The Senate Hearings on Immigration continued in Belmopan today, and this time the UDP politician in the hot-seat was Carlos Perdomo, the current Cabinet Secretary, and former Minister in charge of Immigration. 

He took questions from the Senate Select Committee to address that specific allegation that he he gave an order for a passport to be granted to an applicant who did not qualify.

You may remember the April testimony for the retired Immigration Officer, Therese Chavarria. She went before the Senate Select Committee to outline a case that landed on her desk back in May of 2011, when she was the officer in charge of the Belize City passport office.

As we reported, it was the application for the man claiming to be Paul Ku. He went into the Belize City passport office with the Naturalized Belizean, Rina Chiu Hsiang (siang) Lo, who has been described in the Senate hearings as a sort of immigration fixer. 

Paul Ku submitted his application for a passport, claiming to be a Belizean who grew up in Belize City. That story soon started to look shaky when the Immigration officers noticed that he couldn’t speak a word of English. He was interrogated by OIC Chavarria, who decided that she would not grant him the Belize passport until she checked into his background. 

Chavarria told the Senate that she went on vacation, and explicitly instructed her subordinates that his application should not be processed, and that it was on hold. 

Chavarria then told the Senate that while on her vacation, Rina Hsiang Lo approached her twice at her home, trying to convince her that Paul Ku’s birth certificate was authentic. She even tried to bribe the immigration officer with $500, to approve the passport application’s processing. 

Chavarria said that when she returned from her vacation, she found out that Rina Hsiang Lo managed to produce another application file for Paul Ku. That application was processed, and Ku got his a Belize passport.

She inquired about the case with Former Immigration Director Ruth Meighan, who reportedly told her that she gave the approval for the application to be processed, on instructions from then Minister Carlos Perdomo.

The Auditor General reported in her audit that her team questioned Perdomo, he told them that he didn’t recall, but didn’t think he gave any such directions for Paul Ku’s passport to be processed. When he was asked about his relationship to Rina Hsiang Lo he said quote, “She is in Caribbean Shores and lives on the Northern Highway. She is a good friend of mine and I got to know her when I was getting involved in politics.â€￾ 

So, the Senate Committee wanted to hear Perdomo’s side for themselves especially since he is being accused of improperly using ministerial authority, and of being close with an immigration agent who tried to bribe a public officer.

Here’s a few of the questions that the Senate had for him:

Hon. Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"Is this so? Did you have any intervention with Paul Ku application?"

Carlos Perdomo - Former Minister of Immigration
"I did not give any directive as the report says to the director of immigration and I would like to say when I was briefed about this situation the whole scenario was already completed because nobody at least from what was briefed to me orally I did not know anything about this case Ms. Chavarria came back from vacation. Apparently according to reports she knew a lot of things, she was supposedly bribed but nobody knew of that. She went on vacation, took files at home which is pretty irregular but nobody knew anything of that until she came back and it is after everything is complete, passport signed, blah, blah, blah that she makes a report after vacation so that's the first time I heard about it so I just to clear that. I knew nothing of it before the actual signing and so forth but I did not repeating, I did not give any instructions."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"The audit team is interviewing you and that interview took place in 2014, two and a half years ago."

Carlos Perdomo
"That was a few years after whatever and that's why I said I don't think so because it was later."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"That's what I'm trying to understand. In 2014 you weren't certain."

Carlos Perdomo
"That’s right."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"You see I am not sure."

Carlos Perdomo
"No I didn't say I was not sure, I said I don't recall, I do not think that I would direct, my style is not do that so."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"I just wanted to clarify that with you because if you go down to 50:18 your answer then was I recall the doubting part in regards about birth certificates but nothing specific. I think I recall that issue but I do not know if it was approved or not approved, I don't think I instructed anyone - now you are saying you are certain that you did not instruct anyone."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
"After you found out that there was an attempt to bride Ms. Chavarria especially by one of your friends. I'm trying to understand having been the minister of police now the minister in charge of immigration, why after having found out even if after the passport has been issue that an attempt was made to bribe Ms. Chavarria, why did you do not do anything? Why was there not an investigation? Why especially since it was your friend that was trying to bribe Ms. Chavarria, one of your employees-"

Carlos Perdomo
"It's that friend thing I was trying to say that just because we are friends doesn't mean - but let me answer your question when the director briefed me on the issue we decided that the department would be some additional investigation. Perhaps I didn't pursue it but the department did investigate, it didn't do to the police, I don't know why."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Wouldn't this have been something that would have bothered you minister? Or were you-"

Carlos Perdomo
"I wouldn't have rushed to the police with the knowledge that I had then so the decision was to investigate more before going to the police because it was kind of a little incredible story. We just left it at the department; I didn't pursue it that strongly."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"But why minister? Why wouldn't you seek to-"

Carlos Perdomo
"Must be busyness or something but it was not intentional."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"It was not because you were dealing with friends of friends?"

Carlos Perdomo
"No never."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"One of the recommendations the auditor general made is that the director of immigration and nationality Ms. Ruth Meighan should be questioned as well by the police regarding her role in the issuance of the passport to Paul Ku and that you should be questioned by the police in respect of your role in the issuance of the passport to Paul Ku."

Carlos Perdomo
"I don't know why but if the recommendations are carried through I would gladly talk to the police."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"It is your testimony that you were never involved through your friendships with Mr. Reina in any type of assistance for these people?"

Carlos Perdomo
"No, Ms. Reina has her own contacts apparently, she no need minister, she did it with other people; apparently from this report with the bribe Mr. Chavarria."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"But earlier minister you testified that you knew Ms. Reina that she was around the department long before your time."

Carlos Perdomo
"Yeah."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
“And that didn’t concern you?â€￾

Carlos Perdomo
“No it didn’t concern me.â€￾

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
“None at all?â€￾

Carlos Perdomo
“No.â€￾

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
“Did not raise a flag?â€￾

Carlos Perdomo
“But it would concern me now (laugh...) not at that time senator.â€￾