Archive for October 28th, 2014
Parents warned to inspect kids Halloween treats
(CNS): Government officials are urging parents not to take any chances when it comes to candy and other treats their kids may want to eat this Halloween. The environmental health department said parents should examine closely the goodies children are given when they are out trick or treating this week to ensure they are safe. The officials said parents should insist that kids wait until they get home to eat sweets or food items and only after they or other adults have inspected them. If children are given a snack or light meal before they set out trick or treating, officials advised, this would cut down on the impulse of kids to eat the candy they collect right away. The DoHE also said parents should throw out home-made treats, candy or baked goods that children collect.
With a number of different things being given to children on Halloween to prevent illness or injury the (DoEH) advised parents to remove any choking hazard such as gum, peanuts, hard candies or small toys during treat inspections. They said commercially-wrapped treats should be inspected for signs of tampering. Look for unusual appearance, discoloration, tiny pinholes, or torn wrappers and discard anything that appears suspicious.
Juice or cider should not be left unrefrigerated for extended periods before consumption with unpasteurised juices and cider being especially vulnerable. All fresh fruit should be thoroughly, inspect for holes and other blemishes, the officials advised, adding that they should be cut open to check.
“If in doubt, throw it out,” the DoEH said, as it warned parents to consider their children’s food allergies and examine lablels.
For further information on food safety, please contact DEH at 949-6696 or visit the DEH website at www.deh.gov.ky
Mother is murder suspect
(CNS): The police have now confirmed that the mother of the six year old girl whose body was found in an SUV parked in East End, Monday, was arrested on suspicion of killing the child. A spokesperson for the RCIPS said that the 37 year old female arrested for murder soon after the dead child was found bypolice in the early hours of yesterday morning, along the Queens Highway remains in custody. It is understood that the woman was in hospital under guard yesterday but police have not yet confirmed that or whether or not the woman had tried to take her own life. However, officers have now confirmed that the little girl’s father is a serving police officer.
Police are now asking anyone who may have been along the Queens Highway in the early hours of Monday and seen the light coloured SUV parked along the roadside. Although police said that officers on patrol had found the child’s body in the car at around 5am they are trying to piece together what had happened before then.
Detective Chief Inspector, Malcolm Kay stated:
“This is a tragic incident and our condolences go out to the family members of this young child and in particular her father. We are in the very early stages of this murder investigation and as such we are putting together all the pieces in order to find out exactly what happened leading up to this untimelydeath. We would be very interested in speaking to anyone who may have been on the Queens Highway in the early hours of Monday morning and who may have seen a light coloured SUV parked anywhere along the roadside,” he added.
A post mortem has been scheduled for later this week when police expect the cause of death to be determined.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the George Town Police Station on 949 4222, the Major Incident Room on 926 3975 or Crime Stoppers on 949 8477 (TIPS).
‘Human Rights’ for murderers?
‘Human Rights’ are getting in the way of common sense again. Over the last few years, there has been much debate about the suggestion that those convicted of murder should at some stage in the future be considered for release from prison and reintegration into society.
The most commonly articulated reaction to this is a strong disapproval and demand that ‘life should mean life’, or even a suggestion of a return to the death penalty. Frequently those commenting ask the not unreasonable question ‘What about the victim?’ Blame is regularly laid at the feet of ‘Human Rights’ for demanding the light sentencing of criminals. In the last week this issue has also been discussed in the Legislative Assembly and often these opinions have been articulated there too.
This important debate is sometimes devalued by a fundamental misunderstanding of what the offence of murder entails. Murder is not just one crime – it covers the widest range of offences – and not all of them are of equal seriousness.
If an individual breaks into a house at night and kills several members of the same family that is murder, as is the sadistic killing of a child for sexual gratification, a contract killing, or a terrorist outrage. Few people would suggest that crimes of this nature do not deserve amongst the most severe sentences that society has the power to inflict.
However, the mercy-killing of a loved spouse in agony with terminal cancer who asks ‘Please help me to die’ is also murder. And the man who, defending his family from violence, uses too much force and kills an armed attacker is also a murderer. Again, no rational person would begin to suggest that these individuals should be sentenced in the same way as child murderers and terrorists. A number of people might suggest neither should even go to prison.
Any sentencing regime must take into account all the circumstances of an offence, the victim and the offender – not just the name by which lawyers call it, which may be very different from what the public perceive it to be. Of course consideration must be given to the rights of the victim and their family – ‘Human Rights’ demands that too. But anything that removes the discretion of a sentencing judge to assess the seriousness of a case is likely to result in injustice.
So have the debate. Express your strongly-held and important views. But don’t just blame ‘Human Rights’ – they’re not as far removed from common sense as you might think.
*The Human Rights Commission and the former Human Rights Committee have both reviewed these issues in greater technical detail and their reports can be found on the Commission’s website www.humanrightscommission.ky.
Cops merge robbery enquiries
(CNS): Following a spate of armed robberies in George Town and the Seven Mile Beach area the RCIPS Serious Crime Task Force has consolidated the enquiries as a result of some links. While they do not believe that all of the recent robberies in the streets and at restaurants and gas stations are the work of the same two men, there are links between some of the crimes. Following the increase in August of robberies, Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay said a decision had been made to pull the investigations together and tackle them under one senior investigating officer and a combined investigation team instead of treating each enquiry in separate silos.
Kay said the idea of a major central incident room for the robberies was fuelled due to the escalation in the severity of robbers, as some of the culprits were turning on staff and customers and taking their belongs, and not just.targeting cash from the registers. Given that trend, he said, the incident room was established to tackle it head on.
He pointed to the recent robberies at tourist restaurants Coconut Joes and the Fish Shack, where customers were targeted and where the modus operandi were similar. Kay said they were motivated by money and the type of goods that can easily be sold. Nevertheless, he did not think the robberies were part of an organised criminal gang or ring but were random attacks.
The senior officer said the RCIPS was conducting high visibility and covert patrols and checking business to reassure the public and business owners, as well as assisting the investigation team.
Speaking on the morning after another robbery, which happened on Sunday evening at a George Town gas station, Chief Superintendent Kurt Walton said he wanted to reassure the public about what the RCIPS was doing to get the right culprits into custody.
“We are doing everything possible to trace and locate these individuals,” he said, adding that there had been 29 robberies so far this year compared to 39 last year over the first ten months of the year. Pointing to the effort made by the RCIPS, he said so far this year 26 arrests had been made for robbery and another 114 arrests for burglaries.
He said it could be a handful of people committing the same burglaries but he believes there are as many as 150 burglars on the streets of Grand Cayman.
Over the last two weeks, Walton said, around 50 individuals had been stopped and searched and police patrols had visited and checked over 80 business premises, including the latest gas station targeted by robbers on Shedden Road. He said police had been highly visible in George Town and on the Seven Mile Strip and officers were getting out of their cars and moving through the community, talking to business owners.
Despite the surge, Walton said he was keen to get the message out that Cayman is still one of the safest places and dispelled the myth that crime is increasing. He said this year there had been 538 burglaries, compared to 565 over the same ten months last year.
While these figures may seem high, Walton said, the perception about crime getting worse is incorrect. He noted that the figures in the early 1990s for burglaries were almost double that, running on average over 900. The chief superintendent said the major difference between then and now was the transparency as there were many more media houses reporting and documenting crime, which did not happen in the past.
Riders take part in international jump on home soil
(CNS): Isabelle Smith on Edson Arantes became the first rider to take the championship trophy when the Cayman Equestrian Foundation hosted the FEI’s World Jumping Challenge for the first time. Smith entered the contest with four other local riders Alexandra Rado on Larkin, Polly Serpell on Calidad, and Amara Thompson on Rumour Has It. The competition is designed for riders who cannot easily travel to international shows because they live in remote locations. As well as getting individual placing within their geographic zone, the best three riders constitute the Cayman Team and are given a ranking alongside other teams in the region.
After all the horses had passed the vet jog, the riders competed over the first course. Rado was first to go and had one knock down posting four faults. Thompson and Smith followed her and did the same, each posting four faults, whilst Serpell clipped two fences, finishing round one on eight faults.
In the second round of the day, Smith posted the first clear round of the day, with Rado and Serpell both having one knock down resulting in four faults each. Thompson had three knock downs and an additional penalty for cantering in the compulsory trot section, finishing round two on 16 faults.
In the first round of the second day, the third round of the competition, Smith and Thompson posted four faults, each having one knock down and Rado posted eight faults for two knock downs. Unfortunately for Serpell, her horse refused the same fence twice resulting in her elimination.
The final round was a ‘jump off’ of sorts, with time coming in to play in the event of a tie on overall faults for the winning place. Rado finally got the clear round she coveted along with Smith and Serpell. Thompson finished the day with fifteen faults in the final round.
After the faults from all four days were tallied, Smith was declared Champion, Rado Reserve Champion and Thompson was placed third. These three ladies now form the Cayman Team for the competition.
Sharon Hinds, president of the CIEF said for many years it had been a goal to host this contest locally and she added, “It gave the four riders who entered some great competition experience on FEI designed courses and a ranking in the region for themselves and for the team.”
George Town gas station robbed
(CNS) Updated: Staff at a George Town gas station on Shedden Road became the latest victims at the weekend in the recent spree of armed robberies. A report was made to the police at about 8pm on Sunday evening that a lone masked man man armed with what appeared to be a handgun robbed the store of cash at the Rubis Service Station. The robber wearing dark clothing , a blue hoodie and a blue mask entered the premises and stole cash. He is described as approximately 5’ 6” tall and of slim build and spoke with a Caymanian accent. The suspect fled the gas station on foot in the direction of Thomas Russell Way. No injuries were reported.
The matter is under investigation by detectives from the Drugs and Serious Crime Task Force and any one near the Rubis gas Station on Shedden Road between 8:00pm and 8:10pm are asked to contact George Town Major Incident Room tip-line 949-7777 or Crime Stoppers on 800 8477(TIPS)
Local swimmers head to Qatar for international meet
(CIASA): The Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) has announced the athletes who will represent the Cayman Islands at the 2014 FINA World Swimming Short Course Championships taking place in Doha, Qatar, December 3rd-7th, and at the FINA Youth Programme, taking place December 2nd – 7th, also in Qatar. Athletes representing the Cayman Islands in the World Swimming Short Course Championships are: Lara Butler, Lauren Hew, Brett Fraser and Geoffrey Butler. The team will be accompanied by CIASA Technical Director Bailey Weathers who will serve as Team Manager and Head Coach.
The Team was selected by CIASA using a power point system which ranks each swimmer's best long course times from the previous 12 months and then assigns them a ranking based on points earned. With two slots for women and two slots for men to be filled, the top two ranked swimmers – female and male – earned spots on the team.
Because the athletes live in different places (in the Cayman Islands, USA or UK), they will travel to Doha separately – with departure dates dictated primarily by school concerns – arriving on either Nov 30th or December 1s.
Also taking place in Doha, Qatar, is the FINA Youth Programme, running concurrently with the World Swimming Short Course Championships, Dec 2 – 7th. The youth program, designed to be an educational experience, a cultural experience and motivational experience for young swimmers will provide Cayman’s two young swimmers with great experience and inspiration.
To be selected for this Youth Programme, swimmers needed to be born in 1998 to 2000 and may not be participating in the World Championships. CIASA selected Cayman’s two athletes – one female and one male – using a power point system and are sending Catriona MacRae and Jonathan Key. Travelling with MacRae and Key will be Team Manager Ms. Claire Critchley.
FINA provides financial support for this trip and schedules, and pays for, the participants’ flights; and attendance at both these events is made possible by CIASA, in partnership with FINA* (Fédération Internationale de Natation, in English this is the International Swimming Federation).
Haines jogs through ‘fair city’ for 5th marathon
(CNS): Cayman’s veteran marathon man completed Dublin’s annual 26-mile plus street race Monday, marking his fifth marathon in his challenge Six4hospice. With a lingering ankle problem, Derek Haines jogged round the course in a respectable four hours and fifteen minutes just days after his 66th birthday. The veteran distance runner has already completed a staggering challenge, having run five marathons so far this year — but it’s not over yet. Haines has one final pavement pounder to complete on home turf in December, when he hopes he will have raised the $1 million to build a local hospice facility.
Speaking from Dublin Tuesday, Haines told CNS that his Dublin time was a tad slower than he had hoped. At the half way mark he was on target to get under four hours but the effects of an infected ankle and the medication took its toll after 18 miles or so.
“No complaints though and I enjoyed the day,” Haines said. “The crowd was great and old friends now living there cheered me on along with my wife Helen. The celebratory pint of the City's famous product with sponsor Peter Kandiah was fortifying afterwards. The fund is now very close to 800K and I am hoping for a surge in support as the final marathon in the challenge on 7th December in Cayman gets closer.”
Some 14,000 runners took part and the men’s race was won by Kenya’s Eliud Too in a time of 2:14:48. His fellow countrywoman, Esther Macheria, edged out last year’s winner Maria McCambridge to claim first place in the women’s race in 2:34:15. First across the line was wheelchair participant Patrick Monaghan in a new record time
Since beginning his amazing feat in Paris back in April this year, Haines has completed marathons in London, Pamploma, San Francisco and now Dublin, and will be completing his challenge with the local marathon, where Haines may find he has one or two supporters in the crowd to help carry him round.
Anyone wishing to donate to the local hospice challenge or see more information visitthe website:six4hospice.com/