Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey yesterday extended the $6 million bail of Nicole Fullerton, former acting operations manager of the failed Caldon Merchant Bank, who was taken into custody Tuesday after she attempted to leave the island.

Defence lawyer Jacqueline Samuels-Brown said a "monstrous wrong" was done to her client. Mrs Samuels-Brown, in applying for Miss Fullerton's bail to be extended, said that it was her understanding that in October 2001, the RM at the time, who was then Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle, had ordered the permanent return of the travel documents to Ms. Fullerton.

She said that was done because of the protracted delay in getting the case off the ground.

The court sheet disclosed that Senior RM Martin Gayle did not order that Miss Fullerton's travel documents should have been returned permanently to her. The court sheet showed that on October 23, 2001, RM Gayle ordered that Miss Fullerton's travel documents should be returned to the Court's Office on February 11, 2002.

Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn had opposed bail on the grounds that Ms. Fullerton was a flight risk, and said, based on material she had, Ms. Fullerton had breached the conditions of her bail.