Travel restriction lifted for businessman accused of forging Portia's signature 

Businessman Peter Sangster who is charged in relation to the forging of the signature of former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller was today granted permission by Justice Dale Palmer to travel overseas.

The application was made in the Home Circuit Court by attorney-at-law Hugh Wildman who is representing Sangster.

Sangster has been ordered to return to court on June 17 for a pre-trial hearing to ascertain if the prosecution has all the relevant documents to proceed with the case.

Wildman has indicated that Sangster has been before the court for six years and the prosecution has never been ready.

He said if the prosecution is not ready on the next occasion he will be applying for the case to be thrown out for abuse of process.

The trial date has been set for September 23.

Sangster who is the managing director of Jamus Communications Limited was charged in March 2017 with obtaining money by false pretence, uttering forged documents and forgery.

It is being alleged that between January 2011 and August 2013, Sangster solicited and obtained over US$600,000 from the chairman of the company and promised to provide a waiver for funds owed to the company to the Universal Service Fund (USF).

The Crown is alleging that in August 2013 Sangster presented the promised waiver allegedly signed by the then Prime Minister. When the document  was tendered by the company to the USF for it to be enacted, it was discovered that it was a forgery.

The matter was reported to MOCA which launched an investigation into the matter. Sangster was subsequently arrested and charged.

-Barbara Gayle

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.