By Prior Beharry
FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert says a man has been charged by police for attempting to sabotage the water system at his ministry’s head office located at the Eric Williams Financial Complex in Port of Spain last month.
A release on Sunday said the incident occurred on April 30 and the individual was pretending to be a member of an exterior building cleaning team.
He said, “Suspicion arose later in the day when CCTV technicians and maintenance staff detected serious water leakage at the top levels of the Ministry of Finance building, leading to interception and detention of the individual.
“When searched, a gauge and valve taken from a pump line were found on his person, together with other items of a suspicious nature.
“The individual was subsequently charged by the Police with malicious damage and remanded into custody.”
Imbert said an assessment conducted by the technical staff of the ministry and its specialist contractors revealed significant risks due the actions of this individual.
He said if he had not been caught, and the effects of his actions not detected early enough, the result would have included:
- Water tanks running dry, resulting in a building shutdown;
- The chillers for the air-conditioning system at the Ministry of Finance malfunctioning, again leading to a building shutdown;
- Water pouring into the electrical systems at the Ministry of Finance, again leading to a building shutdown;
- General chaos and confusion and evacuation of the Ministry of Finance, during which other unauthorised individuals could have engaged in malicious acts; and
- Damage and destruction of important documents and records at the Ministry.
Imbert said, “The Ministry of Finance is now taking further precautions to protect its infrastructure, and by extension, its important documents.
“Thankfully, because of the robust CCTV and security systems in place at the Ministry, the individual was apprehended, and the damage contained.”
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