TCI struggles with HIGH LOSS RATE in Court, last week it cost the country over $500,000

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, May 27, 2022 – The Turks and Caicos islands have had to pay over $550,000 dollars this week alone to settle court fees in immigration cases where convictions were not secured.

The latest case is of seven Sri Lankans who entered the islands illegally in October 2019 but were held in a detention center and then a hotel for nearly a year in poor conditions with barely the bare necessities, which the attorney general’s chambers admitted was illegal as the men had applied for political asylum.

They were awarded over $75,000 each; $200 dollars per day for all 320 days of detention.

Another case earlier this week regarding Carmen and Harry Turbyfield , who were detained despite being legal status holders cost the government $35,000 dollars.

A lack of due diligence in the case of both detentions resulted in the verdicts.

The Attorney General had no room for defense in the face of both of these botched detentions and were forced to admit wrongdoing on behalf of the government which caused the over $575,000 dollar payouts.

The issue of due diligence affects criminal cases as well, albeit in a separate way as the treatment of witnesses often results in the prosecution unable to make a case.

Police commissioner Trevor Botting mentioned the need to improve the judicial system in an interview earlier this year and in January Director of Public Prosecutions Eugene Otuonye, QC concurred with that statement. He said in 2021, at the Supreme Court alone 43 prcent of the cases in the system could not proceed to trial mostly because of the unavailability of witnesses and victims.

During that speech Otuonye lambasted the lack of due diligence in reached to witnesses and commented on what he described as ‘a bane to the justice system. He chastened those responsible for what he described as “The neglect and disregard of the interest of victims and witnesses, especially vulnerable witnesses by the TCI Justice System which has brought the justice system to disrepute.”

Though a witness protection system has been set up the treatment of witnesses and the gathering and handling of evidence is a problem on varying sides of the justice system which continues to cost the country in monetary losses as well as the erosion of trust in the justice system’s ability to convict.