…for allegedly not respecting the office of the Minister of Justice and Police

THE Government of Suriname through the Office of the Minister of Justice and Police has taken a decision to send its Deputy Chief of Police, Antonio Chin, on administrative leave over how he had handled several matters.

Those matters include a visit to Guyana by several officers of the Suriname Police Force, the high-seas piracy investigation, and the releasing of information to both the media in Suriname and police officials here in Guyana.

The Guyana Chronicle has been informed that Chin, who would be receiving his salary, will remain off the job. It is unclear, though, for how long he has been asked to stay at home.
According to reports, Chin was also accused of not respecting the office of the Minister of Justice and Police, Stuart Getrouw, who took up the job in early April. The deputy chief was accused of not recognising the minister, but instead disrespected him by going about doing certain matters within the police force and not informing the minister prior or subsequently. In essence, Chin was sent home on the grounds of having “bad communication” with the subject minister. He was also accused of not informing the minister of certain important steps he took while releasing information to the media and other persons. The minister reportedly told Chin in a letter that some police matters have such an impact, that even if it is about operational issues, he is supposed to inform him.

The Suriname Police Force and the Guyana Police Force have been sharing information pertaining to the piracy attack in April of this year, when several Guyanese fishermen were missing at sea. Some of those bodies are yet to be recovered. Additionally, Guyana’s Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, Deputy Crime Chief Michael Kingston and Deputy Commander of ‘B’ Division, Wayne DeHearte,had travelled to Suriname after the piracy attack.

Guyana’s Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and a team also visited the Dutch-speaking country and during those visits, they had interactions with senior operatives of the Suriname Police Force as they sought updates on the tragedy back in April.

According to sources in Suriname, specific mention was made about things Chin did or did not do when dealing with several matters. The piracy attack was one such.

One source on the ground said that the visit to Guyana was also something that did not go down well with the Minister of Justice and Police. “When a team of Suriname police arranged a meeting with Guyanese police over the piracy case, they did not inform the minister. Although they did not have to get permission, because of the impact of the case, the minister wanted to be updated,” a source in Suriname indicated. Other issues which reportedly contributed to the decision to send the deputy chief of police on administrative leave was his decision to request legal assistance from The Netherlands in the arrest of a man who was the subject of an investigation into the discovery of a plane, which was intercepted and was suspected to have been involved in the drug trade.