North East St Elizabeth Member of Parliament Kern Spencer (right), along with Patrick Roberts, the People's National Party caretaker for West Central St Andrew, makes his way to the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, yesterday. In the background, at centre, is Colleen Wright, Spencer's former personal assistant who, like him, is facing corruption charges. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

A CLASH unfolded between the defence and the prosecution in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday as the high-profile trial of North East St Elizabeth Member of Parliament (MP) Kern Spencer was again stalled.

In the exchanges before Senior Resident Magistrate Glen Brown, Director of Public Prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn, revealed that the Crown did not invite Rodney Chin to turn against co-accused Spencer and Colleen Wright in the light-bulb affair.

"It was counsel for Mr Chin that approached the Crown," Llewellyn said.

Llewellyn later indicated her intent to withdraw the charges against Chin but Senior Magistrate Glen Brown said he did not want to hear.

"If you are withdrawing the charges you withdraw but I don't want to hear about your intentions," Brown said.

Llewellyn's disclosure led to a protest by defence counsel. Patrick Atkinson, who takes instructions from Spencer, said it was unfair for his client and Wright to sit together with Chin as co-accused if he would be testifying against them.

"If he stays in the dock, it prevents us from getting what we need," Atkinson argued.

K.D. Knight, who is representing Wright, said that Llewellyn must act forthwith to drop the charges against Chin if that is her intention.

"I need to know whether my client sits with a co-accused or a potential witness. She needs to know if she can converse with Mr Chin. If he is a co-accused, she can; if he is a potential witness, she can't."

Brown told Llewellyn that if she intended to enter a nolle prosequi,they needed to know. However, Llewellyn said she would not be entering a nolle prosequi, but instead would be offering no evidence.

Meanwhile, the defence counsel also lamented that they had not been furnished with all the information by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for them to effectively represent their clients.

'Stream of dribbles'

But Llewellyn said that the Crown had furnished all the information it had.

Atkinson described the pace at which information was coming to him as "a steady stream of dribbles".

Brown said, in the interest of justice, attorneys representing Spencer and Wright "must get an opportunity to prepare themselves".

Atkinson, in the meantime, has said that the defence needs full disclosure as to the circumstances which led to Chin joining with the prosecution.

"We need to know if there is a bargain with Mr Chin. ... We need to know everything," Atkinson told the court.

Corruption charges

Brown later adjourned the case, saying he was doing so in the interest of justice.

A mention date has been set for tomorrow, at which time Brown said that he hoped to be in a position to set a trial date.

Chin, who is charged jointly with Spencer and Wright for their roles in the Cuban light-bulb affair, is represented by Richard Small and Heron Daley.

Along with Spencer, he is facing charges of corruption and money laundering. Wright is charged with aiding and abetting corruption.

It is alleged that the three benefited improperly from the implementation of an energy-saving light-bulb project that involved the replacement of incandescent bulbs with flourescent bulbs that were gifts from the Cuban government.

Chin's firm, Universal Management Development Company, undertook the distribution of the free Cuban bulbs after being allegedly engaged by Spencer, through Wright, who was his personal assistant.

The Crown is charging that the Government did not benefit from having the contract go to a competitive tender.