Bush begins 60 day evening curfew
(CNS): Speaker McKeeva Bush began a two-month long evening house curfew at his West Bay home on Monday, as the sentence handed down for his conviction for assault by Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn came into force. Meanwhile, Premier Alden McLaughlin indicated that government was unlikely to do anything to remove Bush from his prestigious office, regardless of the conviction. He told CNS that he didn’t think “the country would be well served” if he took action that would lead to the collapse of the government.
Bush appeared in Summary Court to hear the magistrate’s ruling following a hearing on 3 December, when the veteran politician and West Bay West representative admitted assaulting Livia Kwong during a drunken evening in February.
As she delivered her ruling, Magistrate Gunn, who recorded the conviction, said Bush had committed a very serious assault on a woman who was trying to help him, and given his position, his behaviour was “shameful and reprehensible”. The magistrate also revealed that Kwong had been pressured not to report the incident. She said that Bush had no one but himself to blame, having allowed his grief and mental health problems to spiral out of control.
Explaining how she had arrived at a sentence of three months, or 90 days, imprisonment, Magistrate Gunn said that the sentence was reduced to two months for his guilty pleas in connection with the three charges for assault and a $700 fine for the charge of disorderly conduct. Given that Bush has no previous convictions, she said the non-committal sentence would be suspended for two years, but Bush would still serve a 60-day curfew in the evenings between 6pm and 6am.
Although he was not issued with an electronic tag to ensure he remained in his home each and every night until 19 February, the court ordered a doorstep condition. Gunn said that if Bush is attending parliament in the next two months, he would be excused from curfew for late sittings but he must be at his home within one hour after the end of the proceedings.
This means that police are able to call on Bush at anytime during the nighttime curfew and if they find he is not home a warrant will be issued for his arrest and he could be remanded to custody and forced to serve the rest of his time in prison. The suspension for two years also holds Bush to good behaviour for that time as any new conviction would not only see him sanctioned for whatever new offense was committed but this sentence would be added to it.
In addition to the suspended sentence, the curfew and fine, Bush mush also pay Kwong almost CI$4,300 in medical expenses.
Following the court’s ruling, at an unrelated press conference at the Government Administration Building, McLaughlin said he was unaware at that time of the ruling but said that government would have to take time to consider the matter, as “there may or may not be a meeting of the House” before it is dissolved in March.
“I am not sure that the country will be well served now by my taking action which precipitates the collapse of the government and the holding of early elections, so we have to bear that in mind, ” he said in response to a CNS question.
Meanwhile, in response to inquiries sent by CNS to the Commission for Standards in Public Life, officials said members had raised the matter with the premier, directing his attention to the Standards in Public Life Law.
This requires those in public life “to observe the standards” set out in that legislation, which also provides sanctions for members in contravention of the law, officials added. “The commission encourages all members of Parliament to take seriously their responsibilities as are required to comply with the law and to act accordingly,” the CSPL said in an email to CNS.
seeing so called ‘leaders’ not remove this embarrassment from his post just shows how little they care about this country and are all for themselves. kudos to Ezzard for standing for what’s right despite the popular consensus in parliament.
Time to break out the delousing powder!
Keep in mind that the Premier doesn’t know squat.
politicians can do anything on this island and get away with it…full stop….so if we plan on living here..stay clear of them…they untouchable even in courts….
This makes perfect sense for a small town like Cayman. Caymanian government officials should have the unilateral right and privilege to beat on expats and tourists alike. He even gets to remain speaker. What a joke. Cayman has embarrassed itself. A couple of young people go to jail for breaking a quarantine but a violent alcoholic has to stay at home and get a good nights sleep every night for a couple of months. Well done!
You all just made life a whole lot easier for his no use driver who’s salary needs to be cut now since he is only driving in the day!
Justice system my ass. Plenty people going to hell
“I am not sure that the country will be well served now by my taking action which precipitates the collapse of the government and the holding of early elections, so we have to bear in mind”
Or in other words, my staying in power for another 5 months is more important than taking a moral stance on this. Nothing to do with the interests of the country- a lot to do with the desperate desire to retain power – even just for a few more months.
The Premier has laid his cards on the table for all to see. And what an ugly hand it is. Better to have quietly folded.
Keep in mind that the Premier doesn’t know squat.
To 11.34 But you got squat mastered. You know squat.
Alden has destroyed this country…economic, immigration, and now the justice system. All for the sake of one more “all he can grab” term in office. This guy is a disgusting pig.
Alden has always been a fraud. He is all about him not the country. The ppm is no different than udp just different set of characters and con men. The bar is so low in Cayman people thought Alden was better than Big Mac but they have proven to be kindred spirits and exactly the same self serving egotistical shameless leaders. They are loyal to power and nothing else.
You’re right…it just seemed more blatant this term.
I am a voter but since I work for government I cannot sign my name, however, I URGE all MPs – from Allen right across to the opposition benches: *Get Mac out of that Speaker role* Do not think that we are not watching and keeping track of your premeditated mistakes in judgment. Hon our your seats and put in a vote of no confidence and vote yes unanimously.
What we have here is a Parliament of night owls.
I’m not surprised by this pathetic outcome. But I am absolutely appalled and gutted!
Not only by Mac’s behavior but by the entire Parliament, except Mr. Miller who has long called for higher standards.
And I’m not sure what’s worse – the Premier’s brief and weak statement or the deafening silence by all (except Mr. Miller) other powers that be. Including the Ministers Association.
Poor Mac. Can the slot machines come to him instead?
Online gambling.
All public servants can now use this as a concrete example as to why they should not be placed on mandatory leave and then be dismissed if they are arrested and then convicted of similar or lesser offences. At least we all know what the standards are now.
If the people in charge don’t do anything, or even just say anything (unbeliveable that they haven’t), then they are condoning Bush’s actions. The government can’t come down hard on employees because obviously, this behaviour is acceptable in this society.
Everyone can just shut up the next time an expat gets in trouble.
And yes I know MLAs don’t have a code of conduct but in theory they shouldn’t need one because anyone with an ounce of humility, self-respect or a conscience would have already done the right thing and resigned. They don’t deserve to be called MPs. Misogynistic troglodytes, the lot.
It will be quite fascinating to see if all of you who are so disgusted with this outcome rally together to ensure Big Mac AND his fellow MPs who are sitting quietly (not you Mr Ezzard) do NOT get re-elected with their fancy pay in May. None of them deserve another term, paid, to sit by and watch silently as the standards of life collapse even further in the Cayman Islands.
Is there a real alternative? I have yet to see them. Guess I will wait until the new faces show. But I will not be voting for persons who do nothing but throw mud and spread gossip and hearsay. Not for me, thanks!
OP here – Agreed. I wonder if there is nobody running that people think are worth voting for, what will happen?
Bush and Sandra should be making license plates right now.
Picnic benches
“I am not sure that the country will be well served now by my taking action which precipitates the collapse of the government and the holding of early election” actually, mate, that is exactly the action you would take if you wanted to serve the country well.
And you have no right to “take time to consider” this because you have had since February to decide what to do once the court had recorded the inevitable conviction. That is blatantly stalling in the hope that you can avoid doing what you know goddamned well the country, your role as premier, common decency and the slightest hint of backbone absolutely 100% requires you to do.
Honestly no matter how low our expectations of our leaders are they manage to disappoint and be even more cowardly, self-serving, lazy, morally bankrupt and revolting than previously thought possible. What a bunch of total wankers.
Choudhury clearly knew something that we all don’t….
If she had thousands of dollars of medical bills as a result of this attack why was he not done for ABH? If he/”they” tried to intimidate witnesses or the victim into not testifying why was he not charged with that either? Forget the utterly pathetic sentence, how did he get away with such soft charges? Are the AG/DPP friends of his?
Our Speaker of the House pleads guilty to assault, and refuses to give any integrity or respect.
Our Premier refuses to take action in the Parliament.
(Almost All of) Our elected MPs insist on staying silent, refusing to do the right thing- save for 7-11 years ago where they acknowledge the violence and say we should have a ZERO tolerance against violence. https://www.facebook.com/715992872/posts/10159365096412873/?d=n
We have a Government that refuses to be accountable, they refuse to take action and stay silent.
We must VOTE THEM ALL OUT. Anyone who would vote in a criminal or vote in someone who does nothing when standing up against abhorrent behavior, is sending the message that we deserve nothing less than to be terrorized and I’ll-represented.
If you believe that there is a lack of accountability in our Government. If you believe more needs to be done to take real action towards increased MP accountability, please save the date: 2 Jan. 2021. Information to follow.
Daily Mail pays really big bucks for videos.
What a great example to indicate that Cayman has turned into a banana republic! Jail time for Skylar and home EVENING curfew for Mckeeva for assault. This same justice system is relied on for objective decisions related to billions of dollars in hedge fund assets. The correct decision would have been jail time for Mckeeva and curfew for Skylar.
This is it for me. No jokes, I’m leaving. Beautiful country but run by scum.
As usual not a peep from the other MLAs, the Pastors, prominent Caymanians or even the Governor for Christ’s sake. Where the f*** is the leadership in this rot stinking island.
Bush is a pathetic, violent, coward but he is not so stupid to attack any of their daughters.
Please do not include Ezzard in the group he has spoken out several times and called for his removal if he do not step down.
Ezzard is nothing more than an opportunist seeking power.
So the people who are supposed to lead and set an example choose not to lead and set an example. This is truly disgusting.
Alden, everyone is dying for an election and no one has a problem with it coming early! Cayman, get your shit together!
Easy now..there’s no one else ready to run yet…we need to get rid of these and old and new dinosaurs.
Now release the CCTV video. I double dog dare you.
The victim’s lawyers must have it; it’s evidence. One can only hope she/they haven’t released it yet because there are further legal avenues to pursue.
Hopefully he’ll screw up and the suspended sentence will become custodial. Quick, invite him to happy hour!!
You mean Angry Hour?
True! Either way. He’s easily “led astray” so give him a few drinks and let him get himself in trouble…..AGAIN!
More time with the wife…why are only women punished in this country?
This country is done. Corruption all around. People are cowards. Get out while you can
Phew..made it.
RIP Cayman Islands
The whole bunch of them are pieces of dung. All disrespect intended, espeacially Mac who I believe is a coward.
I urinate on their ancestors and their families as well as they themselves.
Time longer than rope cochise. The bunch of them ropes are pulling up short now.
Is it possible to have a disciplinary and whose remit, is to review any offenses by members , and whose remit by established law and its provisos can mete out disciplinary measures for infractions of The Standards off Public Life or Codes of Condiuct for Parliamentarians. It seems that this aspect needs to be articulated and advocated by the community at large, as it is apparent that without it we will continue to have indisciplined Parliamentarians leading our government. Let’s see who has the cojones to put such measures in their manifesto in 2021 elections.
Dear Mr. A$$,
I don’t care for this poor excuse for a man either. What a waste of humanity!
His only claim to fame must be passing out election “gifts”.
The Governor can’t do anything here, but I am sure he can make a recommendation to the Queen to take his OBE from him?
Good idea!
No he needs to keep the OBE, just change the meaning of the initials. Odious Belligerent Excrement.
There, it is fully deserved. I can see no one trying to take that away from him.
🙂
The way to petition for removal of a British Honour is found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/having-honours-taken-away-forfeiture.
Examples of the kind of behaviour that may lead to revocation of an honour include being found guilty by the courts of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than three months.
As Bush has only been sentenced to three months, it can’t apply unfortunately.
Are McKeeva and Jeff Webb allowed to have sleepovers?
Premier, Mac should be removed from the Speaker position asap. If he does not remain as an regular MP on the government bench to allow the government to continue until the May elections, then it will show everyone that HE ONLY CARES ABOUT HIMSELF not his country.
WBW voters over to you to decide if you want a representative who admits to drunken violence.
The WB voters have always voted for the one who gives them the most “gifts”.
Well how is Tara going to clean up this mess in the world press? A good first step would be to comet and defend the victum and then resign. Barbara and Ju-Ju you two should defend the victim as well. You three are totally spineless pawns.
ALL of our elected members should advocate for the victim, regardless of their gender.
What happens in the third world is the King of the island does whatever he wants and there is nothing you or I or anyone can do about it. He can only be judged by his loyal subjects. The whole Government, democracy, laws for all thing is just window dressing and has no bearing in Cayman islands.
He is still the undisputed leader of the third world boys club which in turn rules over everything on this tiny island. Why did anyone who lives here expect any different outcome? The island itself is not the third world but many of the Caymanians are and they are in charge of the whole of Cayman. Always been this way. Still is this way. Why the surprise and disrespect now?
9.22am There are now more Jaymanians than Caymanians so no surprise.
But Jamaicans do not vote; Caymanians vote these people into office.
Since his appointment by McKeeva Bush in 2003, Sam Bulgin, Attorney General, has published that he believes, “we are entrusted with considerable privileges and wide discretionary powers”, to determine his functional principal of what is in the “wider public interest”. It would seem there may have been some back channel discussions, committees, phone calls, and emails in that regard. It would be useful if we, or the ACC/FCO, could transparently review all of those communications, to ensure good governance, or to understand the depth, and cast, of what appears to be high-level interference.
“Ethics, Integrity and Accountability in Public Life”
By Hon. Samuel Bulgin, QC, JP
https://www.caribjournal.com/2011/12/01/cayman-attorney-general-samuel-bulgin-on-ethics-integrity-and-accountability-in-public-life/
Scum huh and what have you where you come from 7:23 pm dog shit! Go long a d stay far away from us with your limited brain.