Philipsburg:--- Detectives from the Landsrecherche searched the office of Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge at the house of Parliament located next to the Court of First Instance on Front Street. The search took place Sunday morning confirmed Attorney General of St. Maarten Taco Stein.
Stein declined to say what are some of the items that were found and confiscated during the search. The searches that took place on Saturday and Sunday stemmed from a tape that was released by one of the local newspapers on St. Maarten while the Telegraaf in the Netherlands reported about the alleged bribery that the Member of Parliament was seen taking from the owner of Bada Bing strip club Jaap van den Heuvel.
Since the tape was released on Thursday last week, political leaders including the Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin and Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams who is responsible for security (VDSM) have not made any statements.
According to information reaching SMN News, Members of the Council of Ministers confronted Wescot Williams last week Tuesday to find out if the VDSM informed her of their findings and why was the tape not turned over to local authorities.
Some of the questions that have to be answered is why the VDSM did not turn over the video footage they managed to obtain to the Prosecutor's Office and who gave the tape to the Telegraaf in the Netherlands and the local newspaper on St. Maarten.
Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos said in a statement on Saturday that on the request of the Prosecutor's Office the newspaper handed over the tape to them and claimed that the tape was dropped off in their letter box some time ago, the big question is why the leading newspaper on St. Maarten did not publish the contents of the tape prior to the Telegraaf.
SMN News learnt of this and two other tapes showing Members of Parliament taking bribes from business persons. A reliable source said that the Leader of the United Peoples Party and the Prime Minister were in possession of this and other tapes which they were allegedly keeping to use next year during the 2014 election.
It should be noted that Jaap van den Heuvel and his attorney Cor Merx are also close friends to some members supporting the UP political party.
While it is clear as day on the videotape that MP Illidge collected what looked like cash and stuffed it in his pockets, Illidge in a statement to SMN News said what is taking place now is something that has been orchestrated by the opposition party.
HOUSE SEARCH IN PARLIAMENT QUARTERS MP ILLIDGE.
On Sunday, the judge of instruction conducted a house search in the parliament quarters of MP Patrick Illidge. Both his personal room and the faction room were searched.
The Public Prosecutor's Office requested deputy Chairman of Parliament MP Leroy De Weever and the deputy registrar of Parliament to attend the search, which they did. This was to secure that no other interests but the interest of the criminal investigation was taken into account.
Members of the Special Investigation Unit, supported by a member of the local police, conducted the search.
During the search computers, a laptop, and several documents were seized.
Last Friday, the Attorney General ordered the start of an investigation into possible corruption made visible on video footage that was published by the press.
Press Release by Public Prosecutor's Office
St. Maarten Delegation Return from the Netherlands --- MP Illidge Greeted Several Reporters at PJIAE.
Airport:--- The Members of Parliament that went to the Netherlands to attend the IPKO meetings returned to St. Maarten safely on Sunday and were greeted by a number of reporters who were eager to get a statement from Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge who is now under investigation for alleged corruption.
Member of Parliament Patrick Ilidge told SMN News in a short interview that he is thankful to the people of St. Maarten who called and texted him during his stay in the Netherlands when the videotape was released by The Daily Herald. MP Illidge told SMN News that the investigators who searched his home on Saturday under the supervision of the judge of instruction did not ransack his home. "I found my home in good order and all I need is for the people of St. Maarten to wait because in a few days they will know the true meaning of what they saw on the tape.
While the investigators are now in the initial stages of the investigation, they have to study the documents and other digital materials they seized from the three locations before approaching the Supreme Court for a formal hearing in the ongoing investigation. Based on the laws St. Maarten has in place, politicians such as Members of Parliament and Ministers have to go through a special hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to show that the suspected politician committed a crime. If that is proven then the MP and those he implicated in the conversation on September 30th, 2012 will be questioned and detained. MP Illidge called the names of three civil servants. Micheal Fredericks the former head of TEATT (Traffic and Transportation Department), he also alluded to the current head Martha Thewet, and the head of Immigration Udo Aron.
In a brief statement, Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin in a written statement to SMN News said "St. Maarten is a young democracy and over the past couple of days, the democratically established institutions of checks and balances have been and are being put to the test.
I have confidence in our system and our institutions and acknowledge that every man and woman is innocent until proven guilty.
The competent authorities have already started doing their job and I am confident in the process. There are many questions in the minds of our people and they deserve to get answers."
SMN News learnt that the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams who is also responsible for the VDSM (the security services) of St. Maarten is expected to issue an official statement on Monday.