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Merx may stand trial mid-March
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Feb 9, 2006 13:59 UTC
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PHILIPSBURG - The Court of First Instance will hear arguments for and against former Chief Prosecutor Cor Merx by mid-March if all goes well, according to Prosecutor Johan de Vrieze.
De Vrieze told The Daily Herald Wednesday, “We feel confident that we can bring the matter before the court by mid-March, but we have not yet set a date.” There has been no comment from the defence regarding the planned court hearing.
The news of Merx’s arrest quickly spread as far as Holland, where his face appeared on the front page of a popular newspaper. He was detained while on his way to work around 11:00am Friday, December 9, on charges of fraud. His detention lasted eight days, after which he was released from the Pointe Blanche prison on the condition that he not leave the island without contacting the Prosecutor’s Office.
He was held on suspicion of having committed four criminal offences: forgery, by requesting the telephone records of his former girlfriend and her alleged male friend on one occasion; fraud, for the same factual allegations; having misused his power by coercing a former colleague at the Prosecutor’s Office to make the written petitions mentioned; and having on one occasion threatened his former girlfriend and her alleged male friend by taking off his firearm in a room where they were present and putting it on a table.
Merx initially was defended by Richard Gibson Junior of the law firm at which he was to have worked if he had been sworn in as an attorney on December 16 as planned. He later secured high profile criminal attorney Jairo Bloem as his attorney.
He came forward after his release and stated that he had been “consumed by jealousy” when he made the requests for the telephone information of his former girlfriend and her alleged male friend. He said his actions had been performed in his personal life and as such suspicions set forth against him related to matters concerning his previous relationship and nothing more.
He also stated following his release, “Insofar as these actions have tarnished or discredited the reputation of the Prosecutor’s Office, I truly lament this very much. I have always been a God-fearing person who has done his utmost to keep up this office in a state of good standing and reputation.”
Further comments were not given regarding speculations that he was linked to a fire that destroyed documents at the Prosecutor’s Office and regarding an early release programme that he reportedly organised and executed for some time despite a letter from his superior informing him that he should not do so.
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