BAIL will stay as it is for the Chinese businessman before the court on a charge of possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.
On Friday, senior magistrate Armina Deonarinesingh allowed Hong Fei Wu’s $100,000 bail to continue, along with the five-day reporting conditions, as the police made no new objection.
Deonarinesingh also gave the police two weeks to provide photographs of the items allegedly seized from Hong when Special Branch officers arrested him on August 10 at the Residences apartment complex in Tarouba.
A police release announcing the arrest said cash, packets of a clear crystalline substance said to resemble methamphetamine, boxes of cold and flu tablets and other items, including paraphernalia and chemical substances, were allegedly recovered during a search for firearms and ammunition.
The officers also allegedly seized cellphones, cash in varying currencies and computer devices during the search.
At Hong’s first court appearance on August 15, only a few packets of the items allegedly seized were presented to the court as exhibits.
Deonarinesingh said it was on the basis of what was presented to her that bail was fixed.
Then and again on Friday, Deonarinesingh said this was “irregular,” since the exhibits have always been brought to court first when someone is charged.
“That has been the procedure, and magistrates have been trained this way. You charge someone saying this is what you found, you show the items to the court before you take it anywhere else.”
She said the reason for this was to guard against “ad nauseam” submissions that the items were either not shown to the court or the items presented at trial were not the items the police claimed they found.
“When the court sees the items, it notes the items, it has photos (of them) and make a record and based on what is shown, the court fixes the bail.
“I suggest the police get photographs of what were seized from this man to cause charges to be laid.
“Let the court see what it is dealing with.”
Nine witnesses – six police officers and three justices of the peace – so far are expected to testify at the preliminary inquiry when it begins, and the prosecution has until December 15 to file and serve its witness statements on the defence.
In their release in August, the police said officers had discovered cash, precursor chemicals and packets of crystals of various sizes resembling methamphetamine.
They also said it was the first methamphetamine laboratory in Trinidad and Tobago and the discovery followed an extensive intelligence-led operation in partnership with US law-enforcement agencies.
Hong is represented by attorneys Larry Williams and Toni Roberts. Sgt Malloo appeared for the prosecution.