Black Immigrant Daily News

A Kingston man is basking in his winnings after purchasing a Supa Rich Supreme Scratchaz ticket at the Acropolis Gaming Lounge in Barbican, St Andrew, and copping $10 million.

Identified by Supreme Ventures as P Williams, a release from the company said he has been consistently purchasing Supreme Scratchaz tickets since its launch earlier this year.

Williams said he was in shock when his ticket turned out to have the grand prize.

“I’m always buying Scratchaz tickets and have won up to $10,000 on one ticket before. I bought the Supa Rich for the first time to try my luck as it’s a new game. When I scratched this ticket and saw the amount that I won; I was trembling! I didn’t know how to react,” he shared.

Admitting that he is still in disbelief, Williams said he hasn’t “really made any plans” for the money yet.

“The only thing I’m sure of is that I’ll be treating my mom and getting her something extra special for her birthday, and I’ll definitely be investing some of it,” said an overjoyed Williams.

Xesus Johnston, CEO of Prime Sports, a subsidiary of Supreme Ventures, was thrilled at the news of yet another Supreme Scratchaz millionaire.

“Since we launched Supreme Scratchaz in March, our players have won over $2 billion in prizes. We continue to innovate and introduce more new and exciting games to allow them even more options to change their lives in an instant.

“Supa Rich is our newest game with the biggest top prize of $10 million, and we’re especially thrilled to have our first jackpot winner. It highlights that with Supreme Scratchaz, players do win nuff, win often and win right away,” he said. “They can look forward to even more winnings with Supa Rich as there are even more $10-million tickets to be won.”

Supreme Ventures said customers currently have a selection of 11 different instant win scratch games ranging from J$100 – J$1,000 per card and have the chance to win up to J$10 million instantly.

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Port of Spain General hospital

The 16-year-old boy who was hospitalised after being shot by police last Saturday was discharged from hospital on Tuesday.

Police said the teen was shot in the hand and grazed on the chest when officers of the Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB) shot at a car he was in.

He and two others, both released from police custody, survived an alleged shootout with police after a car chase from Diego Martin ended when the car crashed into Republic Bank, Independence Square. Three died in the incident. Those killed were identified as Fabien Richards, 21, Leonardo Niko Williams and Isaiah Roberts, both 17.

On Monday, protesters burned tyres and other debris to block off the east- and west-bound lanes of the Beetham Highway demanding justice for the three killed by police.

Hours after Monday’s protest, one of two of the survivors who was arrested was released without charge. The second was released a day later.

Both police and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) are investigating the incident with the PCA calling on anyone with information to come forward.

As part of the police investigation, four GEB officers were placed on clerical duties.

Acting Police Commissioner Mc Donald Jacob at a media conference on Monday said police have video footage of what happened and will not be releasing it since that forms part of the police investigation.

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A 78-year-old Tobago man who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for allegedly being part of a lynch mob and who, along with two other men tied up a suspected arsonist, will not face a new trial.

On Wednesday, Justices of Appeal Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Vasheist Kokaram allowed the appeal of Carlston Lyne and agreed there will not be a new trial.

There were two other men convicted with him for the April 9, 2008, offence of malicious wounding, but one of them is currently in a coma while the other has since died, the judges were told.

At the appeal, Lyne’s attorney John Heath argued the magistrate wrongly exercised her discretion by refusing to grant an adjournment sought by defence counsel to call a witness – a police officer who allegedly gave Lyne the go-ahead to “bring in” the suspected arsonist – and time to prepare a closing address.

Heath said the magistrate limited herself to certain parameters in deciding not to grant the adjournment to give the defence time to bring its witness.

He pointed to the magistrate’s reasons that a matter can only be adjourned if the court needed to read the notes (of evidence) or check a point of law. Heath said if those were the parameters of the magistrate, the exercise of discretion was not done judicially.

“That shows an inflexibility.”

He also argued Lyne was robbed of a fair opportunity to be properly heard by the magistrate not granting an adjournment for him to “marshal the evidence and provide legal authorities” in a closing statement.

The State, represented by assistant DPP Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, did not resist the appeal, agreeing that the intended defence witness was an important one for the defence.

She urged the judges to consider where the trial was at that point after all three men gave evidence.

“Progress had been made in the matter… The (trial) time was not spent badly, and granting the adjournment would not be improper.”

She also said the witness the defence wanted to call, as a police officer, would have had to get permission to attend court and would have needed the authorisation to bring with him a certain book; presumably a station or pocket diary.

Dougdeen-Jaglal agreed that the denial to grant the requests for an adjournment was unreasonable.

In their ruling, Soo Hon said of the five grounds of appeal filed by Lyne, the first ground of the refusal to grant the adjournment being detrimental to a fair hearing, concerned them the most.

She pointed out that while the matter had come up for hearing 13 times and had been fixed for trial for five of those occasions within a year, it was “somewhat unfair” of the magistrate to deny Lyne the opportunity to get a summons for his witnesses while criticising him for not having the kind of evidence the police officer could have given.

“Taking all the factors into account the magistrate also said she would adjourn the matter to properly study the case but denied counsel the opportunity to properly prepare an address when the evidence closed.

“He may not have had a fair trial.”

Emphasising that trial attorneys must be better prepared, Soo Hon said the court felt constrained and also took into account that both Lyne and the State argued the same points, “agreeing with each other.”

It was alleged that Lyne and the two other men were part of a “lynch mob” and in a setting of “vigilante” justice tied up a man to take him to the police station in Roxborough.

It was the men’s defence that they were displaying community spirit by helping the police apprehend the suspected arsonist who was also said to be “mentally disturbed” and had been terrorising the village.

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Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 6, 2022 (SKTA) — Today, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority announces the appointment of Mia Lange as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). This is a new role at the Tourism Authority, created to further strengthen the destination’s presence in key international source markets. Lange will oversee the strategic direction and implementation of all global marketing and branding efforts and will manage St. Kitts’ various international agencies. She will also lead the on-shore public relations and marketing team in St. Kitts to ensure the seamless promotion of the island to citizens and residents.

“Ms. Lange brings more than two decades of Caribbean destination messaging and marketing experience. She has proven success in launching key advertising and branding strategies that in turn have increased tourism and tangible economic development,” said Nick Menon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. “Lange has also shown through key partnerships with agencies and outside data partners an understanding of establishing relevant KPIs and increasing ROI over time. We look forward to having Lange at the helm of our global marketing during our continued tourism rebound.”

“Mia Lange’s experience working within the Caribbean and truly understanding our target audience will allow her to create destination campaigns that will keep St. Kitts top-of-mind among travelers,” added Ellison “Tommy” Thompson, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. “Her distinctive insights and approach will bring St. Kitts to the forefront as travelers plan their long-awaited vacations.”

Lange will lean on her knowledge, global experience, and her passion for the tourism industry and the region to build brand awareness for the island of St. Kitts. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with destinations to create branding and external messaging with the intent to increase awareness among key audiences, in addition to navigating multiple channels including digital, social and traditional media to drive consumer engagement.

“I am eager to continue immersing myself in the island, getting to know the people and experiences while embarking on this new challenge,” said Lange. “St. Kitts has a strong foundation and is poised for continued growth. I look forward to showing the world the destination’s exceptional offerings.”

Most recently, Ms. Lange served as Executive Director of Global Communications for The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. In this role, she managed the Ministry’s key agencies of record, strategic planning, budget management, crisis communications, organizational messaging, and leadership of the Communication teams.  Lange received her MBA, with a specialization in marketing and graduated magna cum laude from Lynn University in 2017.  She served several roles for The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism such as Senior Director of Global Communications, Senior Manager of Advertising and Branding, Manager of Cruise Development, Sales and Marketing Executive and more, and worked in The Bahamas, England, Germany, France and the United States. Under her leadership, The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism was awarded a number of top destination marketing and public relations awards.

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