Monrovia – Deputy Justice Minister for Codification, Nyenati Tuan, has shifted blame on the police for tempering with the accident report between his assigned vehicle and a motorcyclist that left three kids injured on the GSA Road on March 1 this year.
Report by Kennedy Yangian, [email protected]
The kids, according to family sources, were returning from worship service when the accident occurred.
The Deputy Justice Minister, who has pleaded not liable for the accident, made specific accusation against the police.
He alleges that the diagram constructed after the accident was tempered with by police officers who conducted the investigation on the day of the accident.
Tuan made the statement Wednesday, June 3 in the Traffic Court on the grounds of the Temple of Justice where he is on trial for reckless driving and violation of the Traffic Law.
“I was on the accident scene when the police took the diagram but that diagram was being tampered with by someone,” claimed Deputy Minister Tuan while responding to questions from the prosecution as to whether he signed any investigative report by the police.
The Deputy Justice Minister told the court that he could not be held liable for the accident because he was on the right lane of the road and when he saw the overspeeding motorcyclist approaching he applied his brake and stopped when the motorcyclist collided with his vehicle.
On the question of how long has he been driving and if he has had any accident, Tuan added that he has been driving for the past 12 years and the only time he was involved in an accident was in 2018 when his vehicle was hit by two other vehicles while in the traffic.
“I was on the accident scene when the police took the diagram but that diagram was being tampered with by someone”
– Nyenati Tuan, Deputy Justice Minister for Codification
During the questioning by prosecution and later by the court, Tuan, who has been a long time practicing lawyer before his appointment as Deputy Minister of Justice, said that his assigned government vehicle was not insured because government vehicles are exempted from insurance policy.
“The Traffic Law of the Republic of Liberia prohibits government vehicles from insurance policy,” said Tuan.
Responding to wide spread reports that he failed to cater to the kids following the accident, the Deputy Justice Minister said the reports are misleading and that he had provided some money for the medication of the children. However, he added that the funding was only given on moral grounds.
Wednesday’s testimony by the Deputy Justice Minister was his first public statement on the incident.
Tuan was later discharged from the witness stand by the court with an announcement from the prosecution that they will produce rebuttal witnesses against his testimony.
The case was adjourned to be continued on Friday, June 5, 2020 at the hour of 10:00 am.