Archive for March, 2011

Premier signs new cash

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has issued new bank notes, which will be hitting the streets next month carrying the signature of the country’s premier in his role as minister of finance. The new D series of banknotes represents the first complete redesign of Cayman Islands banknotes since local currency was introduced in 1972. Besides looking different, the new notes incorporate features to significantly increase protection against counterfeiting and to make the notes more durable. All six denominations – the $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100 banknotes – have been redesigned, carrying new images, patterns and, in the case of the fifty dollar bill, a new colour – purple.

In keeping with the change brought about by the 2009 Constitution, the signature of Minister of Finance McKeeva Bush now appears on each note, rather than that of the financial secretary, as was the case with the C series of banknotes. The signature of CIMA’s managing director also appears on each note.  Bush, who welcomed the new issue, described the notes as stunning.

“I am pleased with the design of these new banknotes, which are a stunning reminder of our i,slands’ natural treasures. I am happy too that the new series is being issued under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance. This serves as a marker of our recently updated constitution while the Queen’s portrait acknowledges our continued British Overseas Territory status,” Bush added.

CIMA said many of the familiar elements of the previous notes have been kept for continuity. The D series places heavy emphasis on the Cayman Islands’ environmental heritage, with most of the notes featuring indigenous fauna and flora from the three Islands. The jurisdiction’s expansion from its sea-faring tradition into a modern financial services centre is also depicted. Each note bears an updated portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, along with the Cayman Islands crest, and all the notes now carry an outline of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman

The new family of notes has been in development since 2007. CIMA Chairman George McCarthy explained the need for the new cash.

“The board felt that it was timely to carry out a complete update of the banknotes, first, to modernise a design that had not changed substantially since the initial 1972 design, and, second, to take advantage of the latest security features available,” he said. “Both the previous and current Cabinet agreed to this initiative. The length of the process, from conception to issuing, reflects how extensive the redesign has been and the many components of sucha project.”

As with all CI currency, CIMA will issue the new D series through the local retail banks. The issuing will be done on a phased basis.

Managing Director Cindy Scotland explained that the public will see the $5 and $25 notes first. “The other denominations will follow as the notes that are now in circulation are gradually withdrawn from circulation. All previously issued banknotes continue to be legal tender,” she said. “Much thought and work went into enhancing the security elements and increasing the number of different features on each denomination. While counterfeiters will always try, the new notes will be significantly harder to forge, especially if people know what to look for and are vigilant. I urge everyone to take time to get really familiar with the notes so they can better identify attempted counterfeits.”

During this week (28 March to 1 April) CIMA is partnering with the Chamber of Commerce on Grand Cayman and District Administration on Cayman Brac to host training sessions on the new series for banks, retailers and law enforcement.

A representative of the banknote printers, De La Rue, will lead these presentations. Throughout the coming weeks, CIMA will also disseminate informational material through the news media and in public places. This includes posters showing the denominations and flyers highlighting the notes’ visible security features. The posters will be on display in post offices and other high-traffic locations and the material will be accessible on CIMA’s website.

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PRs proposed for jury duty

(CNS): The government is considering expanding the jury pool to include people who cannot vote. A new bill proposes to add permanent residents and Caymanian status holders (with or without naturalisation) as well as reducing the list of exempted professions and people. Members of the public are being asked to submit comments to the Attorney General’s Office for the Judicature Amendment Bill 2011, which suggests widening the list of persons eligible to serve as jurors in the Cayman Islands courts beyond the registered voters list. At this year’s official opening of the Grand Court the chief justice had drawn attention to the difficulties of finding people to serve on juries because of fear of intimidation or worse.

Rather than attempting to eliminate jury trials, as law enforcement officials had suggested last year, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie suggested that expanding the pool would be a more appropriate and just solution.

He said the legal profession was advising that the roll of jurors be widened from the voters list at present to include all adult persons lawfully resident in the Islands. “This would not only greatly increase the number of potential jurors, it would also spread all the burdens and responsibilities of jury duty across that wider base,” the country’s top judge had stated. “And it follows, there would be even less to be gained for those with criminal intentions in seeking to intimidate jurors, if they were assured that the society at large refuses to be intimidated.”

There are only 15,267 people on electoral list, which is just over a quarter of the current population of almost 55,000 people, as revealed by the preliminary census results earlier this month. From those who are eligible as voters, people over sixty are excluded as well as doctors and lawyers and even poor people, reducing the available pool by thousands.

Currently the governor, politicians, magistrates and justices of the peace, recognised pastors and ministers of religion, people working at the courts, medical practitioners, police officers and registrars are exempted, as well as those who can’t attend by reasons of poverty. People previously convicted before any court of an offence for which they were sentenced to prison and who have not received a pardon also cannot serve.

Officials are now considering removing some of the exemptions as well as including all permanent residents and increasing the current age limit from 60 to 70 years old. Lawyers too are being considered for inclusion, exempting only those attorneys who are actively engaged in litigation. The proposed bill further suggests remove the exemption for medical practitioners, registrars of land, births, marriages and death and those exempted by reason of poverty.

While the suggestion to widen the pool has been welcomed in some quarters of the community as a sensible solution, in particular increasing the age limit and removing some of the professional exemptions, the suggestion of adding permanent residents to the pool has, however, raised the question of their lack of democratic rights. The responsibility of serving on a jury works, in most democratic jurisdictions,hand in hand with the right to vote.

Anyone wishing to add their thoughts to the bill still being drafted should contact Tesia Scott in the Attorney General’s Chambers, 4th Floor, Government Administration Building or by email tesia.scott@gov.ky by Friday, 6 May.

See draft amendment bill below.

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Kidnappers given 10 years

(CNS): Following the guilty verdict delivered to Honduran nationals Allan Kelly and Charles Webster on Wednesday morning on six counts relating to the kidnapping of Tyson Tatum, the judge handed down a ten year sentence in the afternoon to both men for the crimes. He also ordered that Wespie Mullins, the third man involved in the abduction conspiracy who had both pleaded guilty and given evidence against the other men, serve five years. The judge had rejected the defendants’ claims that they had committed the offence under duress and found that the crown had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The three men were part of a conspiracy to kidnap the victim for a ransom of $500,000 last March, which the judge said was masterminded by Richard Hurlstone, who absconded from the jurisdiction while on bail.

The case was the first ever abduction for ransom in the Cayman Islands and when handing down the sentences to the guilty men, Justice Harrison said there was a need to be more resolute to stamp out such crime so it would not spread.

"This sort of behaviour can only be met with a heavy sentence," he added, before listing the sentences for each of the six counts against Kelly and Webster and the four against Mullins, all of which he said would run concurrently.

All three men had conspired to abduct, keep in confinement and assault Tyson Tatum and blackmail his mother Angelique Tatum who the men had called to make the ransom demands during the ultimately foiled kidnapping.

During the trial the court heard how Tatum was lured to an address in North Side in March 2010 by Webster who was posing as a customer wanting work done on some wave-runners. When the victim arrived at the property, where Mullins was the caretaker, the three men attacked Tatum and eventually bound and gagged him before tying him to a chair.

During the more than 24 hours or so that he was held by his kidnappers the men attempted to extract a ransom of $500,000 from his mother who had despite the kidnappers warnings reported the crime to the police. The three men eventually left Tyson alone in the house, and although bound and gagged and tied to a chair he still seized the opportunity to escape.

All three men, as well as Hulrstone, the man believed to be the ringleader were arrested soon after the bungled kidnapping and Mullins entered an early guilty plea. Hurlstone who was given bail absconded before the trial and is now believed to be in Honduras. Kelly and Webster both pleaded not guilty to the crimes claiming that they were forced into the conspiracy by Mullins whom they said had threatened their lives and the lives of their families. The judge however, said he did not believe that Webster and Kelly had acted under duress and dismissed their claims as a result of the evidence he had heard during the trial and the fact that the defence of duress was entered by the men very late in the proceedings against them.

When he sentenced the kidnappers, Justice Harrison told the court that the offences warranted a severe punishment as they had planned the crime, used force, demanded a significant sum of money and threatened to kill the victim. “The crime was committed purely out of greed,” the judge said. “The victim in this case was treated with brutality and terrified.” Justice Harrison went on to say that the trauma he experienced will take a long time to be erased and that his mother was put through the agonising, anxiety during the abduction.

Giving both Kelly and Webster ten year sentences for the abduction he also handed down six years for the count of blackmail, ten years for keeping in confinement, three years for assault five for the robbery of Tatum’s jewellery and a further two years for threatening to kill their victim. The judge said the sentences would be served concurrently and the year that the men have already served on remand would be counted.

Meanwhile, Mullins was given a discount for his very early plea, his full disclosure of the crime and his cooperation with the prosecution and giving evidence against his co-conspirators. He was given five years for his part in the abduction, five for the keeping in confinement, three years for the blackmail and two years for his part in the assault. Mullins was also told that the sentences would be served concurrently and that his time on remand would also count.
 

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