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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Acting Chief Magistrate Christine Charles, Monday upheld a no-case submission against the former leader of the Opposition Business in Parliament, saying that the prosecution’s evidence did not cross the threshold to send the matter to the High Court for trial.
David Lee, who will contest the April 28 general election on a ticket of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), has been charged with misbehavior in public office and conspiracy to defraud.
David Lee
In September 2022, he was jointly charged with firearms dealer Hugh Leong Poi for allegedly conspiring to defraud the State of TT$1.4 million (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) in motor vehicle taxes.
Lee and Leong Poi were jointly charged with conspiring to deprive the State of tax revenue for importing a Mercedes Benz G63 AMG valued at TT$2.3 million. The offences were alleged between March 24 and June 8, 2019.
In addition to the misbehavior charge, Lee was accused of falsely claiming the vehicle was his to claim tax exemptions entitled to him as a parliamentarian.
Under their terms and conditions of employment, parliamentarians are allowed periodic tax exemptions for vehicles. Still, they must pay the taxes if they seek to sell the cars within two years of claiming the exemptions.
“I give all thanks to God, the Almighty. I also want to give thanks to my family, my wife, my mother, who is 92 years old, some strong friends who have stood by my side for the last two and a half years while this persecution took place,” Lee told reporters after the verdict.
He praised his “brilliant lawyers” and UNC leader Kamla Persad Bissessar, “who stood at my side. She showed me what loyalty is, and she knew I was innocent.”
Prime Minister Stuart Young, himself an attorney, told reporters that while he has not been made aware of the circumstances that led to the matter being dismissed, “the government which I led has no interaction with criminal charges; we are not the pesos who bring criminal charges.
“There is an office of the Director of Public Prosecutions that is constitutionally independent, and I think that (questions) need to be directed at the DPP. It certainly wasn’t anyone whom the PNM (People National Movement) government charged Mr Lee.
“So I assume whoever charged him had evidence they thought would support a charge. From my experience in the courts, it is for a court to determine…what happens with what is brought before it,” the Senior Counsel added.
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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Acting Chief Magistrate Christine Charles, Monday upheld a no-case submission against the former leader of the Opposition Business in Parliament, saying that the prosecution’s evidence did not cross the threshold to send the matter to the High Court for trial.
David Lee, who will contest the April 28 general election on a ticket of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), has been charged with misbehavior in public office and conspiracy to defraud.
David Lee
In September 2022, he was jointly charged with firearms dealer Hugh Leong Poi for allegedly conspiring to defraud the State of TT$1.4 million (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) in motor vehicle taxes.
Lee and Leong Poi were jointly charged with conspiring to deprive the State of tax revenue for importing a Mercedes Benz G63 AMG valued at TT$2.3 million. The offences were alleged between March 24 and June 8, 2019.
In addition to the misbehavior charge, Lee was accused of falsely claiming the vehicle was his to claim tax exemptions entitled to him as a parliamentarian.
Under their terms and conditions of employment, parliamentarians are allowed periodic tax exemptions for vehicles. Still, they must pay the taxes if they seek to sell the cars within two years of claiming the exemptions.
“I give all thanks to God, the Almighty. I also want to give thanks to my family, my wife, my mother, who is 92 years old, some strong friends who have stood by my side for the last two and a half years while this persecution took place,” Lee told reporters after the verdict.
He praised his “brilliant lawyers” and UNC leader Kamla Persad Bissessar, “who stood at my side. She showed me what loyalty is, and she knew I was innocent.”
Prime Minister Stuart Young, himself an attorney, told reporters that while he has not been made aware of the circumstances that led to the matter being dismissed, “the government which I led has no interaction with criminal charges; we are not the pesos who bring criminal charges.
“There is an office of the Director of Public Prosecutions that is constitutionally independent, and I think that (questions) need to be directed at the DPP. It certainly wasn’t anyone whom the PNM (People National Movement) government charged Mr Lee.
“So I assume whoever charged him had evidence they thought would support a charge. From my experience in the courts, it is for a court to determine…what happens with what is brought before it,” the Senior Counsel added.
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