(Trinidad Express) Be careful of what you post to social media. You can be arrested, says Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith.
Speaking at the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) media briefing on Wednesday, Griffith said investigations were ongoing into at least two social media posts.
The individuals, he said, would be taken in for questioning.
He said, “I have a job to do and I am not here to make friends, but we feel like our democratic right is to say what we want and do what we want. That is not true.
Within the last 24 hours I’ve received two reports, and the TTPS have now launched investigations, and persons would be, we would be having these individuals come to the police stations and will be interviewing them.”
The first social media post, Griffith said, was a video threatening to “bury a political leader in a grave”. He also warned other social media users about the comments posted in support of these threats.
The second post claimed that “certain officials” had paid off medical officers “big money” to inject citizens with the H1N1 virus (swine flu).
“Now this is tantamount to madness. That individual is also, we are going to find her and we are also going to bring her in for questioning. This madness stops now, and persons would again, they will go after the Gary Griffith Road March, (some people) feels like you have a divine right to say what you want and do what you want because that is your democratic right. This is not a Banana Republic. No one has the right to say and do what they want if it affects the rights and safety of citizens. Definitely not on my watch,” he said.
Griffith referred to Section 49 of the Summary Offences Act, on Violent Language and breach of the peace. He stated that the law applies to any person making use of any insulting and annoying or violent language with intent to or which might tend to provoke any other person to commit a breach of the peace, and any person who uses any obscene, indecent or profane language and to the annoyance of any resident or person in the street.
