Two men who were sentenced to death last year for murder won their appeal yesterday, but will face a second trial.
Ogee Tempro and Kevin Patrick were removed from death row last night and placed in the remand yard where they will await their retrial. Tempro and Patrick were sentenced to hang by Justice Malcolm Holdip in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court on March 12, 2009, for the murder of Chinese chauffeur, Yip Manin Luk, 31, at Sugar Crescent, Santa Rosa Heights, Arima, on November 23, 2002.
They appealed, and yesterday, Justices Paula Mae Weekes, Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Rajendra Narine agreed with the submissions for the appellants, quashed the convictions and sentences, and ordered a new trial. Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Wayne Rajbansie appeared for the State. Attorney Ravi Rajcoomar and Celeste Jules appeared for Tempro, while Patrick was represented by Jagdeo Singh, Raphael Morgan and Michael Rooplal. The appellants succeeded on the ground that the identification parade was unfair. It was put to the court that Patrick was put on an ID parade two months after the killing. This was after Tempro was also put on an ID parade. Two witnesses had attended both parades and identified the appellants.
Evidence was adduced at the trial that at least four of the men who were on the first parade with Tempro, attended the parade for Patrick. Counsel argued that it was patently unfair to have two parades attended to by the same witnesses, which composed substantially the same people. Such a parade, he contended, would amount to nothing more than a sham in law. Counsel said at that the parade, Patrick clearly stood out because his leg was bandaged at the time.
The Facts?
Tempro and Patrick were charged with the murder of Chinese chauffeur, Yip Manin Luk, 31, at Sugar Apple Crescent, Santa Rosa Heights, Arima, on November 23, 2002. Luk was killed during a robbery at the home of his employers, Allan and Stephanie Lee Fong. Lee Fong told the court that on the day in question, he was accosted by the two prisoners as he pulled into his driveway. A gun was placed to his head and he was ordered to lie in his van.
Tempro took Lee Fong's house keys and went into the house, while Patrick stood over him. Sometime later, Stephanie and Luk arrived at the house in a separate car. Luk got out of the car and confronted Patrick. In trying to escape, Luk was shot in the back. Lee Fong was pulled out of his vehicle by Patrick and a gun was placed to his head. Tempro came out of the house and when he saw Luk lying motionless on the pavement, he and Patrick ran off. In their defence, both Tempro and Patrick denied they were in Arima and therefore could not have committed the murder.
