Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

A special jury began hearing evidence yesterday in the Supreme Court in the suit brought by Kingston businessman Alton Washington Brown against the Revenue Protection Division (RPD) to recover $100 million for loss of business profits.

Brown is contending that he suffered losses in his business because he was falsely arrested and charged with evading customs duty.

Brown, who was a director and president of Shipping Caribbean Inc., registered in the United States, said that the five charges which were brought against him lingered in the courts from October 1998 to May 2000 when he was freed on a no case submission.

Loss of profits

He is asking the jury to make an award of $100 million for loss of business profits because his company in the U.S.A. and his company, Caribbean Freight Shipping and Customs Broking Ltd., in Jamaica, suffered losses and folded because of the pending charges against him.

Brown, who is represented by attorneys-at-law Terrence Ballantyne and Paul Beswick, is also seeking damages for malicious prosecution and exemplary damages.

Government lawyers, Julie Thompson and Tasha Manley, who are representing the defendants who are the RPD, the Attorney-General and Inspector Winston Lawrence, are asking the jury not to make any award in Brown's favour.

The defendants are contending that Inspector Lawrence acted lawfully, with reasonable and probable cause and without malice, when he arrested Brown who was suspected of fraudulently evading customs duty in relation to five pick-up trucks.