YVONNE WEBB
THE safe-zone units of police service and the municipal police were kept busy over the weekend in South Trinidad as they issued over $100,000 in tickets for breach of protocol.
Only vaccinated persons are allowed in places deemed safe zones.
An owner, manager and supervisor of three different bars and casinos were each fined $25,000 for breaching health protocols during a safe-zone exercise on Friday.
Several patrons were also fined for failure to comply with requirements for entry and one woman was fined $1,000 for not wearing a face mask.
The exercise was conducted in the Marabella, Gasparillo and San Fernando districts, under the supervision of senior Supt Cecil Santana, senior Supt Belfour, acting ASP Harripersad, acting Sgt Hytool, Cpl Rosan and Cpl Francois.
They were also joined by other officers from the San Fernando and Couva municipal police safe-zone units, as well as, the San Fernando and Princes Town police safe-zone units.
During the exercise the units visited Foxy’s Sports Bar on the Southern Main Road, Marabella, where 35 patrons were checked for vaccination cards, which were found to be valid.
However, tickets were issued for four offences.
Manager Ananda Johathan was issued a $25,000 fixed penalty ticket for failure to comply with requirements.
Patrons Darren Adams, Kendell Mason and Jason Stewart were each fined $5,000 for failing to comply with requirements for entry.
In Gasparillo, the units descended on Platinum Club, Bonne Aventure Road, where ten employees and 60 patrons were checked and found to have valid vaccination cards.
At Zong Chang Restaurant and Bar in the same district, five employees and 16 patrons also presented valid vaccination cards.
At Rising Star Restaurant and Bar at Hilda Lazzari Terrace, San Fernando, 24 employees and 80 patrons, along with proprietor Chandradath Persad, also passed the vaccination inspection. One patron, Vasanti Bahadur, was fined $1,000 for not wearing a face mask in public.
The units also visited Vybz City Casino at Library Corner, San Fernando, where eight offences were detected. Among them the failure of the owner or occupier, in this case supervisor Penny Soogrim, to comply with the requirements for entry. Soogrim was slapped with a $25,000 fine.
Patrons Laurette Griffith, Ayana Evans, Shanti Ramkissoon Coffee Cayode, Kyle Janson, Ashford Ramsawak and Betty Paul were all fined $5,000, for the offence of failure of a person who is not the owner or occupier to comply with the requirements for entry.
The Siparia municipal police also conducted a safe-zone exercise on Friday, visiting a total of 19 establishments including three restaurants and bars in the district.
Several owners and patrons were interviewed but one bar owner along the Quinam Road, Siparia was issued a fixed penalty notice of $25,000. An unvaccinated patron was also issued a fixed penalty notice for consuming alcohol at a designated safe zone.
