Derrick Holiday released after 35 hours
By Hazel Durand
POINTE BLANCHE--Former Police Chief Commissioner of the Windward Islands Derrick Holiday, who was arrested on suspicion of forgery Tuesday morning, February 5, was released from police custody around 6:15pm Wednesday.
Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein confirmed last night that Holiday had been released Stein said Holiday had cooperated fully with the investigation and therefore had been released on the basis that he was no longer needed for this part of the investigation.
However, Stein noted that Holiday’s release did not mean he was no longer considered a suspect in the ongoing investigation.
Following Holiday’s release last evening after being in custody for about 35 hours, he was escorted from the Pointe Blanche Prison by detectives who drove him to his mother’s home on Bush Road, where members of his family, including his wife and siblings, gave him an enthusiastic welcome.
Holiday’s lawyer R. Joeri Essed of ZwanikkenSnowEssed law firm stated that Holiday had been interrogated for more than six hours on Tuesday. Essed said his client had clearly stated throughout the questioning, which was based on suspicion that Holiday had forged certain immigration documents, that he had never willingly or knowingly signed false documents and that he had never had any malicious intent.
Essed said Holiday had been questioned before about such allegations. And, Holiday had been called on to make a statement as a witness in the case against former Chief Immigration Officer Police Commissioner Marcel Loor, who was sentenced to four years in prison last November for accepting bribes for the provision of false entry documents.
Essed explained further that Prosecutor Maarten Hemelaar of Curaçao would now analyse the items confiscated by the detectives from Holiday’s house, office and car, and witnesses’ statements to determine Holiday’s further involvement in the investigation.
By law, Holiday could have been held for only six hours in the first instance on Tuesday, counting from the time he was incarcerated at the Pointe Blanche Prison, which was around 7:30am. However, due to his lengthy interrogation by the investigators, a decision was made at 1:30pm Tuesday to prolong his detention and enforce a 48-hour preliminary detention.
His release around 6:15pm Wednesday meant that he was allowed to go home several hours ahead of the expiration of the 48 hours.
