Fisherman charged with malicious damage

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Even as he prepares for a court appearance today, to answer to a charge of causing malicious damage to a gate, the president of the Spear Fisherman’s Association has declared that the issue of landward access to the several beaches within the Mill Reef area will not die a natural death.
Melvin Samuel said he will be suing the management of the club for access once his personal legal battle with the said company is thrashed out.
“The management of Mill Reef does not want fishermen to come inside there. The Physical Planning Act is the law that governs things like access but nobody wants to speak about it and everybody seems to be afraid of our prime minister,” Samuel said.
Last Sunday, Samuel was arrested and charged with malicious damage after he went onto the property to ply his trade without clearance from the security guard on duty.
The fisherman said he had freely gained access to the property on the Friday prior and was able to venture out to sea to ply his trade.
However, when he returned last Sunday and provided all the required information to the security guard, he was told he would not be allowed onto the property.
Determined that he had to fulfil a lobster order for a new client, Samuel lifted one side of an access gate and entered the premises.
Samuel said he was arrested and charged after spending hours in police custody.
“I was left there all Monday,” he said. “On Tuesday one of the officers asked why I was still there; however the investigating officer then told me they are waiting on information from Mill Reef. I had to force the police officer to charge me after having me sit there for so long.”
(More in today’s Daily Observer)

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