CHIEF Magistrate Sherman McNicolls appeared before one of his juniors yesterday, charged with permitting PC Sean Simon to drive his vehicle without a valid certificate of insurance.

McNicolls is alleged to have permitted Simon, his bodyguard, to drive his Toyota Hilux on February 20 along the Lady Young Road, Belmont. Simon is also charged with driving the vehicle without valid insurance.

Both men appeared before acting Senior Magistrate Gail Gonzales in the Port of Spain 4A Court and were represented by Senior Counsels, Stanley Marcus and Israel Khan, along with Ian Benjamin. Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Both were charged via summonses under the Motor Vehicle and Insurance Act, Chapter 48:51 Section 3:1 on August 20, one day before the six-month period to lay the charge was to expire.

Khan told Gonzales there is somebody out to get his client. He said the matter was mischievous because the police did not seek instructions from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions before laying charges.

Khan said had there been consultations, McNicolls would not have been charged and said it was only common sense that the Office of the DPP be consulted in the matter.

Khan said this was an abuse of process and there were a lot of authorities to support this. He argued that the insurance was valid, but the certificate was not. Khan submitted that McNicolls was covered under a fully comprehensive plan from Capital Insurance, where his client has an ’automatic renewal’.

Gonzales told Khan that she was ’concerned’ about the charges laid and found his submissions about the abuse of process to be ’very valid’.

Khan presented a letter from the insurance company verifying the renewal policy to Gonzales. He added that Simon should not have been charged, since he was not the owner of the vehicle and could not have known that the insurance had expired.

The charges were laid by Cpl Rakesh Ramsook of the Belmont Police Station and stemmed from an alleged accident in which a vehicle, driven by a woman from Mt Hope, collided with the vehicle driven by Simon. The woman later made a report at the Belmont station, while Simon reported the accident later that night at Princes Town Police Station.

The matter was adjourned to September 23.