Chin

RODNEY CHIN, the prosecutor's chief witness in the corruption case against embattled politician Kern Spencer, said he received no inducement to testify against his former co-accused.

"No threats, favours, promises or any other forms of inducements were offered to me to give this statement. I gave it of my own free will," Chin said in a statement read out in court by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn yesterday.

The trial of Spencer and former assistant, Colleen Wright, was scheduled to begin in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday.

However, an order for a temporary stay of proceedings from the Court of Appeal yesterday afternoon forced Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey to postpone the start of the trial until Wednesday.

Charged under Corruption Prevention Act

Spencer and Wright are charged under the Corruption Prevention Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act. They are accused of benefiting improperly from the implementation of an energy-saving light-bulb programme. The bulbs were gifts of the Cuban government and its distribution racked up costs of $276 million.

Companies owned by Chin were at the heart of the distribution. However, after months of wearing the tag of an accused, Chin took on a new role when he gave a statement to the police painting Spencer as the mastermind of a criminal plot to benefit improperly from the programme.

The DPP subsequently dropped the charges against Chin, who, in return, agreed to be a witness for the prosecution.

Voluntary statement

In the statement read by Llewellyn yesterday, Chin said: "I made up my own mind to approach the police and voluntarily gave the statement to them. At no time was I forced to give it to them. No attempts were made by the police or any other person or group for me to give this statement."

However, Spencer's attorneys, who have been clamouring for disclosure of any agreements made between Chin and the prosecution, said they were not buying Chin's statement.

"Mr Chin's statement is the subject matter of what we want to discredit ... . We do not accept it," said Patrick Atkinson, Spencer's lead attorney.

Atkinson argued that the defence team must be furnished with all relevant information regarding the circumstances under which police officers collected statements from Chin and the motivation of the DPP to enter a nolle prosequi.

Llewellyn, meanwhile, maintained that all relevant information was handed over to the defence. She also said that the defence would have the opportunity to question Chin's credibility when he took the stand.

'Legal manoeuvring'

Spencer

Llewellyn said the tactic of the defence was an "extension of a legal manoeuvring which is designed to frustrate the start of the trial".

After hearing the more than hourlong submissions, Pusey said she was of the view that the trial should start and ordered both parties to return to the courtroom in two and a half hours.

However, Spencer's attorneys, who had applied in the full court for disclosure and were unsuccessful, had rushed to the Court of Appeal applying for a stay of the proceedings in the Resident Magistrate's Court, which was granted.

The application will be heard in chambers today while the trial has been rescheduled to start tomorrow.

Phillip Paulwell, who was the minister of energy in the People's National Party administration and was Spencer's boss, will be the first witness.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com