There seems to be very little official scrutiny on former Minister of State Elvin Penner. He is the man who signed the nationality certificate and recommended a passport for South Korean Kim Wonhong, a man who never set foot in Belize. It is Penner’s signature on the documents which somehow fooled what was to be […]
While the Minister Hulse has stated that his watertight system was defeated by the recommender, one of those recommenders is Elvin Penner. His signature is on record. But with all that, Penner still seems to be avoiding due scrutiny. With the Police now allegedly involved, whether they look in Penner’s direction is another question entirely. […]
The Police have been called in by the C.E.O. and the Director of Immigration. Minister Hulse has stated that there will be no holds barred. But there is some ambiguity as to the focus of the Police involvement. Will the police be looking at Elvin Penner? We likely won’t get an answer to that question […]
There are problems on top of problems revealing serious cracks and gaps in an Immigration dam which Minister Hulse claims is watertight. Attorney Arthur Saldivar says it’s much bigger than it appears. He claims that the hustle involves not only passports and nationality certificates, but also the illegal sale of visas. Today he promised to […]
While Saldivar has magnanimously offered to provide information to the Police, he definitely won’t be greeted with warm smiles and welcoming arms. In fact, Minister Godwin Hulse sent an open threat to Saldivar via a phone call to Krem this morning. In his interviews with the media, Saldivar has called for an investigation into the […]
The Government of Belize has been coming under fire from all quarters, on matters as diverse as the Public Accounts Committee and the passport scandal. And now the churches have thrown some more wood unto the bonfire. This time it’s about proposed amendments to the Criminal Code. The bill is supposedly crafted to protect children, […]
On Tuesday, the B.N.T.U. sent out a release adding its significant voice to the condemnation of the passport scandal. It’s a significant move because the B.N.T.U. is one of the largest unions in Belize. Today National President, Luke Palacio, told News Five that if serious pressure had not come to bear, likely the matter would […]
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize weighed in this evening on the passport scandal which continues to unravel. The NTUCB says new chapters were written in the “now seemingly, ongoing bartering to the highest bidder, sale of our Belizean birthright.” According to the Congress, what we fail to realize is that for as long […]
The Chamber of Commerce, the BNTU, and others have come out swinging against the passport scandal. The Human Rights Commission of Belize joined the chorus of condemnation of the fraudulent and illegal issuance of the Belizean birthright. HRCB says it publicly condemns the conduct of former Minister of State Elvin Penner in what appears to […]
Earlier we told you about the churches concern on the amendment to the criminal code. But the presenters of the amendment defended the bill vigorously this morning. For the office of the Special Envoy for Women and Children it is to protect children including boys and to strengthen the penalties against offenders of children. Duane […]
A contract of more than three million dollars was signed today for the construction of facilities at Gwen Lizarraga High School, the Youth Hostel and the Hattieville prison. The project is targeting at risk youths and has a life of four years. Duane Moody has that story. Duane Moody, Reporting B.A.E. Constructions and Usher […]
At eleven-thirty this morning the nationality section in Belmopan closed its doors to the public. At a meeting, the staff was told only that because of an investigation they would not be opening for the immediate future. They were given no further details. The directive from up high comes eighteen days into the investigation of […]
So what does this development mean for the ongoing investigation? Minister Hulse told us that the two matters – the leaked documents and the passport scandal – are two different things and will be investigated separately. He insists that he is conducting an administrative investigation. But the cry for a criminal investigation has escalated into […]
The Minister accused us of asking rhetorical questions, but we were genuinely confused at that point. The question remains – can the D.P.P. and the Police institute a criminal investigation into the mess at the Immigration Department? Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration “Let’s not get this all confused because this is going back and […]
Arthur Saldivar is not disclosing how the more than a hundred and fifty documents found their way into his hands just before they were destroyed. But he says he will provide proof that they came from the Immigration Department on Wednesday. The press, this afternoon, cornered Saldivar on that point. Reporter “Why have you […]
Belize City Councilor Eric Chang is still missing in action. But his name continues to come up in the passport scandal which saw the fall from grace of Elvin Penner. It is believed that Chang was the go-between and courier who took the newly-minted Belizean passport to Taipei, where it was placed at the disposal […]
So where is Eric Chang tonight? Well nobody knows for sure, though the best guess is that he is still in Taiwan. He was scheduled to return to Belize on October third, but didn’t. Today News Five spoke to Mayor Darrell Bradley said that Chang hasn’t said anything to the Council about the passport scandal […]
There was a huge bust of counterfeit fake goods on Monday night worth millions of dollars. Customs officials were keeping an eye out for the fake goods since last week and when the goods came in on Monday, customs moved in. An estimated five million dollars of fake goods arrived in three containers from China […]
As we said earlier, there are now calls for an independent commission of inquiry. The Chamber of Commerce this afternoon called on the Prime Minister, the Senate, and the Commissioner of Police to take immediate steps to address how Kim Wonhong was able to obtain Belizean citizenship. Says the Chamber “Our nationality is not for […]
Not much has been heard from the unions on the on the passport scandal since the story broke on September nineteenth, that is until today, when the militant Belize National Teachers Union issued a release. While they did not offer interviews, the B.N.T.U. put on record its utter disdain for the ongoing scandal. The union […]
An amendment to the Criminal Code was discussed up to late this evening in the Senate Committee in Belmopan. It drew the attention of a large representation from the churches who feel aggrieved by particular section of the amendment. The Committee of the Senate last week passed the bill and it did so despite a […]
Whatever the reason, the fact is that the government maintains a majority in the Senate. That means that once a bill is presented by government, the extreme likelihood is that the “Aye’s” will have it – regardless of substantive or drafting errors. According to Lizarraga, the error in the bill for an amendment to the […]
The passport scandal that started to unravel on September nineteenth is not going to go away anytime soon. Tonight, former Minister of State Elvin Penner is out of the hospital after being treated for hypertension. But after getting wind of tonight’s news, he might be checking back in shortly. And as they say, if there […]
According to Saldivar that is only one inconsistency on the documents, all signed by former Minister of State Elvin Penner. Those nationality applications were signed primarily for Middle Eastern and Asian nationals. As we mentioned, we only saw one today, but Saldivar says that all of them have been shared with foreign agencies and with […]
There is huge public outcry on the issue of a criminal investigation in the passport scandal to determine what extent of wrongdoing took place when South Korean national, Kim Wonhong was issued with a Belize passport even as he sat in a Taiwanese jail. Even though it is a crime to knowingly provide information that […]
