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As has been widely reported, after fake Belizean Won Hong Kim got his passport issued to him in one day, his file famously disappeared, and those two officers from the Immigration Section reportedly handled the file at one point or another. As we told you, Director Marin wrote to Wade and Pacheco requesting that they answer certain questions, but instead of doing so, they retained Attorney Godfrey Smith who wrote back saying that his clients don't have to answer for any breech in procedures. Deputy Solicitor General Hawke, acting on behalf of the Immigration Department then wrote back to Smith saying that Marin's letters were not "show-cause" requests. Today, 7News caught up with Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse, and we asked him to share his opinion on the matter. He said that the officers pressed the gas too fast on the retention of an attorney:

Hon. Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration
"First of all when this whole thing began in September, the media said that oh, we haven't dealt with the nationality section, we only dealt with the passport section. I think that is now history. I explained that that took time until the director who is responsible for the department had time to see and declared as to what happened. Following on that she wrote the 2 people in the section to say, please explain to me how certain things happen and what is your response - that's all she did. She is awaiting that response. These people went to attorney which is their right; in this country everybody goes to an sttorney for everything, so that their rights too. The attorney writes back which is his right to say oh they have nothing to answer."

"The solicitor general who represents the government writes that attorney - attorney to attorney says listen man, all we are doing is asking the people for an explanation. They are not being charged with anything, they are being accused of anything, they are not before a court, so all this thing about courts and defend is premature - we ask a question. Any head of department has the responsibility to ask the people working under them for an answer for anything; if a door is left open, you say how is the door left open? Where is the key? Does that require you go to a lawyer and all of that - that is a way ahead of us. That is where we are right now."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir, if the situation with the attorney developed so quickly, do you in your opinion does it stop the process from going forward where the immigration director isn't even laying any kind of charges against them and the attorney has now sort of blockaded the response. Do you think that it is holding back this aspect of the investigation?"

Hon. Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration
"Absolutely not. I can tell you that that will move forward to its final conclusion. We intend to get a response. The people of Belize need a response to this. It's a good thing you know, it's educating the nation tremendously how these processes in government works - 32 years and people don't know. There are all sorts of accusations and hearsay etc. Now people are being educated as to how a system works and after this hopefully we govern better and people have to understand that everybody, not only the ministers, all the public officers are people in public life; you work with public money, you handle the public good, you are in charge of the public's assets - you have to treat it at every level from the driver to the minister with respect and dignity."

We also asked Hulse about the Public Service Commission's hearing for the other 3 immigration officers from the Passports Section which was held and completed on Wednesday. He told us that he had not been briefed as yet.