Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

A special jury yesterday rejected the $100 million claim which Kingston businessman Alton Washington Brown had brought against the Revenue Protection Division (RPD) to recover damages for loss of business profits.

Brown, who was president and director of Shipping Caribbean Inc., was arrested and charged in July 1998 with five counts of fraudulent evasion of import duties. He was freed of the charges in May 2000.

He filed a suit in the Supreme Court against the Attorney-General, Inspector of Police Winston Lawrence and the RPD.

Brown said that Inspector Lawrence unlawfully, maliciously and without reasonable and probable cause, arrested and charged him. He said his two shipping companies collapsed because of the charges that were brought against him.

Within fair conduct

Government lawyers, Julie Thompson and Tasha Manley asked the jury to dismiss the claim because Inspector Lawrence acted lawfully and without malice when he arrested and charged Brown.

After Mr. Justice Patrick Brooks directed the jury yesterday on the possible verdicts, the seven-member jury threw out the claim after they found that Brown was neither falsely imprisoned nor maliciously prosecuted.

Inspector Lawrence in com-menting on the outcome of the case said he was happy with the verdict because he "acted correctly and within the ambit of fair conduct".

Brown who was represented by attorneys-at-law Terrence Ballan-tyne and Paul Beswick, was ordered to pay the government's legal costs.