Testimony concludes in Affif trial

Testimony has concluded in the case of Gabby Affif. The prosecution had called twenty-four witnesses and today the defence presented its evidence, which consisted of a single unsworn statement from the dock by the defendant. Affif, charged with numerous counts of forgery and possession of forged official documents, claimed that he didn’t know anything irregular was going on in his Queen Street office. He said that an employee of his who formerly worked at the Immigration Department, Ursula Hill, was apparently filling out applications for nationality and passports for other people without his knowledge. He only heard about the passport controversy, he said, when he saw the news on television and in the newspapers. As for Max Santos, the J.P. who allegedly signed false affidavits in support of bogus applicants, Affif said that he never called on Santos to sign any passport applications, nor did he ever offer him any money. A defendant’s unsworn statement from the dock cannot be cross examined by the prosecution. The D.P.P. will make his closing arguments on Wednesday afternoon.