St. Maarten Private Eye

Dear folks. Please permit me to share with you some unpleasant experiences which I had with Mr. Sirian of the Public Prosecutors Office. I want your honest involvement and opinion on this topic as it is an issue that you might be confronted with one or more times in your life time. Yesterday May 12, 2008 my company towed a vehicle which was parked on a private property on request of the owner. Signs were located indicating that this was a private property. We towed the vehicle and place it on our premises on the Landfill. When the owner came to collect his vehicle he did not want to pay for the charges and he was refer to the relevant authorities to file a complaint. Customary is that anyone that parked his car on a private property the owner of the property has the rights to have the car being removed on the expense of the driver or owner of the vehicle. I was informed that In this particular case the owner warned the driver not to park on his property. (facts need to be verified) He went to the Police department and we received a call from inspector John. We explain the situation and that was it for us. Later on I received a call from Mr. Sirian and he told me that I have to return the car to the owner and that the owner of the property has to pay us for the towing charges. (To all towing companies: PLSE INFORM YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT NOT THE OWNERS OF THE CARS NEED TO PAY FOR THE CHARGES BUT THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY. THIS MEANS THAT WHENEVER YOU REMOVED A CAR THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY HAS TO PAY YOU. YOU HAVE TO RELEASE THE CAR WITHOUT CHARGING ANYTHING. YOU ALSO WILL BE LIABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OR ALL DENTS THAT MIGHT BE ON THE CAR.) - ( TO ALL CITIZENS: FROM NOW ON YOU CAN PARK ANYWHERE THERE IS A SIGN THAT SAYS NO PARKING AND YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY FOR ANY TOWING CHARGES NO MORE BECAUSE THE OWINER OF THE PROPERTY MUST ALLOW YOU TO PARK ON HIS PROPERTY AND WHEN HE NEED TO USE HIS PROPERTY HE IS ALLOWED TO CALL A TOWTRUCK TO MOVE THE CAR BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THE CHARGES. FURTHERMORE IF YOU FIND ANY SCRATCHES ON YOUR CAR YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BLAME THE TOWING COMPANY AND THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT YOU MAY HAVE ON YOUR CAR. THIS IS THE TIME TO HAVE YOUR CAR REMOVED AND FIXED AT THE SAME TIME. IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE TOWING COMPANY YOU MUST GO DIRECT TO MR. SIRIAN.) I told him that i did not agree and that I will contact my lawyer for legal advice on this issue. While at the office of my lawyer Bergman and Bloem I received again a call from Mr. Sirian and he told me that he was getting irritated with my behaviour and that I must release the car to the owner as he has to collect his children in school. (WHO EVER IS TO INVESTIGATE THIS COMPLAINT NEED TO LOOK INTO THE RELATION BETWEEN THE OWNER OF THE CAR AND MR. SIRIAN) - ( I HAVE ALSO DOCUMENTS RELATED TO ANOTHER P.P.O. VAN SLOTEN WHICH USED HIS RELATION WITH A LOCAL BUSINESSMAN TO HAVE ALSO A CAR RELEASED WITHOUT PAYMENT) I told him that I am at the lawyers office discussing the issue. Furthermore I told him to sent me a fax with the instruction to release the car so that I have some proof that I released the car on his instructions. He said he will not fax me a letter and that if I do not release the car he will have me detained. Obviously I was very suprise and for $ 65.00 I was not going to pressure the issue at that level. I told my office to release the vehicle which was own by a person which works at or related to Nagico Insurance. I called Mr. Panneflek and explain him the situation. I faxed him a letter on the issue I then called the office to speak with Mr, Stein but the office told me that he was not available. I drafted a letter which I faxed to him in order to explain the situation. I called Curacao in order to get the necessary feedback how to proceed when one has a complaint against a Prosecutor. I am drafting a letter addressed to the Prosecutor General Mr. Dick Piar.I will file an official complaint against Mr. Sirian. Furthermore copies of these letters will be going members of Parliament and the Island Councll of Sint Maarten. The issue is not the $ 65.00 put the principle of good governance and a justice system that one can rely on. I I had many dealing with Mr. Stein on the past and any issue we generate documentation but we have always held respect for one another. It is shame when those in position continues to oppress people and misuse their powers. With a simple fax this issue could have been solved and dealt with on a professional manner. I will be writing to the authorities to have Mr. Sirian remove from his position and sent him back where he came from. As we are on the brink of new constitutional changes it is a must that the citizens of Country Sint Maarten can be assured that democracy exist and the people can trust in the government and those that are in powers. I will be sending a letter to the media in the Antilles in reards to this issue and do hope that those in authority to do whatever they have to do in order to get rid of Mr. Sirian. I call upon all the readers to revew this issue and help this island to fight against injustice against the people. For many years I have been writing letters to the Justice department in order to regulate the towing business as it is growing out of hands due to many irregularities. One of them are the signs indicating private properties. Every one knows about these signs. If placing such a sign was a illegal why was the issue not addressed by the relevant authorities. They should have warned the general population and give a fine to all those in violation, including my company. A short letter to all the towing companies indicating them that moving cars from those locations where illegal would have been suffcient to clear up the situation. For more then 3 years I am awaiting a response from the Justice Department in regards to a complaint which I filed against Mr. Tony Rogers. Just last week I spoke with Mr. Gilbert Joubert, the chief Public Prosecutor in Curacao and he told me that on friday last week he would have a meeting with the Public Prosecutor General, Mr. Dick Piar and this week he will inform me of the outcome. People is this what we call justice? As an ex-police officer I am a shame to see what has become of the Justice Department and I call on those in parliament to present a motion on non-confidence againt the Minister of Justice and sent him home. There are many more issues like this going on but many innocent folks do not know how to defend themselves against this type of injustices. I call upon you the readers on this site to start the ball rolling. I am willing to prepare any document for anyone who has been hurt by the system to bring back justice on this island. For any information in regards to towing you can either post it on this site or sent me an e-mail on sooninamerica@gmail.com. I do hope that those members representing Sint Maarten in parliament start asking question on parliament level on thei ssues that touches the citizens of this island and affect their lives. People it is time to rise up and take a stand. Nevertheless whatever you do make sure it is not self interest but general interest. The island need people that are willing to take a stand and defend others. Furthermore I want to ask Mr. Sirian on what grounds will he be detaining me? Is this is a civil or a criminal case? Has he the authority to order me to release the vehicle.? I would like some answers from some of our lawyers. Furthermore we need some local young antillians in the department of the Public Ministery on Sint Maarten. I expect repercussion from Mr. Sirian for which reason I will keep you all informed on the progress of this issue. God Bless Sint Maarten and we will continue to fight for a better Sint Maarten.

H.L. Soon