Court continues crusade
for a clean St. Maarten
PHILIPSBURG--Judge Frans Vennix and Prosecutor Paul Mooij continued their crusade for a clean St. Maarten Thursday with the handling of several environmental cases in the court of law.
Most of Thursday’s court session was a continuation of last month’s session, during which several cases were postponed pending investigation to be carried out and measures to be taken.
The case against apartment owner L.S. of A.Th. Illidge Road was postponed once more because there was still no clarity about the future of nine wooden shacks on his property. Inspection by ROB inspectors had revealed violation of the Building Ordinance. The electricity seems not to be in order and there is also a problem with running sewage water.
Originally, the owner of the shacks was summoned to court for sewage problems. But installing a new septic system does not seem a proper solution if the shacks should be demolished, said the judge. He required a report from the Fire Department concerning the safety situation around the shacks. The case will be dealt with again on May 24.
K.C. was brought before the judge because of serious problems with his septic and soak-away system. The neighbours’ yards were saturated by wastewater and a bad smell had been hanging there for almost two years. The accused said Thursday that the problem had been solved with the use of an expert company, which is using bacteria to break down the grease that is clogging the sewage system.
In closing the case, Prosecutor Mooij asked for a suspended fine of NAf. 1,000 with two years’ probation, but Judge Vennix decided to declare the suspect guilty without imposing a penalty because he had shown his good will and the case had been solved in a satisfactory way.
J.L.R., a resident of Poinsettia Road in St. Peters, was summoned because he had sewage seeping and wastewater from washing machines and showers flowing from his property into his neighbour’s yard. The prosecutor said this was a violation of article 7 of the Waste Water Ordinance.
The Hygiene Inspector said pipes should be connected to the sewage system and the broken septic tank should be fixed or a new one built. Judge Vennix wants an expert to look into the situation. He further agreed with the apartment owner and his female neighbour, who was also present at the hearing, to visit the site next week Tuesday to obtain a good impression of the situation. The case will be further dealt with on April 25.
The case against an owner of 63 apartments with a sewage system for only 20 apartments was postponed because the owner did not show up in court. The case will be dealt with at a later date.
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