Accused persons file
complaint of slander
PHILIPSBURG--At least two people, one of whom is said to be an Immigration Officer, have filed an official complaint of slander against the writer(s) of a widely distributed e-mail that alleges, amongst other things, that Immigration Officer L.H. accepted bribes for coordinating illegal entries at the Princess Juliana International Airport.
The author(s) have accused the police of failing to follow up on the tip much to their surprise although a police inspector had been chosen to investigate the matter.
Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein said Sunday that the letter sent from
e-mail zzzzz xxxxx (SXMPoliceReport@inMail24.com) was sent to government officials in the First and Second Chamber in Holland, to the Council of Ministers in Curaçao and to various international and local media houses and to the police and other official uniformed organizations.
Stein said after receiving the e-mail, police officers brought it to the attention of their management who in turn brought it to the attention of the Prosecutor’s Office.
He said, “Because it does not come from a known source and it is as such an anonymous letter, there is no other conclusion for the moment than that it is slander.”
He said he had called the several persons named in the letter who have all since filed an official complaint at his office against the writer(s) for slander. He said after speaking with Police Chief Commissioner Derrick Holiday and Chief Immigration Officer Ademar Doran he has decided that, based on the shortage of staff in the Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation will, for the moment, be handled by the local police detective department currently headed by Deputy Police Chief Commissioner Richard Panneflek and will attempt to uncover the identity of the writer(s) of the letter.
Stein said that this will not be an easy task as it will also require international assistance as the person(s) may well have sent the e-mail from abroad. He said that it was unfortunate that the person(s) claimed to be so concerned about the integrity of the Police Force, but was hiding, rather than coming forward and giving the full story.
He said as it is now the letter only accuses persons of wrong doing, which according to him is the easy part, but does not give tangible details that can be investigated. The e-mail was sent on June 24, around 4:15am, with the Subject line “Sint Maarten Police and Immigration Fraud.”
The author(s) first mentioned “an Immigration Officer and her family who were accepting bribes in exchange for coordinating illegal entry into St. Maarten.” The author(s) explained that they never benefited from these wrong doings but overheard a conversation between beneficiaries, the details of which were later confirmed by one J.A.
In fact the author(s) described a scenario for the transactions saying the Immigration Officer’s husband, who worked at a local utility company, would collect the money while she did the illegal acts of allowing undocumented persons to enter the island.
The author(s) have also alleged that there are two other scandals, one involving a St. Maarten attorney who forges documents and counterfeits bank drafts authorization signatures, and another involving a large St. Maarten Company which has not suffered any consequences from an assortment of illegal activities seemingly due to political favouritism.”
The author(s) ended by stating, “I close this letter by stating that I have performed my civic duty in this regard, which unfortunately I consider only one third finished. Hopefully, I will be able to finally unburden myself concerning the other two scandals to a receptive St. Maarten Police Department, soon.”
