PANDAY
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):
IN AN unprecedented decision, former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail and fined TT $20,000 (US$3,000) after he was found guilty on charges of failing to declare a bank account he and his wife Oma held in Britain.
Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls, who heard the summary charges against Panday, the Opposition Leader and the chairman of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), handed down the maximum sentence in a Port-of-Spain court.
Panday, who became the first former prime minister here to be convicted on a criminal charge, arrived in court with one of his daughters and several members of the UNC and was cheered on by party supporters who had gathered outside the building in a light drizzle.
Heavily armed police were visible around the court building.
Panday, 72, had been charged with deliberately failing to disclose the bank account to the Integrity Commission for three consecutive years, 1997, 1998 and 1999, while he served as Prime Minister of this oil rich Caribbean nation.
A 'POLITICAL AGENDA'
Panday was originally charged in 2002, but filed several legal actions challenging the validity of the claims in the local courts. The last application was deemed to be premature by the London-based Privy Council in February.
During the trial, Panday's lawyer Alan Newman, Q.C., said the prosecution was part of a 'political agenda' to oust Panday and constituted an abuse of the Constitution.
The UNC has announced a major rally to be held on Monday night in Couva, Central Trinidad, the heartland of the opposition support.
Political scientist Professor John la Guerre said the guilty verdict would end his political career.
"He would be badly wounded and would be the end of his career," he said, adding that the verdict could also affect the UNC's chances in the next general election.
