Member of Parliament for South Trelawny Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert has been fined $900,000 in relation to charges for omitting ownership of a motor vehicle in her statutory declaration.
The charges were imposed by the Integrity Commission, IC.
Her attorney, Peter Champagnie told Irie Fm news that the matter was settled in the corporate area court today.
This after the MP opted to not contest some of the 8 charges against her.
Mr. Champagnie pointed out that since the offences are non-recordable, Mrs. Dalrymple Philibert can continue her parliamentary duties without hindrance.
The lawyer noted that the court highlighted an ambiguity with some provisions in the integrity commission act, relating to the discretion of the IC.
This as there is no clear provision for the IC to have accepted Mrs. Dalrymple-Philibert’s declarations, particularly where she had corrected the record by declaring her ownership of the motor vehicle in question at the interview conducted by the commission.
This correction was made by Mrs Dalrymple-Philibert by way of the updated statutory declaration, at the recommendation of the commission and before any charge was brought against her.
Mr. Champagnie said the Integrity Commission Act needs to be reviewed, to allow parliamentarians and other public officials to make corrections to prior statutory declarations during an inquiry, without the need for court proceedings.
