Lennox Linton Reports
Former Ambassador David Hsiu
The evidence phase of the BVI court case that has pitted Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit against his former Ambassador to Beijing came to an earlier than expected end Wednesday afternoon with David Hsiu spitting fire over Dominica’s alleged lack of recognition for his diplomatic accomplishments.
The case is about a change of heart by Rich Victory Investment Ltd. on the planned 2006 transfer of its majority shareholding in the Shangri-La International Development Holding Ltd to Government, but Hsiu was clearly interested in using his court appearance for a different story.
First he sought to corroborate the earlier testimony of Accountant Kieron Pinard-Byrne that he (David Hsiu) has “no beneficial or other interest” in Rich Victory even though in the first part of the trial, Prime Minster Skerrit stated under oath that David Hsiu and Rich Victory “are one and the same”.
If true, Hsiu’s statement leaves Rich Victory with no ownership representation in a court battle which could see the disappearance of its majority shareholding in Shangri-La which, as a wholly owned subsidiary in May 2005, carried a value of 135.8 million dollars.
Court records show it was Hsiu who picked up from Felix Chen the 20 million US dollars (54 million EC) paid by Sino Union to Rich Victory in May 2005 for a 40% share of the Shangri-La. The case files also indicate that earlier in 2005, Hsiu refunded 6.7 million dollars of a 7 million dollar deposit on the Shangri La shares from Chen because of a pending general election in Dominica and Hsiu’s concern over whether the political party of his choice would have emerged victorious.
Having delivered his denial of an ownership interest in Rich Victory Hsiu went on to deny his former boss, Prime Minister Skerrit, his “brother and friend”, three times.
Asked about the Prime Minister’s testimony that 1) there was only one condition to the transfer of the shares; 2) he did not ask for due diligence on the 40% shareholder of Shangri-La; and 3) he did not request an shareholders meeting to approve the share transfer, Hsiu said Skerrit was wrong on all counts.
But it was in his claim to fame in Dominica’s diplomatic engagement with Beijing that Hsiu, testifying in his native language Mandarin, was most passionate. According to the English translation:
“In January and February of 2004 I explained to the Prime Minister the importance of having diplomatic relations between Dominica and China. For the 2 month period … I made a great effort and sent a report to the PM and said once we established a relation with China there would be completion of a 10,000 stadium and 60 kilometre road, a school, a hospital, financial aid to study in china… and I was happy I succeeded in doing the things I set out to do…”
Unfortunately Hsiu observed, “Only a few people knew about the things I did for Dominica… I am very proud of that… I would also like to express the feeling of not being able to be glorified for all the things I did for Dominica”.
That, however, was that last speech that Hsiu was able to make in which he ignored the matter under examination and the specific questions posed to him. Justice Bannister said he would have no more of it
In fact Hsiu’s last ditch effort to launch a broadside on the integrity of the Prime Minister, was dismissed as hearsay and irrelevant to the case by the Judge who ordered that the offending remarks be expunged from the court record.
Like Pinard-Byrne before him, Hsiu took aim at Sino Union boss Felix Chen with a series of allegations that there was need to use the additional undocumented conditions for the transfer of the Shangri-La shares to protect the government from his style corporate governance. The actual evidence, told a different story.
Before Hsiu’s near 2 hour tangle with Queens Counsel Reginald Armour, Senior Counsel Anthony Astaphan spent the first 35 minutes the day closing off his confrontation with Hsiu’s tag team partner Kieron Pinard-Byrne.
He put it to the paid Rich Victory witness that “your Oral evidence is in total conflict with the documentary evidence that has been produced; the transfer of shares was unconditional; the entire case of RV to a large extent is fabricated; and the evidence of the Prime Minister was truthful and factual…”
A seemingly disappointed Pinard-Byrne replied:
“I am very shocked that the prime minister has suffered a lapse of memory”
When the hearing resumes Thursday morning hot shot commercial lawyer Paul Chaisty QC for Rich Victory, will opening the batting in the presentation of closing arguments followed by QC Reginald Armour for the claimants Sino Union and SC Anthony Astaphan for the Government of Dominica.
