Meanwhile in Corozal Town on Saturday night, an unnamed gunman came whistling at a residence, and when twenty-eight-year-old Orlando Vasquez peered outside of his mother’s house to see who it was, he was met with a barrage of gunshots. Vasquez is presently hospitalized and investigators are seeking a person of interest.
“On Saturday, January 20th, 2024, around eight p.m., Corozal police responded to an area in the Joseito Layout area where they found Orlando Vasquez, twenty-eight-years old with gunshot injuries. Orlando Vasquez reported that he was at home when he heard someone whistle. He came out to see who it was, at which point a male person fired several shots towards him, causing injuries to him. He is at the hospital receiving treatment and is in a stable condition. We are seeking one suspect.”
Reporter
“Sir, could this be a case of mistaken identity because I believe he was at his mother’s house?”
Hilberto Romero
“Yes, he was at his mother’s house and when he heard the whistling he came out to check who it was.”
Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.
It’s been one week since allegations of rape emerged against a popular Belizean attorney. Two women came forward, alleging that the attorney, who they met at a night spot in Belize City, later took them to a house. There, they allege that he raped both of them while they were heavily under the influence of what they believed were laced drinks. The police are still investigating and have not yet brought any charges against the attorney. That did not stop a social media page to which he is closely affiliated from coming out swinging against the two women who have accused him of the crime. Hot Off the Press, a Facebook page that poses as a news-oriented platform, started soon after the allegations surfaced, to blame the victims. One of the initial posts on the page sought to target the women, suggesting that they were requesting drinks from him, asking him where the after party was and generally behaving inappropriately at the night spot where they first crossed paths. Thereafter, Hot Off the Press proceeded to post surveillance footage downloaded from inside the nightclub that showed a crowd and from among them, the two women who were swaying to the music on the night in question. The actions of the social media page, however, have come under strong criticism from at least one attorney, and from others who view those actions as weaponizing the attorney’s stance and blaming the victims. Today, the Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa, told the formal media that there is an ongoing discussion on how his ministry can address these kinds of social media pages that single out and target people.
KAREEM MUSA
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“I had a discussion just now over at National Security Council about establishing regulations for the media. There has to be some control because we know every single day a new media outlet pops up online with no sort of accountability or transparency to see who are the actors behind these websites, behind these social media pages, and we don’t know whether these are legitimate media houses, and so there has to be some action taken by the Belize Broadcasting Authority to put in place legislation and regulations to ensure that we can get rid of these types of social media pages that are using it, like you rightly pointed out, for the totally wrong purposes – undermining the police work and also trying to further the personal agenda of one individual.”
Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.
The Minister of Home Affairs criticized Hot Off the Press for the way it attacked the women and for, in his words, “adding insult to injury” by showing the video recording publicly of the two alleged victims. The actions by Hot of the Press, according to Minister Musa, who is also an attorney, prove nothing at all of the accused’s innocence.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“I don’t want to acknowledge Hot Off The Press as a legitimate media house, and I’m sure that other media houses can look to this particular social media platform sorry – media house as carrying out very despicable actions by showing imagery and video footage from the nightclub that night that really did not go to prove anything at all. And then to further insult to injury to make a commentary about how that in some way exonerates the individual, I just find it to be downright unacceptable and despicable.”
Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.
The closure of heritage stores in the downtown area of Belize City always grabs public attention because of the rich history that these businesses have, as well as the many experiences that customers share, either traveling to or simply enjoying the sights and sounds of busy Saturday mornings in the Old Capital. So when word got around this morning that Hofius was shuttering its business, there were more questions than answers regarding the unforeseen announcement, after all the store has remained a fixture in the downtown seen since 1892. We begin our newscast tonight with a brief look at the legacy of the company as it prepares to go out of business. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Another of the oldest department stores in downtown Belize City is preparing to wind down its business in the months ahead. Since opening its doors to the Belizean public in 1892, Hofius Ltd. has endured as a well-known establishment and landmark on Albert Street. In fact, it was founded by Otto Hofius and Curt Hildebrandt almost one hundred and thirty-two years ago. In 1914, the business became known as Hofius Hardware Company Ltd., before becoming Hofius Ltd. The store remained in the Hofius family until 1960.
Earlier today, it was announced that a decision had been taken by shareholders of the company to close its doors to retail and wholesale business by midyear. This brings to an end almost a century and a half of dedicated service to Belizean consumers. While News Five understands that the property, a prime piece of real estate in the downtown area, will eventually be placed on the market, we note that parking on Albert Street remains an issue for motorists. The Belize City Council has implemented the use of parking meters along that stretch and while it has proven convenient to some, it has deterred others from shopping in that area.
In a release issued by the company earlier today, it expressed gratitude to its employees who have, quote, remained as the backbone of the company for so long, end quote. Hofius also thanked its loyal customers, as well as other proprietors in the business community on Albert Street and downtown Belize City. The pending closure of Hofius makes it the third prominent company on Albert Street, including Augusto Quan, to go out of business in recent years. Isani Cayetano for News Five.
Online sales scams have become an all too familiar occurrence in the digital age. We have reported on numerous cases that were brought to the attention of the police. Recently, a man was arrested and charged for allegedly scamming a woman of fourteen hundred dollars for a sofa set he never delivered. We have also reported incidents involving vehicles and electronic devices. Well, one Ladyville resident was very close to making a deposit for the very same sofa set scam that another woman fell victim to. She saw some red flags during her online and telephone interactions with the purported seller. So, what did she do? She threatened to send the police after the individuals and decided to forego the purchase. News Five’s Paul Lopez takes a closer look at the matter and the steps victims can take. Here is that report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Reports of online sales scams have become all too common. The latest person to be charged for a related offense is twenty-six-year-old Hattieville Resident, Austin Williams. He was charged for scamming an elderly woman out of fourteen hundred dollars for a sofa set he never delivered. We spoke via phone to a Ladyville resident who almost fell for Williams’ Facebook scam.
Voice of: Ladyville Resident
Voice of: Ladyville Resident
“I was just looking on Facebook Marketplace because I like looking up there to see if there is anything I want and I saw this beautiful white sofa, white leather sofa so I figured o wow this is this. I have a sofa but I can do with this one. So I messaged the person and they immediately asked if I was interested and I said yes and I asked where they were located and they said Placencia.”
But, further interactions with the seller only raised red flags for this potential buyer.
Voice of: Ladyville Resident
“Supposedly it was a young lady I was talking to and she said I can have my husband, text not talking, I can have my husband bring it for you. I said, could you please ask how much he would charge me to bring it from Placencia and she said I will get back to you. She messaged fifty dollars that was the first red flag, fifty dollars from Placencia.”
The seller insisted that this potential buyer deposit fifty percent of the fourteen hundred dollar price tag placed on the item. She informed the seller that she had cash only but, that she would send two hundred dollars to hold the item. The purported husband of the woman she first interacted with called her the following day.
Voice of: Ladyville Resident
“Now we were talking from a cell phone, he started to call me and said he is the husband of the young lady I was talking to. He said he would get somebody from Belize city to come to me for the money. I said ok, but I want a receipt. He took a picture of the receipt he wrote, with my name and the money. He took a picture of it. I said ok. And within half hour the run man came to my house in Ladyville. The first thing that set me, the first thing the run man did was pull out the same receipt that the run man made in Placencia, little bit more than half hour ago. So I put back my money in my pocket, took the receipt and asked where he get the receipt. He said, oh the man from Belize City gave me. I said which man, the man you are suppose to send something for.”
Pretending that she was ignorant of the red flags, she called back the number and the purported seller informed her that he was still in Placencia. She then informed him that her husband is a police officer in Placencia and that she would send him to collect the item and make the payment. She says, the accounts she was interacting were immediately deleted from Facebook. The purported seller used the identities of two individuals, Nailea Nunez and Howard Casey, without their knowledge. Even though she avoided this scam, one woman fell victim and lost fourteen hundred dollars. Police, with the help of their Cybercrime Unit, were able to track down the purported scammer.
Osmond Mortis
Superintendent Osmond Mortis, Head of Cybercrime Unit
“The first step is making a report, statements will record and we will be gathering the evidence, who is involved, the method that was used and so forth. The first step is making a report. No amount is too small and we will be looking into every matter.”
According to Superintendent Osmond Mortis, there has been an increase in reports of online sales scams. He says potential online buyers need to act with increased caution.
Superintendent Osmond Mortis
“Not everything electronic is good. There are some good people doing legitimate business on social media and there are a few out there who are making bad. The good suffer for the bad. As the saying goes, buyer beware. You have to make sure that when you are spending your money that the money is going where it is suppose to go and that you are getting that product for the money that you are spending. As a lot of people in Belize are not aware, there is a Cybercrime Act and the penalties are no joke.”
We also spoke with Attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley, who implored citizens to protect their personal information so as to avoid being named in these kinds of online sales scams.
Richard “Dickie” Bradley
Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney
“You need to protect yourself. You can’t mek people the have access to your pins, to your accounts, to your information which can be used against you. I was shocked to find out, that, at two courts they want people to bring and show their bank account if they are going to be allowed to sign bail for a citizen. Now if you give them your bank account, you don’t know what will happen. This is your information, you know what that is? Fortunately the law in Belize is being brought up to speed in terms of a lot of these matters here. As a victim is a crime has been committed against you, if you have been duped, obtaining properly by deception, hurry go and make a report to the police and secondly shut down everything that is out there and then don’t let it happen again. There is a phrase, if a man deceives me once, shame on him, if he deceives me again, I am the jack a…”
The spanking new Haulover Bridge was opened to vehicular traffic less than a week ago – four days to be exact, and already it has seen its first traffic accident. The fender bender occurred right around the five o’clock peak hour this evening and created a bottleneck for traffic on both approaches of the bridge. The two vehicles were travelling in the same direction, heading into Belize City when one, a red SUV crashed into the back of another SUV – a white one. The new Haulover Bridge, will be officially opened in March, when the railing for the pedestrian walk will be complete.
On Monday, the case of the Bladen Twelve – that is, the twelve men, including four policemen who are linked to the landing of a drug plane on the Southern Highway back in November of 2021 – was transferred to another building. The matter was moved at the eleventh hour from the Magistrates’ Court building on Coney Drive to the Charles Bartlett Hyde building on Mahogany Street. The reason for the transfer was space issues. As defense attorney for several of the men, Dickie Bradley explained, the Coney Drive building is just not big enough to accommodate twelve defendants, their team of defense attorneys, the prosecutors and the magistrate. But, in the transfer of the matter to Mahogany Street, two oversights occurred. Media coverage was not given any consideration; hence, it became a logistical problem when reporters arrived at the location, as the building also houses the Belize Family Court. That court is closed to media personnel because of the sensitive nature of family court matters that oftentimes involve children. So, without prior notification and permission, the media was not allowed inside. Bradley told News Five that it was never the intention to shut out news reporters from the Bladen drug plane trial.
Dickie Bradley, Attorney at Law
“Towards the end of last week, the Magistrates’ Court was able to secure the use of the upstairs flat at what is the Charles Bartlett Hyde building. So we ourselves only knew at last minute, so the media would not have known. And I don’t want to say what I think, but I know for a fact that at the end of yesterday’s morning proceedings, it was brought to the attention of the Senior Magistrate, Baja Shoman that the media had been barred from attending the court, and her immediate response was that court trials in this country, by law, are open to the public, which happens to not only include the media, the media has a special protection under the Constitution that you all have a right to obtain information and to disseminate information. There are words of that effect in the Constitution of Belize, so the media is especially to be allowed. So that was the first thing. And as I said, I got no instruction that the media are barred and the media have every right to come.”
Marion Ali
“Even though the conditions with the space issues and all of that did not provide for us to be…”
Dickie Bradley
“Well, that was a separate excuse, reason because she would have sent for chairs to accommodate the media. That’s how high a regard she would have for – as a magistrate, as a judge. As somebody in the legal profession, she knows that the media has an important role to play. Otherwise, second-hand information. and yerisoh and sh—shu-shu will end up ruling the airwaves. So let the media come on here and see for themselves. So that was her first response, which of course is supported by the chief justice and the chief magistrate of the country.
The matter has been resolved. It is my understanding that the formal word has been handed out by the chief magistrate that the media is to be allowed to attend.”
But while the media was inadvertently disallowed from entering the building to attend the court session, it didn’t miss out of very much. Bradley said that all that happened was that the attorneys are to agree on which witnesses are not required to testify in person. The witnesses will number at least sixty. Yes, sixty, because the Head of the Prosecutions Branch, Alifa Elrington has indicated that she has sixty witnesses whose evidence they will rely on. And while the trial starts on Monday, it is expected that another oversight will be quickly addressed. A Statutory Instrument declaring that the Charles Hyde building has been assigned for the Bladen trial needs to be put out before the trial begins. That is in following proper procedures, which involve informing the head of the Judiciary and the Magistracy, as well as the Attorney General and the Solicitor General, indicating the reason for such. Bradley explained that efforts have been made to put those procedures in motion, but time was of the essence.
Dickie Bradley, Defense Attorney
“The rules are made to guide us. They are not to be obstacles that you can’t overcome. There is a small little – not even an emergency – there’s a small little problem, and there are two matters which we need to bear in mind: that there are a dozen accused persons. The courts on Coney Drive, which are temporary crisis management situations, cannot really accommodate twelve accused persons, five attorneys, a magistrate, and so on. Yes, there is a law that requires that a publication is made where a court is going to be held in a new environment. The courts in the country are so important to all of us that when you are moving from Albert Street to Coney Drive, the nation should know, people should know where the court is.”
Marion Ali
“Was that done in this case?”
Dickie Bradley
“That was being done in this case, yes. I’m not them, I’m not with them either, I’m with you. If they made a little slip down, it’s understandable, it is explainable. And there is no malice or no attempt to try – I saw a media personality, a journalist, sent me a text making the suggestion that it is deliberate because they don’t want the media to be present. But that is not true. I know what happened here. I was, there.”
A case of attempted murder during which Tyrone Scott was robbed and stabbed multiple times in September 2016, is set to begin in April. Elward McKay and Alexander Bainton have been charged with dangerous harm and robbery stemming from the incident over seven years ago. But when the duo appeared in the High Court earlier today when the trial was initial scheduled to commence, Bainton decided to challenge the Crown to prove its charge against him. The matter is being dealt with by Justice Candace Nanton. While McKay pleaded guilty, his alleged accomplice instead challenged the Crown Counsel, resulting in an adjournment to April fifteenth, 2024. In the case of McKay, Justice Nanton reoffered bail in the sum of six thousand dollars, plus one surety of the same amount.
Lobster and conch are the bedrock of Belize’s fisheries sector. More than three thousand fisher folks that directly benefit from the sector have been primarily fishing lobster and conch. There is however a growing concern that increased demand poses a threat to the nations lobster and conch stocks. In 2023, the Government of Belize signed a seven million U.S dollars loan with the Inter-American Development bank to support sustainable growth in Belize’s blue economy. Among its primary objectives is the adoption of sustainable technologies and best fishing practices by artisan fishers. News Five’s Paul Lopez was present at an IDB and Ministry of Blue Economy workshop in Belize City. He filed the following report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
For decades, the two most important species contributing to economic growth within the fishing sector have been spiny lobster and queen conch. An Inter-American Development Bank study has found that lobster stocks in Belize may have reached its maximum sustainable yield, largely due to increased production levels and fishing pressures. On the other hand, conch is the most regulated fisheries in Belize, with a catch quota and conversion standards. However, according to IDB, the conch population over all its habit range is Belize is yet to be comprehensively evaluated.
Felecia Cruz
Felecia Cruz, Director, Blue Economy
”Much of the fishing sector is founded on Lobster and conch. Nonetheless there are excellent opportunities with finfish. However, our stakeholders are much more accustomed to their traditional shallow water areas.”
Felecia Cruz, the Director at the Ministry of Blue Economy has been leading the charge in the execution of a fourteen million dollars IDB project to support sustainable growth in Belize’s blue economy sector. The loan agreement was first signed by Prime Minister John Briceño in September, 2023 at the Belize Investment Summit. Parliament approved the loan in October 2023.
John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño (File: October 13th, 2023)
“There are a number of challenges we are facing, climate change being one of them. But also, as our population grows, we are having more and more fisher folks and it is important for us to look at what has happened in the region, because there was not proper regulation. We have used our marine products unsustainably. We can’t just say, oh we think we have fifty-thousand pounds of lobster in the sea and you take out fifty thousand when you only should take out thirty thousand.”
One of the main aspects of this project is to support the development of the finfish sector, decreasing the industry’s dependence on depleting lobster and conch stocks.
Felecia Cruz
“The hope is that we can now open access for new markets to have other products such as finfish out there, since traditionally they tend to go for lobster and conch, or stone crab.”
Revenue earned from Belize’s lobster and conch export has doubled over the last eight years with no signs of slowing down. These species act as a primary source of income for artisanal fishers. So if you ask them which of the three they prefer to fish, lobster would be at the top of their lists. Additionally, artisanal fisher folks require upgraded vessels and equipment to practice deep slope fishing for finfish. Investments are also needed to improve business skills and market locations. Mac has been buying and selling fish at the Conch Shell Bay Market for the past twenty-five years. He spoke with us off camera.
Mac
Mac, Fish Vendor
“Every time they move the market they don’t put a toilet, they don’t put a sensible water system, dig. So, out here on a whole they need to come wash down the market. The fire station use to come wash it, they don’t come back and wash down the place. Look how the place looks.”
Paul Lopez
“How sanitary this place is?”
Mac
“Out of a ten I would call it a three, because this place needs to sanitize every month, every week. The fire station use to come wash down the place yo got something clean to start Monday morning with. Everything stop.”
Paul Lopez
“Would you say the sanitary concerns takes away from the income you can make?”
Mac
“By far because some people come and look at the place and say, I nuh wah buy from here because I prefer go to the boat. Because, they say what’s in the box is stale thing. So we have to wait until the boat nuh have nothing.”
Felecia Cruz
“We have been receiving a lot of feedback from our stakeholders on a need, to really provide the financial support that initial capital needed, to help them now diversify into a new fishing sector.”
