PHILIPSBURG–The Prosecutor has decided to go ahead and prosecute Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure VROMI Miklos Giterson for his involvement in a car accident on September 6.
A hearing with the Joint Court of Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten was scheduled on Tuesday to seek permission to bring criminal charges against the sitting minister, but was postponed until January due to the absence of an interpreter for the session.
The Daily Herald understands that Giterson informed the court that he does not speak Dutch and would need an interpreter for the hearing. The court agreed and postponed the hearing until January 2019.
The accident took place on L.B. Scott Road at approximately 5:45am.
“According to reports, the MR-6 rear-ended the bus while travelling in the same direction,” police spokesman Chief Inspector Ricardo Henson had stated in a press release in September. “There were five passengers in the bus at the time of the accident. Passengers who were injured in the collision were transported to St. Maarten Medical Center. According to the information made available by the hospital, all have been released after examination and medical treatment.”
The Daily Herald understands that Giterson voluntarily gave the police permission to draw blood on the morning of his arrest. The results of the tests are already known to the Prosecutor’s Office and the alcohol level was indeed high, according to the bloodwork.
Giterson stated in a previous press statement that the rumours of his intoxication at the time of the accident are not true.
Giterson’s lawyer is Shaira Bommel, who appeared in court on Tuesday. She told this newspaper on Wednesday that the case had been postponed, but could not divulge any information about the nature of the case because the session was closed-door. The Prosecutor’s Office also remained mum about the case and said that more information about the case would follow once the charges had been filed.
The prosecutor has been contemplating for months on whether they would bring charges against Giterson. The Prosecutor’s Office needs permission from the Joint Court to bring criminal charges against a sitting Member of Parliament or Minister. The same was done for unrelated cases involving former Member of Parliament (MP) Silvio Matser and current MPs Chanel Brownbill, Frans Richardson and Theodore Heyliger.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83822-prosecutor-decides-to-prosecute-vromi-minister-for-drunk-driving
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