Immigration case re-opens with new jury
(CNS): Following a catalogue of problems with the last jury selected to hear the case against Tichina Rickfield, who is charged with 15 counts of making documents without authority and one count of abuse of office in relation to immigration fraud, the case re-opened in front of a new panel Monday. The former acting secretary to the Work Permit Board was suspended from her job more than five years ago and she has been on required leave ever since.
According to the crown’s case, on fifteen separate occasions over a twelve month period Rickfield altered the immigration database without authority to grant work permits that had been denied or deferred by the board, or added items to the agenda after the fact and granted permits that had never been reviewed by the members.
The crown claims that the information added or altered by Rickfield was not human error but deliberate changes that overturned the legitimate decisions of the statutory board. However, the crown has offered no motive and made no connections with Rickfield and the various employers and employees impacted by the changes they allege she made.
The case is expected to see a number of serving and former senior civil servants take the stand, including Deputy Governor Franz Manderson and the former cabinet secretary, Orrett Connor. The crown’s first witness, who was called Monday, was Chief Immigration Officer Linda Evans, who is also currently suspended from duty as a result of an investigation into allegations made about her conduct.
On the stand Evans confirmed that the board had raised concerns about the accuracy of the data and minutes being kept by Rickfield and an audit was conducted, which led to her suspension and the subsequent police enquiry.
Evans explained how the board considers permit applications and the administrative process to support that. She answered questions on various documents from the database that indicated that Rickfield was the person using the computer at the time when what appeared to be unauthorised changes to the database were made.
Rickfield has denied all the charges and her defence attorney, Fiona Robertson from Samson and McGrath, is expected to cross-examine Evans when the case continues in Grand Court One tomorrow before Justice Charles Quin.
