Still no evidence in investigation into the Won Hong Kim/Elvin Penner passport scandal

Tonight there is very little new information on the criminal investigation into the Won Hong Kim/Elvin Penner passport scandal. Penner, the former Minister of State with responsibility for immigration, has been fingered by nationality officers who say he pushed Kim’s nationality certificate through without supporting documentation. Penner also signed Kim’s nationality certificate and signed as recommender for a Belizean passport for Kim. Kim, a South Korean national, has never been to Belize. Quite shockingly, News Five has confirmed that Penner has still not been called in for questioning, and the only place he’s been seen recently is on FB sipping Mexican beers. Exactly one week ago Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl-Lynn Vidal issued specific directives to CIB detectives investigating the Won Hong Kim/Elvin Penner passport scandal. There are two charges being considered under Section one seventy-eight of the Criminal Code, both of which are indictable and neither of which is subject to a period of limitations. It is anticipated that investigators will meet with the Director of Public Prosecutions early next week for a progress report to determine the way forward where Mr. Penner is concerned.

Court of Appeal orders a retrial for Viola Pook accused of setting husband on fire

VIOLA POOK

But earlier today, a number of decisions were handed down by the Court of Appeal to conclude its first session for this year. It ended with good news for fifty-six year old Viola Pook, who was initially convicted and sentenced to life prison back in July 2011 for the murder of her common-law-husband Orlando Vasquez. The court ordered that Pook is to stand trial for a second time after it declared her conviction null and void.  Vasquez was set on fire inside his home in Rancho Dolores Village on New Year’s Eve in 2008.  In the aftermath of the grisly incident, police were summoned to the residence where Vasquez was discovered lying face up inside the singed kitchen.  Over ninety percent of his body was badly burned.  He was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Pook case attracted public attention when Nation of Islam Leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan, singled out her case because she is believed to have been a victim of domestic abuse. But back in 2011, Justice Herbert Lord handed down an initial decision which was successfully challenged by Senior Counsel Simeon Sampson at the appellate level.  Sampson argued that the investigating officer, Sergeant Aaron Zuniga, failed to satisfy the judge prior to admitting into evidence a verbal confession made by Pook.  While Sampson made a case for an acquittal, he says he’s satisfied that Pook will be retried in the Supreme Court.

Simeon Sampson, Attorney for Viola Pook

SIMEON SAMPSON

“The matter was decided this morning you know.  We argued that about six months ago.  Viola Pook came to me on appeal.  She was defended in the first instance by another attorney.  So then came the Court of Appeal hearing and I argued that the evidence against Viola Pook was one incriminating sentence, “Dah me ketch ahn fyah.”  No other evidence.  And Sergeant Zuniga, the investigating officer, arriving upon the scene that day when the [incident occurred] saw the husband of Pook writhing in ninety percent burns and so on and so forth.  This lady said absolutely nothing and when Sergeant Zuniga went to her, after doing his investigation and asked her, “Dah weh happen?”  Well the lady said, according to her, she remained silent.  But Sergeant Zuniga said that she blurted out, “Dah me ketch ahn fyah.”  Situation like those trigger principles of law whether she was warned because I argued that the policeman ought to have cautioned her because he was reasonably on the evidence, he was investigating and when he approached her, “Dah weh happen?”  That was an accusatorial question and without any caution, as he ought to have done, I argued that the judge ought to have excluded that statement, “Da me ketch ahn fyah.”  Absent that statement there would have been no evidence at all, at all, at all for the judge to direct the jury to consider her as the person who burned her husband.  But another point of law which is very important.  The judge went on to give the jury a funny, funny, funny direction on identification.  Nobody identified the perpetrator of the person who burnt this person and the judge unfortunately went on to give a direction on identification evidence.  Viola Pook was never identified as the perpetrator and I think that is what carried the day for Viola Pook and the Court of Appeal said, well look she, consequentially, did not get a fair trial and they quashed the conviction, set aside the sentence of life and they ordered a retrial.”

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Project Gets A Shot In The Arm From Japan

Today a grant contract agreement was signed at the KHMH - between the hospital, The Government of Japan and the Office of the Special Envoy for Women and Children.The government of Japan donated one hundred and twenty thousand US dollars for the purchase of equipment to the hospital's paediatric intensive care unit project. It all happened with the help of the Special Envoy office - which had requested assistance for support through the Government of Japan's Grassroots and Human Security Grant project. And after getting a positive response, First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Jamaica Hiromoto Oyama travelled to Belize to sign the grant contract agreement. 7news was present.

To coincide with the first secretary's visit, tomorrow Japan Day will be commemorated at the Princess Hotel with a display by Japanese chefs.

Raylene Dyer Was Decapitated; Alleged Killers Get Off, Her Family Enraged

Original Story:http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=28166

In October of 2010, one of the most shocking murder stories we've ever reported on made national headlines: 18 year-old Raylene Dyer was allegedly decapitated and dumped in a river, so that her 3 month old baby could be stolen and given to another woman - who masterminded the crime. 3 men were accused of killing her but on Wednesday they were acquitted before Justice Denis Hanomansingh.The main evidence against all 3 men were that they confessed to the crime, and supposedly gave police intimate details as to how they killed Dyer, slit her throat, chopped off her head, and dumped her body into a river near a slaughterhouse in Valley of Peace in October 2010.
But, the accused claimed that police obtained those confession statements by force. They say that they only gave the caution statements because the police brutalized them into it.
Because the officers could not convince the court that they followed procedure when handling the written confessions, those statements were thrown out, and Justice Hanomansingh directed the Jury on Wednesday to return a formal verdict of not guilty. With that, Darren Banner, Jason Anderson, and Brandon Budna were able to walk out of court free men after being on remand for more than 3 years. Now, the alleged mastermind Aracely Cahueque is the only one who stands accused.Today, 7News caught up with Dyer's family to get a reaction to the outcome. Daniel Ortiz found out that the family didn't expect an acquittal. Here's his story:
Daniel Ortiz reporting
Rayven Dyer is beautiful and intelligent child, very self-aware, and charming. Her aunt, who is now her guardian, has made a huge effort to shield her from the effects of the violence, which claimed her mother's life. It's hard to believe that this baby was the centerpiece of a plot which saw her mother violently killed so that she could be abducted as an infant.
Reyven Dyer - 3 years old
"Hi."
Reporter
"What's your name?"
Reyven Dyer - 3 years old
"Reyven."
Reporter
"And you are going to school?"
Reyven Dyer - 3 years old
"Yes."
Reporter
"Which school you are going to?"
Reyven Dyer - 3 years old
"Kiddies Campus."
Reporter
"And how old are you?"
Reyven Dyer - 3 years old
"Three."
Reporter
"Wow, what do you like to do in school?"
Reyven Dyer - 3 years old
"Running and hopping."
Reporter
"What else?"
Reyven Dyer - 3 years old
"My mom likes to jump over the gates."
The 3 men, Darren Banner, Jason Anderson, and Brandon Budna who were accused of slitting Raylene's throat, cutting off her head and dumping her body into the river, were acquitted in the Belmopan Supreme Court on Wednesday. That was a shock to Raylene's family who were looking to this trial as a doorway to closure.?
Indira Cayetano - Sister of Deceased
"We were very disappointed, but like my mom said she doesn't know why she setup herself and had hope that our judiciary system would have worked. At first I was really angry, I was mad and then I spent some time trying to pray, because it's kind of hard to pray when you are going through a disappointing time, but with good people around me like my co-workers I started to feel positive again and I said you know what God is the ultimate judge, he doesn't sleep and he sees everything."
But it can't be forgotten that Raylene was torn out of her family's life. Her daughter has never had the joy of knowing her mother. She only has pictures and memories that the adults share with her.
Indira Cayetano - Sister of Deceased
"My niece has been the best thing that has happened to us within all the pain, with all the hurt. She is so happy; she is like the real legacy that anybody would have asked for. With her in our lives it takes our mind from some of the hurt because it hurts me when I see my mom paining and I can't do anything. When my mom starts to suffer with enlarge heart and high blood pressure and she is so sick and nervous, like just the impact of losing a child and never put closure, it had a great impact on her and nobody knows the true story except her."
"She is small, it was only two days since she turned 3 months when they had stolen her and we haven't really told her. The only time she saw Raylene like that - the time when we put her memorial picture on Love FM and she said that's my Raylene Dyer and she know Raylene is her mom but she doesn't have the understanding of death as a baby. As she gets older then we will tell her some more."
Daniel Ortiz
"Do you guys dread that conversation?"
Indira Cayetano - Sister of Deceased
"We won't dread that conversation because I feel strong enough as a God fearing person he will give us the words to say to her."
Alleged mastermind Aracely Cahueque, is currently now on trial before Justice Hanomansingh in which a new jury has been empaneled to hear her case. She is being tried alone for abetment to commit murder. Her attorney is Dickie Bradley. Since the confession statements of the men have been thrown out, Bradley wants Justice Hanomansingh to refuse to admit them as evidence against Cahueque. Her trial continues on Monday, and we'll keep following it.

EDITORIAL BY BNN ON RALPH HUANG

Recently in our small Central American Country of Belize, one of the local elections has been getting some international attention. So we at the Belize News Network, BNN, have decided to take a look at this and see what is going on in the Jewel of the Caribbean.

Recently the United Democratic Party, currently the party in power in Belize and one of the 2 major parties, has held their convention to elect Standard Bearers for their party and to plan for the upcoming federal election in less than 4 years.

One of the constituencies is Cayo South which begins at Esperanza and runs east to St Matthews and north to Valley of Peace and south to Armenia. One of the largest constituencies in Belize.

3 candidates were running to see who would be the representative for the UDP in Cayo South. Among these candidates was Ralph Huang, a longtime resident of Georgeville which is in Cayo South. Reported as one of the largest turnouts ever for the convention, Huang proved victorious getting over 60 percent of the votes.

This seems to have stirred up some issues with some of the people in Belize. Accusations on social media have run amuck. One of the main issues that keeps popping up is Huangs association with a Lord Neil Gibson.

Huang admits to campaign contributions from Gibson in an interview with one of the Belizean media outlets.  Somehow this transparency is being taken as a bad thing in Belize. While it is not required by law for politicians to disclose campaign contribution, Huang has taken the high road and chose to keep everything out in the open with his constituents.

After careful scrutiny, BNN has determined that the majority of these accusations being made against Huang and Gibson are coming from PUP supporters and media. Channel 5 News is owned and loyal to the PUP, Peoples United Party, and most of the political news that comes from that station is one sided and skewed in favor of the PUP.

Another propaganda machine for the PUP is the so called BELIZE TIMES @ http://www.belizetimes.bz. This so called media outlet masquerades as a genuine online newspaper but is obviously a propaganda machine. Propaganda was heavily used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during the Second World War and proved very effective in brain washing an entire country.

It has surface that one of the reasons for the unprecedented attack on Huang is that the PUP now feels threatened in that constituency. Huang has been touted as the one that can unseat the elected PUP rep, Julias Espat and that he is the one behind these attacks and is trying to discredit Huang before he has a chance to run in the federal election.

Some of the comments made on the articles by the so called media in Belize also give us a clue to the motivation behind these unfounded accusation.

The following was posted on the Love FM radio News Site regarding and article on Huang and Gibson which shows a level of misunderstanding and even go as far as being racist. Comments and opinion like this should be disregarded and do more harm to the beautiful people of Belize than they do good.

http://lovefm.com/huang-and-gibson-go-viral-on-the-www

Belizean March 15, 2014 at 12:17 pm Rass Farri, please do not be so naive for your sake, your children’s sake and your descendants sake. I agree with Kaila on so many levels. Yes, we need to redeem ourselves and fast. First off, “Lord” should not be on this man’s name, this was an addition made by him. The moment you open up your country to foreigners (Gibson and Huang) you are playing with disaster. Belizeans are seeking someone to come in and do what Huang did. He was smart and started even before the campaign, showing Belizeans what he thought they wanted to see and hear. Belizeans are dealing with two educated professional scammers and they need to step up and speak on it now before it is too late. Before it is too late, well what do I mean about that? Belizeans are currently #1 citizens, meaning we come first. It is a mixed group of beautiful people, however, we all know that races such as Asian and Turkish individuals are there in Belize for a reason and that reason is not for politics. Let’s be honest, will he be of best interest to us when making decisions for Cayo? Not only is he associated with Gibson but he is associated UDP (Barrow). Think ahead, what would Gibson want with Belize? Investment for what? The day GIBSON, his fake wife and Huang believe that they will “take over Belize” will be the day, they realize that Belize people are UNITED and will use any means necessary to prevent that. Rass Farri, stay united with your fellow Belizeans. This is what Belizeans do. If our Government won’t protect us, then we need to play our part and listen to each other. We can’t be separated based on a few gifts we get from foreigners such as Gibson and Huang (Immigration scam..Look into it Rass Farri). Nothing against you Rass Farri, but if Belizeans are noticing after the fact they made a mistake, listen and jump on board and protect OUR COUNTRY. NEVER go against your own to defend foreigners. Don’t be that naïve and do your research for yourself. Gibson helped Huang and now he is claiming Belize on some fake looking, gut-wrenching videos, the fake website they are putting online to scam people pretending to be Belize Channel five news. That will give us a bad name to foreigners. Would you like to end up being hated by multiple countries…I tell you now, we don’t want war that this EVIL man is trying to bring on us, and we already have our own problems. Don’t you think Huang have a debt to Gibson now? His loyalty is to Gibson not us BELIZEANS Additionally, did your know that they offered and paid each resident for their votes Rass F? Rass F I hope you weren’t apart of this because that was short term benefits, what about the long term..? He is building roads? Building roads for what? To go where? To transport what? They are laughing at us for being so naïve and we are just bending over mentally to get F*cked enah wi asshole. Be careful, slavery all over again for our descendants. This is how all foreigners approach a foreign land. They come with kindness, Ross F are you aware of our history of slavery, not just Belizeans but all people of color around the world. Kaila, I will continue to protest about this online as much as I can, we need to inform Belizeans everywhere of what is going on. I hope you do the same. We will not sit and watch this happen. Rass F I hope you do your research, listen and stay united with your people. Do not get upset with me for what I am writing but Do your research and prove me wrong if you have slaved yourself to Huang and Gibson.

Our opinion at the BNN is that Huang was chosen by the people of Cayo South after a long hard campaign. The people have spoken and all the attention that Huang is getting only indicates to everyone that he is a threat to the PUP. Until there is hard evidence on any of the speculation and conjecture, Huang is simply the new Standard Bearer for the UDP of Cayo South. Now let’s see what he can do for his constituency.

More on John McAfee and Belize with Alex Jones

This video interview with John Mcafee and Alex Jones reveals some revelations on corporate spying via your smart phones.  McAfee announces that he will soon release a free application that will tell you what your applications are sending with regards to information that you are not aware of. This is a must watch. McAfee also covers the escapades between himself and the Government of Belize.

John Macafee passes a message on to His Associates in Belize

It seems the Infamous John McAfee still has a bone to pick with some of his associates in Belize. This Video was released earlier this week as a personal message. You be the Judge!!

Video Link:

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