Headlines:
| Joseph Hibbert assembles legal eagles |
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| Wednesday, 10 December 2008 | |
 A team of lawyers assembled by State Minister for
Transport and Works Joseph Hibbert will comb through a pile of legal documents on
Wednesday as they mount a defensive shield around the government official.Mr. Hibbert's home was raided by police personnel for several hours Tuesday. The operation was carried out under judicial instructions stemming from a criminal investigation by police authorities in the United Kingdom. Tuesday's police search at the Tucker Avenue home of State Minister Joseph Hibbert was the latest embarrassing episode to hobble the Bruce Golding administration. Attorney seeks answers Mr. Hibbert's attorney, Ernest Smith, said he will be seeking answers from the police Wednesday as to what led to the search of the State Minister's private residence. "We are meeting with the police to ascertain the reason for this search and what it is that they are looking for at a time when he was in fact a Member of Parliament and not working at the ministry," said Mr. Smith. In addition, Mr. Smith said he will be examining documents connected to the case. "I need to know a lot more. On the face of it, it relates to a case that is going on in the United Kingdom but certainly based on a judgement I have read today in relation to the case in which Mr. Hibbert's name is not even mentioned there is certainly no allegation of misconduct on the part of Mr. Hibbert," he said. Accusations of misconduct It is alleged that the case is connected to UK based bridge building company Mabey and Johnson. Mr. Hibbert was the Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Transport and Works in the early 1990's when Mabey and Johnson was contracted by the Jamaican Government to carry out extensive works. Mabey which is primarily involved in the export of steel bridges, is accused by its former sales manager of misconduct in sales to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Panama. Transport Minister in the dark In the meantime, Works Minister Mike Henry whose Ministry is responsible for the issuing of contracts for the construction of bridges said he is in the dark on what prompted the UK authorities to carry out the investigation. Speaking with our news centre on Tuesday night Mr. Henry said he had received no official report on the matter or whether they were problems relating to contracts awarded to Mabey and Johnson. High ranking sources in the police force have also been tight lipped. Mabey and Johnson has in the past received contracts from the Jamaican Government to build major bridges. In December 2006 it was given the green light to construct the one billion dollar Yallahs Bridge in St. Thomas. The original bridge was damaged by Hurricane Dennis in 2005. |