Senator Shoman says new fines and sentences are ridiculous
Lisa Shoman
Among the contentious points are the exorbitant penalties. While the trial remains a summary procedure, where the case is expeditiously heard by a judge and without a jury, Shoman says the new fines and sentences are ridiculous. She also expressed dismay with the way the penalties will be imposed.
Lisa Shoman, Senator
“For an individual, you can now be fined for fifty thousand dollars—and not less than fifty-thousand dollars—and up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. For every day that the offense continues you can be assessed an additional one thousand dollars. You can also be imprisoned for a period of time not less than five years and up to ten years and or both. As we say in Creole “dehn fine yoh and confine yoh”. So those are the penalties for individuals. Now for non-person legal bodies; companies, associations, trade unions, NGOs, churches, friendly groups including I believe, a lot of the lodges which are associations. Every person who is a shareholder, director, officer, corporate secretary, treasurer of these bodies can be also held liable for any act that the organization does or does not do and the fines for that kind of body are even more. They go up; it is a floor of one hundred thousand dollars, meaning not less than a hundred thousand dollars. It can go up to half a million dollars and for every day that it continues, you can be levied or assessed a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. And if you are such a person who is a director, shareholder, officer of the company, you actually have to prove that the disobedience or disregard took place without your knowledge.”
An unusual aspect of the act is that it applies retroactively.
By now we have seen the true colors of the UDP government. I think Dean Barrow has shown himself to be a very vindictive person. We all know this is about the BTL fiasco. Now I am not in any way an Ashcroft supporter, but these are just bare facts: Government illegally takes over BTL because it couldn’t pay them back what the court ordered them to. Barrow has set up his son as head of BTL and has made his brother a supreme court justice. Next thing you know, government secretly passes a law like this. Barrow has shown that he will stop at nothing to serve his own interests. He’s trying to make it so that the government can do whatever it wants, and the people will have no say. Keep in mind they have amended the CONSTITUTION more than once. How is this democracy? We are two years into this government’s term, yet whenever there is a problem he blames Musa. We’re tired of hearing those excuses. Give us what we voted for. You can call PUP thief, but what can you call UDP? A lot more: Thief, Thug, Arrogant, Vindictive, INCOMPETENT, oh and what’s the latest thing? Racists in the party too? God, what did we do to ourselves?
go lisa the only lawyer in belize who has brains and is looking out for the people of belize and not to just fill her pockets with money we need more like her this station should make a poll on voting for her to be a judge supreme court judge then all these people getting away with murder and robberies would be taken care of .
In the land of the midget I’m a giant. This is not a government for the people. i have no political ax to grind since I’m neither PUP nor UDP. Why is this government so hell bent on suppressing the people? It started out by taking away land rights along with habius corpus. This move was clearly a set up by the oil company because they anticipated that the people were going to raise hell and that was an intimidating tactic. When a person is arrested and away from legal repersentation they are likely to give in to government demands.
I speak with some authority on the paranas oil companies cartels. They knew since 1973 that oil is in commercial qunatity is in Belize, just as the word is now out about different minirals in the country. The entire globe is long assessed by satelite that pin point where ever natural resourses are. The multi-national companies has these report and they buy their time until a government is in power that they can cut deal in their favour. Behind the seen they give financial support to political party to hedge their bet. You can fool all of the people some of the times; but not all of the people all of the times.
By now we have seen the true colors of the PUP includin propagandists like Shoman. When di rest of us were strugglin to fight the good fight against PUP secret deals, give away to cronies like Novelos and Pappy Pena where were these people. My own opinion is that they are playin politics as usual.
I believe it is time Belize Gov’t started taking over its asset before it was sold to Corporations for nickel/dime. and these people began GOUGING the POOR because they needed access to communication. When they were RAISING TARIFFS and making PROFITS, everything was OK, as soon as their FRAUDS are investigated they start to cry CORRUPTION/DISCRIMINATION.
I do believe paying a daily penalty like the one mentioned is RIDICULOUS.