Former Minister of Trinidad Government Charged
Trinidad and Tobago is in the midst of a major corruption scandal involving public officials reaching as high up as the former finance minister, Mr. Brian Kuei Tung, who faces charges of dishonest activity involving millions of dollars.
Among others facing charges along with Mr. Kuei Tung is another former government minister, Mr. Russell Huggins, who was Minister of National Security.
The total of six officials had to pass through a gauntlet of heckling crowds as they made their first court appearance Monday, 25 March. Some in the crowd even made attempts at hitting the former finance minister.
Mr. Kuei Tung faces 10 charges: five counts of corruptly receiving funds, four counts of misbehavior in public office and one charge of conspiracy. The money involved in these charges is in the range of TT$3.5 million.
The corruption charges come as a further jolt to the stability of the twin-island republic which was already rocked by two general elections in 2001 and a change of government that came after the last poll in December. These events were followed by uncertainty of who will govern as the leading parties tied in the number of seats won, 18 each. The subsequent stalemate was broken through intervention of the President, Mr. A.N.R. Robinson, who appointed the opposition contender, Mr. Patrick Manning, as Prime Minister.
Mr. Kuei Tung was finance minister in the last government led by Mr. Basdeo Panday. That Panday administration held power precariously through 19 seats to the opposition's 17.
It was a defection of two of Mr. Panday's members of parliament that plunged the country into fresh general elections.
The defectors, one them being Attorney General Mr. Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, had left Mr. Panday's United National Congress party contending that there was corruption within the ranks.
Though not joining the then opposition People National Movement (PNM), the defectors struck a strategic alliance with the PNM for an anti-corruption platform during the campaign leading up to the December poll.