On Monday night, we led our newscast with a story involving a lawsuit brought against businessman Mike Feinstein and Stake Bank Enterprise Limited. Tonight, we take a closer look at a sworn statement provided to the High Court on April nineteenth. The Government of Belize and businessman Michael Feinstein entered into a Definitive Agreement to facilitate the development and operation of Stake Bank Island as a cruise ship docking facility in August 2017. A year later, in his capacity as Director of Stake Bank Enterprise Limited, Feinstein approached the Atlantic Bank seeking an extension of bridge financing to Stake Bank Enterprise Limited in the sum of twenty million dollars. In an affidavit from Gregory Maheia, the managing director of Atlantic Bank, he says that Feinstein, in providing details of the project, informed the bank that the island was too small and, thus, intended to extend the island by dredging and reclaiming roughly twenty-four acres of seabed. On September twentieth, 2018, the Atlantic Bank provided a loan of twenty million dollars to SBEL and, along with a facility letter, Feinstein was furnished with a draft of the Mortgage Debenture for his execution. The debenture was reportedly signed by Feinstein in his capacity as director of Stake Bank Enterprise Limited, however, the document remained undated and in the custody of Atlantic Bank’s lawyer because Feinstein reportedly did not wish to pay any stamp duty. Instead, he insisted that the debenture was the beneficiary of SBEL’s exemption under the act and the bank was awaiting the First Registration Title for Minister’s Fiat Grant Number 699 of 2004 and 609 of 2006 which were still registered in Feinstein’s name.
Month: April 2024
Dr. Cuellar Spent His Last Days Thinking About Belize
Last night, we told you about the untimely passing of Belize’s beloved Doctor Fernando Cuellar. Today, his siblings spoke with News Five about his final moments. Judith Cuellar, Doctor Cuellar’s sister, says her family has been receiving an outpouring of condolences and well wishes. She says that while they are unable to respond to every message and call, the family is comforted by the overwhelming expressions of support. And they wanted the public to know that Doctor Cuellar had all intentions of fighting to overcome blood cancer. Judith Cuellar says her brother’s sole concern was getting back to Belize to be with his children and patients and the Belize Medical Associates. Here is more of what she told us.
Voice of: Judith Cuellar, Sister of Deceased
“Tony as he is better known was kind of private when it came to certain things. He was also our eldest brother. So we looked to him for guidance and he would let us know if he wants us to know about certain things. So, we knew he was having health issues and he discussed some of those health issues with us. To me as a critical care nurse, my brain is going a mile a minute. It could be more. He finally called me on the twentieth of March saying he needed my help. My brother never asked for help. So that brought alarm bells. He flew up to California on the twenty-third. From the moment I saw him I knew something was wrong. He had back problems and pain was the major issue. He just wanted the pain to go away. So I took him to the hospital because we wanted to see if they could help with the back and do anything for the back and sure enough he underwent the surgery and it turned out he had three fractures in the back. This man was living with three fractures, seeing patients and still going about what he does best, not taking any pain medication at all. We managed to fix the back with Dr. Jackson, one of our orthopedic surgeons here. But the blood work came back and it was not normal. So we started to decipher what that meant. We took a bone sample and the diagnosis of T Cell Lymphoma came back and that is a very rare form of cancer. So, he was special to the end. If anybody is to get it Tony got it. So they started aggressive chemotherapy and unfortunately the chemotherapy does its job which is to shut down the body systems and we gave other medication to reboot. And that is where we ran into trouble. His body wouldn’t reboot and with that we dealt with the issues of him quickly. Us as siblings, we are still grappling with it. We are comforted by the fact that he had discussions about not wanting to suffer. He had discussions about not wanting aggressive treatment in the form of artificial life support and things of that sort. And up to the end he was actually negotiating with the doctors what he would allow and true to the end, we will do this and I will give you two days. And that is true to his form until the bitter end.”
Shanique Meighan Speaks Out After Being Released from Prison
Last week, we reported on the detention of Shanique Meighan, sister of Ellis, Tyrone and Shaquille Meighan, all of whom are known to the law. Her older sibling, Ellis, is wanted in connection with the murder of Roy Burgess in Placencia. Reports are that on Wednesday, April seventeenth, police entered the home of Shelly Meighan, where her daughter had been socializing and conducted a search. After the police left the premises, Meighan arranged a ride with a friend and left her mother’s house. Shortly after, she was picked up by police and detained, allegedly under the SOE, and sent to prison the following day. On Thursday, Meighan was released from prison and returned home. While she has declined an interview, she has released a statement detailing her experience. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with that report.
Shanique Meighan recounted the events surrounding her detention and alleges that the ordeal began after police entered her mother, Shelly Meighan’s house, to conduct a search. According to the family, police were unable to find anything illegal and left the premises. Shortly after, Shanique Meighan would arrange for a friend to pick her up. However, the companions would not get very far as they were quickly approached by the police and told to pull the vehicle over. In a statement from Meighan, she said, “After we complied, they informed us they were conducting a search. Despite finding nothing illegal, the officers pressured me to disclose our destination. They threatened to detain me under the state of emergency and even implicated me in a murder investigation if I wouldn’t reveal my brothers’ whereabouts. They handcuffed me at the roadside and transported us directly to the Queen Street police station.”
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Britney Gordon for News Five.
Nearly $50,000 Deposited Into Wrong Account
Today, a woman was charged for dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit after nearly fifty thousand dollars of the Belize Government Lottery was mistakenly deposited into her account. That woman is Kathleen Belisle, a thirty-two-year-old security guard at the Philip Goldson International Airport. On Wednesday, March twentieth, 2024 about two p.m., Prem Balani, a twenty-five-year-old Belizean Accountant at Nandos Wholesale LLP visited Precinct two Police Station Crimes Investigation Branch Office and made a report. Allegations are that on March eight, 2024, Belisle retained a wrongful credit of forty-seven thousand, nine hundred thirty-five dollars and forty-five cents in Belizean currency. Belisle allegedly knew that the wrongful transaction had occurred but did not take the necessary steps to ensure that the transaction was cancelled. Balani told police that Nando’s Wholesale LLP is one of the Sales Agent for the Belize Government Lottery and on Friday, March eighth, 2024, he sent the money to a Belize Bank account, believing to be the account of Bi Yun Chen at Lowes Supermarket which is a Sub- Agent for the Belize Government Lottery, but on Wednesday, March sixteenth, 2024, Balani received a call from a Sales Representative at Nando’s Wholesale LLP who was inquiring about the payment to Lowes Supermarket as to why the money had not been sent. Proof of payment was sent to the Sales Representative at Nando’s Wholesale and shortly afterwards the representative informed Prem Balani that the Belize Bank account number was wrong and belonged to someone else. That is when the Belize Police Department launched an investigation into the matter and sent a request to the Financial Intelligence Unit to ascertain who the account belonged to. No plea was taken from Belisle as the prosecutor indicated that the matter will be taken to the High Court on indictment. The Prosecutor, Christopher Smith, had no objection to bail being offered to Belisle; however, he asked the sitting magistrate to set stringent conditions to her bail. With that the sitting magistrate offered Belisle bail in the sum of six thousand, plus one surety of the same amount, or two sureties of three thousand each which she needed to meet by four p.m. this evening.
Linsford Castillo, “No Ill Feelings” Over CA Position
Earlier in the month, we told you that Linsford Castillo, the P.U.P.’s Secretary General, was among the applicants who sought to fill the vacant City Administrator’s position. Well, as we now know, Albert Vaughn was appointed to that post. So, what does Castillo think about his application being rejected? Today he told us that he has no ill feelings towards anyone.
On the Phone: Linsford Castillo, Secretary General, P.U.P.
“I remain the secretary general of the party. Certainly, the interest in becoming the city administrator was not even in mind a month or so ago. We all know why the vacancy became a vacancy. So the council has moved on, the council has appointed the city administrator and Mr. Vaughn is that person and it is time to move on. In this line of work we cannot dwell too much on things that worked on and didn’t work out. We are still a party and as a party we have to continue to work on things that grows and develops this city for the benefit of the Belizean people. So, there is no ill feeling, no ill will. We move on and fight another battle as it comes along. So that is my take on the whole issue.”
Making Stretch Mi Guts for The Next Generation
The small company Belizean Sweets and Treats has prided itself in being a source for authentic Belizean confectioneries. However, it has no intention of being the only source of such treats, as the founder and owner, Sharlene Williams, has partnered with the Girl Guides Association to teach a new generation the skills to preserve Belizean culture and possibly become entrepreneurs in the future. In this week’s episode of Kolcha Tuesday, we observed as Girl Guides secretary, Marilyn Crawford shows us how to make the candy stretch mi guts. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
The Belizean delicacy stretch mi guts is one of many treats being passed on to a new generation of people. Through a collaboration with the Girl Guides Association of Belize and Belizean Sweets and Treats, the skills needed to prepare these classic candies are being taught to young girls and women so that the tradition may continue to be passed on for years to come. Sharlene Williams, owner of Belizean Sweets and Treats told us about the endeavor.
Sharlene Williams, Owner, Belizean Sweets & Treats
“Belizean Sweets and Treats teamed up with Girl Guides Association of Belize to help to promote the Creole culture, to Save our heritage so that our younger people can grow up and know that they’re a part of something Beautiful.”
Britney Gordon
“What exactly are you making here today that you taught them yesterday as well?”
“Yes, one of the most exciting things for them was the stretch mi guts the name. They’re like, what is it because they have never heard about it before So, we took on the initiative where we are teaching the guiders how to make these treats and when they go to their individual packs, they’ll be able to give that information to then teach their little brownies, their guiders, or their rangers how to do this.”
Marilyn Crawford, secretary of the Girls Guides Association of Belize, is one of the women participating in the classes. She recently learned how to make stretch mi guts and explained why initiatives like this are important for young women.
Marilyn Crawford, Secretary, Girl Guides Association
“The purpose of it is teaching the girls life skills. So from an early age, they could learn to maybe fry an egg, boil potatoes and stuff like that. So these skills that we are teaching the girls is to take them through their life. So it depends on how they. How they manage themselves as they get older, because we have to face it that there will be hardship and there will be good times. So when they get in difficulties, they should be allowed to help themselves and know how to get out of that.”
Sharlene Williams
“With stretch mi guts it’s a combination of sugar, lemon and coconut water. And You pretty much combine them on the stove. These three ingredients on the stove. Make sure you stir it properly. You have a leeway because it doesn’t start to boil until probably twenty minutes in. But after it starts to boil, that is where you need to keep your foot glued in front of the stove. Keep stirring and stirring because you want an even consistency between it. Some people, when it starts to boil, you will notice that it simmers less, and the syrup starts to thicken. This is where the sugar and everything is melting and it’s starting to look like a beautiful combination.”
“There’s actually two types of stretch mi guts. You have the hard candy, which you can suck as a sweet. And you have, like what the name says, stretch mi guts, where you bite it. And you have a lingering piece, it’s like a taffy. With the association yesterday, we ended up making the hard candy. So in today’s session, we are now making the taffy candy. Here we go. For it to be the hard candy, you need to be to seventy-two, seventy-five degrees. But most people do not have a thermometer. So what we did when we were younger, my grandmother would have a little dish with water. When you see your sugar starts to boil less, you would take a little bit from the spoon for it in the water. And if she’s able to pick it up with her hand and you’re able to stretch it in those, you know that you’re almost there. So when you reach that consistency, you It is where you would pull it out, and that would give you the taffy one. Now, if you would boil it a little bit longer, then it would then transfer into the hard candy version.”
Sharlene Williams
“The tedious process is when you go from your pot to the pan. You have to make sure that even before you start the process, that your pan is greased. Because just that little time between transitioning to the stove and you’re trying to grease it, it can turn from taffy to hard candy, and if it’s already at a hard candy, it can go to burnt candy. So you make sure that your pan is greased. You spread it out on your pan. That too in itself takes a little time. But what we have is a spatula, and we would continue to scrape from the sides, scrape on the sides. The idea is to just have an amount in the middle. Because the side starts to cool quicker, and cool, once sugar gets cool, it starts to get hard.”
Britney Gordon for News Five.
Where is Missing Fisherman Albert Robinson?
The family of thirty-year-old Albert Robinson, who has been reported missing from Tobacco Caye since March twenty-fifth, is desperately trying to locate the Belize City fisherman. Robinson left home that Monday en route to the island off the coast of Dangriga. When his uncle passed away a few days later, his mother attempted to reach him, but was unsuccessful. It wasn’t until the young man’s father contacted Therese Robinson and told her to go looking for her son, that she figured something was awfully wrong. Earlier today, we spoke with the distraught mother.
Therese Robinson, Mother of Missing Person
“The last time I saw my son, he came to me and said that he was going to Tobacco Caye to work was the twenty-fifth of March. Since then, I noh hear anything from my son because ih neva had a phone and when my bredda died on the sixth of April, I tried to get in contact with one of the guys dehn weh he is on the island with and he said that, “I don’t go on the island anymore.” And after that, Sunday here, his dad called and said if I could go in search of my son, knowing that my son is not in Belize. So then I feared for the worst and started to think all kind of thing running through my mind that dehn mussi kill my little boy, you know. And I don’t know what to say and I am asking the people out there at Dangriga, Tobacco Caye, anywhere where they are, if they could please reach out to me and say anything, if they know anything about him, all I want to do is just find him and bring him home even if he is dead or alive.”
Isani Cayetano
“Why would you fear the worst for your son? I know you mentioned that he went to sea or set out to sea on the twenty-fifth of March, but why would you think [that] something would have happened to him?”
Therese Robinson
“Because he’s gone long. He never goes for a month. He always takes seven days to two weeks and comes back in and I haven’t heard nothing, nothing from him. I think I dead because he just seh go in search of my son. Fu weh reason I must go in search of my son now when I know he’s always on this island with these guys.”
Assembly Building to Get Much Needed Makeover
Since it was inaugurated in October 1970, very little has been done to modernize the Assembly Building, the seat of power in Belize’s administrative capital. Several months ago, it was announced that the historic edifice will undergo much needed renovation and that the National Assembly will be relocated temporarily to the George Price Center in Belmopan until work on the building have been completed. Ahead of the remodeling, which is set to begin sometime in July, a series of consultations are being held with various stakeholders, including the media, on practical ways to improve the structure to enhance the visitor experience. Today, House Speaker Valerie Woods discussed the round of meetings and what can be expected from the rehabilitation of the building.
Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House
“Accessibility, a more modernized institution, one that will facilitate more inclusiveness by way of having a lift for those who have mobility issues and understanding that in 2024, the building and the institution has to be remodeled in a way that it accommodates women. We didn‘t have them, we didn‘t have those amenities in place. Flow, for both staff, for members, for media, as well, recognizing that the media is an important part of the institution and there has to be a space that is designed with that in mind and it‘s not an afterthought. The public as well, and then the police, because you know the police provides security for the parliament but as the presiding officer, I don‘t necessarily know what they are dealing with outside. And so it was important for us to get a perspective from them, in terms of the challenges they experience, so that the design can accommodate as best as it can and within the parameters of the budget, of course. So we‘ve met with the senate, we‘ve had consultations along with the house committee. We‘ve obviously met with the media, we‘ve met with the staff, and the police and we‘ve done that because before we get to the point of final design, it was important that we didn‘t hand down something but try our best within the parameters of the budget and the timeline to incorporate as much as we could from those who use the space on a regular basis.”
A Timeline for Rehabilitating the Assembly Building
According to Speaker Woods, it was important to meet with the staff at the Office of the Clerk because those men and women are the ones who utilize the space on a daily basis. The project, she says, will be completed in roughly one year.
Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House
“The staff, for me, were one of the more important groups to get feedback from the onset because unlike the media, unlike member, unlike the senators, even the police, they are the ones that are here, you know, five days a week, very early in the morning, very late at night and so the work environment and comfort is critical for their health and for their productivity. So it was important that we got that one done in the first instance and we did. And we are also in the midst of looking at the rate of completion, if you will, for the temporary location which is George Price Center. Some of what we‘re getting done over there also helps with what we‘re trying to get done with the new, if you will, National Assembly. In terms of timeline, the works really should commence late July, early August, thereabout, depending on when we can successfully move over to the George Price Center. Completion right now is estimated anywhere between late May and early June of 2025.”
BTV Raises Alarm Over Illegal Logging in Colombia Forest Reserve
The Belize Territorial Volunteers are raising alarm over the illicit harvesting of logwood in the Columbia Forest Reserve. A release from the BTV says that the organization recently conducted a four-day expedition within the reserve and stumbled upon thousands of board feet of lumber being illegally harvested by individuals from Guatemala. The statement further notes that a road has been established inside the reserve to facilitate this illegal activity. BTV is now calling on the Forest Department and the Belize Defense Force to swiftly intervene and put an end to these actions. We heard from one Punta Gorda resident courtesy of PG TV.
Valentino Tzub, Punta Gorda Resident
“Well we gone hunt and when we gone close to Machakil Ha Area and when we reached there, where the BDF stay, then we were walking there we saw the open road, inside the forest and that road come from Guatemala. When we reach there we see the road open and the tractor come there and we saw on both side of the road they cut the lumber there. They are cutting. That place looked like a hurricane pass there. All the lumber was on the ground. On both side of the road you could see the lumber. It is lone red on both side of the road. They are cutting mahogany, santa maria, sapodilla and the cedar.”