Paria CoE chair: DPP right to order police probe

Paria Commission of Enquiry chairman Jerome Lynch, KC. - File photo by Roger Jacob

PARIA Commission of Enquiry (CoE) chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, has said Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, is within his rights to order a police investigation into the Paria diving tragedy.

Lynch made this comment in a statement on August 6.

The statement was released by the commission's former lead counsel, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC.

On February 25, 2022, Land Marine Construction Services (LMCS) divers Rishi Nagassar, Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry and Christopher Boodram were doing maintenance work on a 30-inch underwater pipeline belonging to Paria when they were sucked into it.

Only Boodram survived.

In a statement on July 30, Gaspard said he had considered the Paria Commission of Enquiry (CoE) report into the tragedy.

"I have identified the only possible non-regulatory criminal offence which could have been committed as being manslaughter by gross negligence," Gaspard said.

He added, "Unlike in the UK, there has been no statutory intervention in Trinidad and Tobago to create an offence known as corporate manslaughter."

After studying the CoE report, Gaspard met with Harewood-Christopher on May 8. He wrote to the top cop two days later.

Gaspard advised her that police "should commence a criminal investigation, so as to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to charge any individual or corporate entity with manslaughter by gross negligence.

"An investigation is required as the commission's report does not itself constitute evidence, and it is materially deficient in proving all of the elements of the offence to be investigated."

The DPP's statement added that Harewood-Christopher told him she had appointed an officer to lead the investigation.

In his statement, Lynch said there is no inconsistency between Gaspard's statement and recommendations in the CoE's report.

In its report, the CoE said there was not a strong enough case to prosecute any individual, but the law allowed for a corporation to be charged with manslaughter.

The report said the commissioners were "minded to recommend to the DPP, that on the evidence, they find there are sufficient grounds to conclude that Paria's negligence could be characterised as gross negligence and consequently criminal."

The CoE recommended that the DPP charge Paria with corporate manslaughter.

Lynch identified recommendations 40 and 41 as two places in the report where these points were raised.

"Both the DPP and the commissioners are on the same page in that the DPP stated that the investigation to be conducted by the police is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to charge Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd or any official with the deaths of the four divers.

In its report, Lynch continued, the commission recommended to Gaspard that on evidence before it, "there were sufficient grounds to conclude that Paria's negligence could be characterised as gross negligence and possibly criminal.

He added that the evidence before the commission, as stated in its report, was not strong enough to recommend that any one person be charged for manslaughter.

On this basis, Lynch said Gaspard was perfectly entitled to direct that a police investigation take place.

He confirmed that in the UK the offence of corporate manslaughter is clearly defined.

In TT, Lynch continued, corporate manslaughter has not be codified into law as an offence.

But he said, "Manslaughter committed by a company is a common-law criminal offence and that common-law criminal offence can be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Corporations) Act.

In his address to the PNM's Diego Martin West 51st annual constituency conference on August 3, the Prime Minister offered no opinion on Gaspard's decision to instruct the police to launch a criminal investigation into the Paria diving tragedy.

Dr Rowley said the UNC has consistently opposed government doing business with anyone who was allegedly involved in corruption.

He asked, "Is Mrs Persad-Bissessar saying that we must now close down Paria because nobody should be doing business with Paria because the DPP says there is possible criminal conduct to be looked at?"

On July 31, UNC deputy political leader Dr Roodal Moonilal said the opposition hopes the police investigation will be timely.

Moonilal also said he hoped the police will get the full co-operation of the relevant state entities.

In a brief statement on July 30, Paria said, "Further to the statement issued today by the DPP, Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd will seek the appropriate legal advice and will be guided by the advice received with respect to any investigations going forward."

To date, there has been no information to indicate that either Paria or LMCS have been interviewed by the police about the tragedy.