Dear Editor,
We refer to the letter published by Stabroek News on page 7, dated Monday, May 26, 2008. The letter was penned by Rev Gideon Cecil and captioned ‘Drinking alcohol should not be promoted.’
Please be advised that Banks DIH Limited was not associated with the recent Destra show. We were in no way associated with the ‘Hunter Man’s’ performance. Further, we are not associated in any way, form or manner with the product that was being promoted at the recent shows mentioned above and alluded to by the writer.
We do not promote underage drinking. As a company, we are strong advocates for responsible drinking. We have initiated the ‘Think Responsibly, Drink Respon-sibly’ campaign which is supported by the Help and Shelter Organization. During the ICC World Cup, we created sober zones and offered free water to patrons as part of our responsible drinking campaign.
This letter published by your newspaper may be categorized as defamatory material in relation to our image as it colours our company in the shade of an irresponsible corporate citizen. This is hinged on the untrue statements of fact mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the letter. All reasonable care was not exercised by your newspaper before this letter was published. We express our disappointment at this as we have come to expect a higher level of research and investigation of the facts from your newspaper.
We are therefore asking for a printed apology from your newspaper and for a correct statement of the facts to be published regarding our position.
Yours faithfully,
Nadia Singh
Corporate Legal Officer
Editor’s note
We apologize for the publication of the letter captioned ‘Drinking alcohol should not be promoted,’ and for any embarrassment it may have caused.
