It was just another day “in paradise” on Thursday (20).

We had a mugging on Eden Road, just off South Church Street, and the RCIPS took an inexplicably long time to get there. In a press statement the RCIPS said the woman was told that: “an officer would not immediately attend the scene.” For goodness sake, the woman was held up by a man brandishing a weapon that could have been a gun (or a knife)! Witnesses said the police did not arrive until 45 minutes after the robbery was reported, and the release addresses it by saying, “on reviewing the incident we are disappointed that it took over 30 minutes for an officer to make physical contact with the victim at the scene.  As a result of this incident we will be reviewing our procedures to ensure that this does not happen again.”

The victim had to be hospitalised after the police finally arrived and questioned her as she began to feel unwell.

Not surprisingly the bloggers are having a “field day” with this incident.

A man was admitted to hospital after what he claims was a shooting near the Countryside Plaza at Newlands. The police report said the man had received superficial injuries to his back but there had been no reports of gunshots in or around the vicinity of Countryside. The whole affair is suspicious and I expect there is a lot more to this than anyone is officially saying.

Another loss for the Crown when Justin Manderson walked free after being found “not guilty” to trying to kill Andy Barnes outside a local bar in June 2010. Eighteen months after the incident. Judge Richard Williams said there were too many inconsistencies in Barnes’ own evidence and insufficient corroborating evidence to support Barnes’ claims.

How often have we heard this recently with inconsistencies in witness statements? However, as this was a gang related crime it shouldn’t surprise any of us. “When thieves fall out, truth is revealed, and honest men get justice” is an old proverb (excuse my up to date translation). In this case perhaps there weren’t any honest men!

Richard Coles replies

No, Cayman Finance chairman Richard Coles, did not reply directly to me regarding my editorial on the OffshoreAlert conference, but regarding ABC News reporter Bain Capital comment about Mitt Romney’s “138 secretive offshore funds in the Caymans, which are nothing more than a post office box” and Washington lawyer Jack Blum’s comment (also on ABC News), “If you have a Cayman corporation, you do not pay any tax to the Cayman government, and the Cayman Islands don’t report any income made to the US government.” Hog wash and uninformed! I applaud Mr. Coles quick response in setting the record straight. Unfortunately I doubt if his statement will actually get aired.