Dorian Pakeman sent on unpaid leave; Opposition says he must not get special treatment

Dorian Pakeman

At Tuesday’s Cabinet sitting, a decision was taken in respect of the Director of the Press Office, Dorian Pakeman. Pakeman had hit and killed Dean Dawson, a resident of Gardenia, back in April. Immediately following the incident, Pakeman claimed he was clean of alcohol, but there is one major matter that was kept under the rug. That is that a laboratory exam certified that he had tested positive for cocaine in urine tests. The Office of the D.P.P. stumbled into that information when checking on another case at the lab. Now, that information was never provided to the D.P.P. Cheryl-Lynn Vidal by the police and she will be making a determination by Friday when she will take into account other issues. Today, the man, who is at the PM’s side at media events, has been placed on immediate unpaid leave.  The Office of the Prime Minister announced that the PM has so informed Pakeman and that he further awaits the decision of the Director of Public Prosecution on whether to bring charges of whatever nature against Pakeman arising out of all the circumstances surrounding the traffic incident in which he was involved. Today, P.U.P. Leader John Briceño commented on this case.

John Briceño, Leader, People’s United Party

John Briceno

“We live in a country of laws and we need to give the process [a chance] to go through.  The statement claims that he is innocent, well let him have his day in court.  But if there was any wrongdoing and if it is true that if they found drugs in his system, cocaine, as I’ve learned, then he has to be held accountable.  We have to stop this.  How can we expect our poor brothers and sisters on the south side to live and follow the laws of this country but yet the people at the very top they are breaking every law that you can think about; that they can give away fifty-five thousand passports, thousands of visas and yet nobody is held accountable for it.  We can’t do that.  We can’t have the GSU going into that area and busting them up, locking up hundreds of our young youths because of marijuana and yet the allegations against them are in the millions of dollars and it’s staggering.  We have to stop this, all of us have to be held accountable under the laws

of this country.”