Marcel Loor entering the Courthouse.
(Gromyko Wilson photo)
Self-assured Loor
maintains innocence
~ Trial postponed until November 15 ~
PHILIPSBURG--Self-assured, relaxed, smiling, neatly dressed in shirt and tie, and upholding his innocence; that was how former chief immigration officer Marcel Loor presented himself Wednesday during the start of his long-awaited trial. He will have to answer to seven charges, amongst them forgery and accepting bribes.
However, Loor and his legal counsel Richard Gibson Jr. weren’t smiling after Judge Luis de Lannoy, who is presiding over this case, ruled that Loor should remain in custody pending the continuation of his court case on November 15.
They were “disappointed,” Gibson said after the court hearing, convinced as they had been that the principle “innocent until proven guilty” would have moved the judge to lift Loor’s detention.
“I am innocent,” Loor told the court in a brief statement. “After my arrest, the detectives and the media gave me the impression that I was already presumed guilty. I felt they wanted to nail me. From that moment, I lost all confidence.”
Loor had used his right to remain silent and had not cooperated with the police investigation, but said Wednesday that he would be cooperative during his court hearing and was prepared to answer questions and provide information.
On the defence’s request, the court hearing was postponed until November 15, because Loor’s lawyer needed more time to study the case, especially two tax evasion charges that had been added by the Prosecutor’s Office at the last minute.
Loor will be charged with seven crimes, including forgery of immigration re-entry forms for 106 persons between January 1, 2002, and June 10, 2007, and accepting bribes, said Prosecutor Maarten Hemelaar.
Other charges include defrauding the Coast Guard of more than NAf. 230,000 in rent allowances, income tax evasion, the forgery of requests to lower wage taxes, and laundering an amount of US $448,875.
Gibson said he would seek the assistance of a tax expert to shed his light on this highly-specialised subject.
Gibson also wanted extra time to hear two more witnesses: Police Chief Commissioner of the Windward Islands Derrick Holiday and David Dictus of the Coast Guard of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
Both witnesses will be heard by an investigating judge, Holiday concerning daily procedures at the Immigration Department, while Dictus will have to provide information about labour emoluments at the Coast Guard.
Gibson asked for Loor’s release from pre-trial detention, which would enable Loor to re-unite with his partner and three- and five-year-old children, who “were very traumatised” by Loor’s arrest.
Raising the curtains on his position in Loor’s defence, Gibson stated that he considered the proof in this case “meagre, unsubstantiated, and based on unreliable witnesses’ statements.”
He further said the fiscal charges could also have been dealt with by issuing an additional assessment or a fine.
Judge de Lannoy turned down the request to suspend Loor’s detention, citing that society would be shocked if this high-ranking police officer who is accused of serious crimes were set free pending his trial.
In this he followed the position of the Prosecutor, who had said Loor’s release would give “the man in the street the false impression that police officers, the Prosecutor and the judge were covering for each other, which, of course, is not the case.”
