Television host Ian Alleyne has landed himself in hot water yet again, this time over his comments pertaining to a court case involving the son of prominent contractor Junior Sammy. At an emergency hearing at the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday evening, Justice Joan Charles granted an ex-parte injunction barring Alleyne from discussing details of Sammy’s son Shaun ongoing court case.
Sammy’s legal team, which included former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, and Alleyne’s former associate Om Lalla argued the commentary served to prejudice the case, which is due to come up for hearing in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court today. Shaun, a director in his father’s company, Junior Sammy Group of Companies, is expected to follow up yesterday’s action with a substantive defamation lawsuit.
The injunction came almost an hour before Alleyne’s programme Crime Watch was aired on television station CNC3 yesterday evening. While he did not mention the injunction, Alleyne did speak about the negative impact of his report on the issue, describing the situation as “unbelievable.” “Everybody seems to be upset with me. I did nothing wrong. I was just asking questions,” Alleyne said.
The case shot into the limelight last month after several media reports claimed the police file related to his arrest in late August had gone missing. Shaun was reportedly driving his car on French Street, Woodbrook, on August 23, when he was stopped by police. Police claimed he failed a breathalyser test at the Woodbrook Police Station. When he appeared in court last month, Shaun pleaded not guilty to the charge. His legal team also includes Ravi Rajcoomar and Derrick Balliram.