(Trinidad Express) “I feel vindicated.”
These were the words of Pastor Glen Awong as he spoke with the Express yesterday afternoon after a magistrate dismissed human trafficking charges against him.
Awong, head of Transformed Life Ministry in Arouca, was jointly charged with former school principal Cheryl Kallicharan Beharry, attorney Lena Jaggernath, her mother, Indra Jaggernath, Anthony Marchan and Robert Andrews in December 2019.
They were represented by a team of lawyers, including Wayne Sturge, Mario Merritt, Alexia Romero, Danielle Rampersad, Survana Jaimungal and Sherry Sookdeo.
The complainant (charging officer) was Sgt McCain.
The preliminary enquiry into this incident began about a year ago and concluded yesterday before Magistrate Brambhanan Dubay in the Arima Magistrates’ Court.
Dubay upheld the no-case submission made by the defence.
The defence had argued that the case brought by the State against their clients was insufficient as there wasn’t evidence which could be relied upon to form a prima facie case against the group.
It was noted that the elements of the offence had not been made out during the enquiry, nor had the evidence presented from witnesses been shown to be reliable.
Two of the witnesses, the defence had argued, had not been proven that they were mentally fit when they gave statements, nor when they were called to give testimonies that they were lucid enough to be relied upon.
It was also revealed during the course of the enquiry that several of the people who were housed at the Transformed Life Ministry, who were allegedly victims of human trafficking or detained against their will, had been referred to its rehabilitation centre in Arouca by legal means, including the court system and the Ministry of Health.
After further submissions, the matter was dismissed against Awong and the other five people.
“From the very beginning, I new that it was always going to be a victory for me and those associated with me. I would say that the media…were given certain information by the police that painted me very negatively. But as of this moment, I feel great. There will always be hurt, and these are allegations that do not go away lightly. Even with this victory, I’m sure that it is something that will be called whenever my name is called.
“But this case being dismissed has shown that the reality of the situation has been brought to the forefront, and the case was won, not by us but through almighty God. So I feel vindicated; we feel vindicated and it was a good feeling to know that justice has been served,” Awong said.
Former commissioner of police Gary Griffith told the Express yesterday that while he respected the court’s decision, he was curious about it.
“It is not for me in any way to question the decision made by the court, but what I will say is that I was there. And there was video and picture footage of what we witnessed on entering the premises,” Griffith said.
On October 8, 2019, members of the now-defunct Special Operations Response Team (SORT), led by then-commissioner of police Griffith, made their way to the rehabilitation centre in Arouca.
At the time, police said they rescued 69 people between the ages of 19 and 70.
They claimed the individuals had been locked in cages at the centre.
Awong was later charged with the offences of kidnapping, false imprisonment and trafficking in persons between the period January 30, 2019, to July 2019.
Speaking with the Express following the police operation at his facility, Awong denied any wrongdoing and said the police had got it wrong.
Awong, an ex-prisoner, said since opening his facility in 2000, he had helped thousands of people, including ex-prisoners, street dwellers, the drug-addicted and those struggling with mental health issues.
