PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Business people in Trinidad and Tobago are being forced to pay extortion money or 'coward tax' to protect their families from kidnappers, the business community reported yesterday.

Garvin Seemungal, president of the Greater Chaguanas Chamber of Commerce, said business people were forced to do this since they had lost all confidence in the police service and in government's ability to protect innocent citizens from kidnappers.

He was responding to National Security Minister Martin Joseph's criticism of businessmen who pay extortion money instead of reporting the kidnapping threats to the police.

Joseph, who was speaking on the Bail Amendment Bill 2006 in the Senate on Wednesday, said the government's efforts to curb kidnappings for ransom were working.

He said while he was unaware of "extortion tax" if people paid it and they knew who were collecting the money, then they were encouraging criminal activity.

But the business sector responded angrily to this claim.

"While I do not agree with any businessman paying extortion tax altogether, some businessmen said they would prefer to pay the extortion fees as a security to ensure the safety of their family rather than face the trauma of having a family member kidnapped," Seemungal said.

Anti-extortion squad

He said the business community had a low level of trust in the police and he called on government to set up an anti-extortion squad and put in place special telephone lines for easier communication.

"In this way, the business community can feel confident in making confidential calls to police and be assured that they would organise a sting to catch the men," he said.

Seemungal said the Chaguanas business sector wanted to meet with Minister Joseph to discuss the issue of kidnappings and other crimes and the shortage of police vehicles and some 100 policemen in central Trinidad.

Penal/Debe Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Rampersad Sieuraj said Prime Minister Patrick Manning had promised during a recent tour to Penal that anyone who kidnapped for ransom would be caught "but since then two women have been kidnapped and no kidnappers have been caught as yet".