend.
The current Hart investigation, follows concerns about Udecott that were first raised in Parliament by Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. Sometime after this disclosure, Diego Martin West MP and Cabinet Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who raised his concerns about lack of accountability at Udecott was promptly dismissed by PM Manning on the grounds that he (Rowley) had engaged in ‘wajang’ behaviour.
