Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
THE MURDER of a complainant within hours after he attended the Gun Court on Tuesday has led to a High Court judge directing the police to investigate the circumstances under which a doctor had issued a sick leave certificate to one of the accused men.
Dr. Dolphy Gilpin, who practices in Vineyard Town, King-ston, was summoned to court on Wednesday after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecu-tions learnt that the complainant was killed.
TRAGIC
The doctor admitted in court that he was not registered with the Medical Council of Jamaica.
Prosecutors Paula Llewellyn and Tanya Lobban, who questioned the doctor on Wednesday in court, said yesterday that despite the tragic and regrettable death of the complainant, the Crown was going to proceed with the case under section 31 (D) of the Evidence Amendment Act.
The trial of Gairy Thompson, also called 'Pali', and David Montaque, labourers of Jarrett Lane, off Mountain View Ave-nue, Kingston 2, who are charged with the illegal possession of firearms and wounding with intent, was set for priority on Tuesday.
Thompson who was on bail, did not attend court but his lawyer, Robert Fletcher, tendered a medical certificate from Dr. Gilpin stating that Thompson would not be able to attend court for the next two weeks.
The police said that the complainant Michael Blake, of Rock district, Trinityville, who appeared in court because of a gunshot injury to his foot, had expressed fear for his life when he went to court on Tuesday.
The police said that they were in the process of preparing the relevant documents to put him in the Witness Protection Programme when he was killed. The police took Blake to a bus stop and about midnight on Tuesday, gunmen invaded his home in Rock district and shot him dead.
Blake had brought charges against the two men after he was shot in the foot on May 10 last year during a dispute with them in the Mountain View area. Blake went to live in St. Thomas after the incident.
Following the disclosure by Dr. Gilpin, Miss Justice Jennifer Straw (acting) directed the police to conduct investigations into the matter in relation to the breach of the Medical Act and to ascertain whether the doctor could be charged with perverting the course of justice.
BENCH WARRANT
When Thompson did not appear in court on Tuesday, Miss Justice Straw had ordered that a bench warrant be issued for Thompson and stayed until Thursday.
On Wednesday evening East Kingston businessman Danhai Williams, who had bailed Thompson, turned him over to the police.
