Ralph Fonseca Vindicated in Magistrate's Court |
Tue, March 3, 2009 |
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He was accused of the theft of $20 million in public funds, but today
Ralph Fonseca walked out of Belmopan Magistrate’s Court clear of that
charge. It was the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry into the charge where
Magistrate Earl Jones had to determine if there was enough evidence to take
the matter to the Supreme Court. In a very brief judgement issued this morning,
Earl Jones found that there was not sufficient evidence in the documents presented
to the court to establish a prima facie case against Fonseca. With that, the
case against him was discharged. And so, unlike his former Prime Minister Said
Musa, Ralph Fonseca will not stand trial in the Supreme Court. Fonseca was relieved
when he left the courtroom, but still had a few jabs for his opponents.
Ralph Fonseca, Cleared of Theft Charge
“Well it has to feel good. First of all I want to thank all the people
that called and text and emailed and expressed their support for me I would
like to offer them something. And those that didn’t, I’m busy. I
will continue to pray for my enemies. From within and without, I think the people
of Belize know what this case was all about and I am glad that justice has been
served. I hope that our previous Prime Minister also gets cleared as quickly
as is possible. I am also happy that the people that are involved with the case
are now relieved of this because I can imagine the pressure that they were under
and I thank the media in general for being fairly balanced as it relates to
this, even if uncharacteristically so Jules. Thank you very much.” |