A 13-year-old student of the Chaguanas South Secondary School was granted $5,000 bail when he appeared before a Tunapuna Magistrates Court yesterday charged with setting fire to the school.
The boy, whose identity cannot be revealed because of his age, stood before senior Magistrate Jo-Anne Connor who granted him bail in the sum of $120,000 with surety, with a cash alternative of $5,000, and adjourned the matter to June 17. He was released in the care of his stepfather.
The boy was represented by attorney Sade Lee-Duprey.
He was charged at the Chaguanas Police Station yesterday after spending the night in custody. He was arrested shortly after a fire began in a prefabricated building which housed Forms Three and Five students.
A release from the Ministry of Education yesterday stated that both staff and students were safely evacuated and that no injuries were reported. Students who wrote the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations were housed at the neighbouring Chaguanas North Secondary School. The release also stated that the T&T Fire Service was continuing investigations into the cause of the fire.
A release from the police service’s Public Affairs Unit on Monday stated that the Community Policing Secretariat and the ministry were launching a National Schools Anti-Bullying campaign at the school's auditorium when smoke was seen coming from the building.
Chaguanas fire fighters responded and extinguished the blaze; Chaguanas police held the suspect and detained three students for questioning. (KF)