PHILIPSBURG--Pointe Blanche prison secretary and former police station worker Isterida H.D. Hasham, who was irrevocably convicted of forgery in a court of law, has won the appeal launched against her dismissal.

 

Hasham (59) was found guilty of forgery in trying to obtain immigration documents for several people. For these crimes she was sentenced on May 28, 2009, to nine months, six of which were suspended. The single mother had spent almost three months in pre-trial detention.

 

Hasham and a partner in crime had both attempted to obtain temporary residency permits for illegal residents between January 4 and December 19, 2006. They did so by seeking Dutch passport holders who were prepared to sign false cohabitation contracts with their clients at a notary’s office.

 

Both women, who received payment for their illegal services, were also found guilty of having committed forgery in drafting these contracts and in making false job letters, pay slips, and tax documents.

 

Following her irrevocable conviction, the then Governor of St. Maarten sent Hasham a letter in November 2009, in which she was informed about the intention to dismiss her. She was dismissed as per March 9, 2012, but the Court quashed this decision on September 3, 2012.

 

One month later, the Governor made a new decision about Hasham’s immediate dishonourable discharge from Country St. Maarten’s service as per October 26, 2012. The civil servant in question challenged this decision at the Court of First Instance, which declared her objections unfounded on July 22, 2013.

 

Hasham filed for appeal with the Council of Appeals in Civil Servant Cases, which heard her case on January 18, 2016. The legitimacy of the Governor’s decree was contested in these proceedings, in which the secretary was represented by attorney-at-law Brenda Brooks.

 

The Council of Appeals stated recently that the Governor’s authority to dismiss civil servants is a so-called “discretionary power.” This means that Hasham’s dismissal could not be solely based on her irrevocable conviction of crimes, but should have been based on a “careful balancing of interests.”

 

The Council found that the Court of First Instance had failed to establish that the decision to fire Hasham had been in violation of her legal rights. In this regard, the Council took into account that it had taken two years and nine months after her conviction before Hasham was officially terminated.

 

This had radically intervened with her (economic) livelihood and she should not have been left in uncertainty about her status as a member of the civil service for such a long time, the Council reasoned.

 

In a previous case, the Council of Appeals had established that dismissal as a punishment is permissible within one year after the dereliction of duty has come to light. The Council said a couple of months would have been allowed, but in Hasham’s case nothing happened for 15 months, whereas the grounds for dismissal were clear. Her case was not complicated and did not require many and lengthy inquiries, it was stated.

 

Since her conviction, Hasham has not worked as a civil servant. She was suspended but retained her salaries. She will reach the pensionable age in October.

 

Country St. Maarten, which was represented in this case by attorney Aernout Kraaijeveld and Caroline van Hees, was ordered to pay the legal cost of these procedures, which were set at NAf. 1,400.

 

The Daily Herald