Prosecutor will request dismissal of spokesman Norman Serphos | THE DAILY HERALD

PHILIPSBURG–The Prosecutor’s Office (OM) of Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) will be requesting the immediate dismissal of long-time spokesman Norman Serphos for inappropriate comments made on his personal Facebook page on December 20 in Curaçao.  

  According to new spokesman Rodrick Gouverneur on Wednesday, Curaçao resident Wladimir Alberto died after a traffic accident on Queen Juliana bridge on December 20. After that accident, Serphos responded to Alberto’s death inappropriately on his personal Facebook account.

  On the same day, Serphos indicated that he had not placed that reaction himself, that his Facebook account had been hacked and that third parties had placed the reaction under his name.

  “Serphos then filed a report with the police of the hacking his Facebook account. However, shortly before the turn of the year it became clear that Serphos himself  had placed the reaction on the Facebook page. …

  “The Prosecutor regrets the course of events to a large extent, for the relatives of Alberto, but also because of the resulting commotion in society. As an employer, the Public Prosecutor’s Office supports its employees if they are wronged and this seemed to be the case here in the first instance,” stated Gouverneur. “High demands are placed on the employees, daily work is constantly under pressure and, unfortunately, personally they are sometimes infringed.

  “On the other hand, employees are expected to be honest and transparent. Unfortunately, this was not the case with Serphos.”

  Serphos was denied access to the buildings and systems of the Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday morning by the Attorney General, who has indicated that the Prosecutor’s Office Service will submit a request for Serphos’ dismissal to the Minister of Justice and the Governor in Curaçao.

  “In the coming period the criminal investigation into the behaviour of Serphos will be completed. This investigation will be conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office in Aruba.

  “The relatives of Wladimir Alberto also filed a complaint against Serphos. On December 28, 2018, when it was not known that Serphos had posted the message himself, they had a conversation with the chief officer of Curaçao. This complaint will be assessed as soon as possible and the conclusion will be shared with the next of kin,” stated Gouverneur, who replaced Serphos with immediate effect.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/84161-prosecutor-will-request-dismissal-of-spokesman-norman-serphos

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