Down Memory Lane
The Guy Pool trial
The next witness to be called by the prosecution was:
P.W. 5 D.P. Lidstone
who stated that he was an explosive expert with 34 years experience of explosives both practical and theoretical. The witness went on say:
In March 1972 I received certain exhibits from Major Biddle in connection with an explosion which occurred in Seychelles. I received these exhibits on 7th March 1972. (shown exhibit B1-B18 and B20). I identify these as the labeled bags containing the exhibits handed over to me by Major Biddle. We examined everything from each bag and did certain tests on them.
I came to a number of conclusions (1) a high explosive had been involved which contained the constituents nitro glycerine and traces consistent with two involvement of ammonium nitrate from the basic constituents of many high explosives of the commercial blasting type. These identifications are made from very small quantities. You can say there were those ingredients present which means what one can’t identify the specific type of gelignite blasting. In U.K. you have about 60 types of explosive most of them containing these two ingredients- gelignite is a generic name including a number of explosives including nitro glycerine, nitro cellulous and ammonium nitrate. These were present in this case.
I identified small pieces of fired safety fuse. These were of a type similar to British Nobels WCPG fuse. There was a noticeable sparsity of safety fuse.
In this case I could identify no trace of the detonator but I can say that a detonator had to be present since it is an essential requirement for the initiation of high explosive. I can add that in the presence of safety fuse this detonator would require to be a plain detonator fuse a non electric open ended detonator of the type used with safety fuse. It is a common feature that that it is difficult to find pieces of a detonator. It is blown to very small pieces the usual method for a plain detonator is aluminum almost without exception. All British made detonators are aluminum.
The striking feature of my examination of the rest of the exhibits was the presence of many shattered metal. The shattering of this metal was consistent with having formed the casing of a high explosive bomb. This was evident in particular by the characteristic papering of many of the wooden exhibits by this method.
I was a little puzzled as to its origin in that it had formed a casing but the original nature of this casing I could only guess but the chemical form of the metal was that it was a basic aluminium silicon alloy which contained significant traces of zinc, manganese, copper and iron.
I had an impression that at least the end portion was rounded and I thought that it might have been cylindrical with rounded ends but I could not be certain. This casing had necessarily to be professionally manufactured in that it requires sophisticated moulding techniques and high temperature to make such a moulding. In U.K. I have great experience of bombs of the type that we call home made. The most common casings are usually off cuts of pipes or any suitable indigenous device that the perpetrator can obtain. From experience the bomb in this case was a home made bomb made from the sophisticated casings.
I would say that the damage shown in A1-A22 is typical of that caused by a high explosive and in my opinion this damage could be caused by a charge of 1 to 2 lbs of high explosives from a purely technical sense it is interesting because normally a metal cased bomb is designed to kill people but this bomb is said to have been applied to a building. This may suggest a lack of expertise.
I said that the sparsity of fuse suggest that it was in fact a relatively short fuse. Generally this type of fuse burns at rate of 2ft. per minute. Assuming you wanted 10 minutes delay this would imply the use of 20 ft. of fuse. I would say the pieces of fuse I have examined would suggest the use of 2 to 3 ft. It would give the person who placed the bomb approximately 11 to 12 minutes to get away.
After the expert had given evidence the prosecution called it’s sixth witness.
P.W. 6 Antonio Hoareau who said:
My name is Antonio Hoareau. I am a detective constable attached to C.I.D. Police H.Q. On 15th February 1792 I took a statement from one Guy Pool. I know Guy Pool (identifies the accused). I took a statement from him to obtain further usual information. I was investigating a case at that time. It was a case of an explosion at the Reef Hotel. I have the statement with me. It was signed by Guy Pool.
Mr. Kapila:
No objection to the production of the statement, my Lord.
(Statement read out and translated into English simultaneously by Court interpreter. Produced , admitted and marked Exhibit C)
Witness:
Exhibit C was signed by the accused and by me. It was taken about 3.20pm on 15th February. I had nothing further to do with Guy Pool. I carried out further investigation in the case but not with the accused.
Cross Ex: At that stage I was engaged in routine enquiries in that case of explosion. Mr. Dingwall was present when I wrote down the exhibit C. He had taken a statement from the accused the day before i.e. 14th February the day of the explosion. I took statements from 11to 12 people. I saw some of the security guards from Reef Hotel. I cannot say whether Mr. Dingwall took statements from a larger number of people. On 15th February he handed to me 4 or 5 statements which he had taken the day before. Exhibit C was taken in question and answer form. I had the statements of the previous day taken by Mr. Dingwall in front of me. I took exhibit C at the Reef Hotel. I started taking it at about3.30pm. Accused was on duty at the Reef Hotel at that time. I recorded Exhibit C in block capital letters throughout. It is a long statement- about 4 pages. I did not make a note on exhibit C of the time I ended. I wrote the time on the diary of action. I finished about 4.10pm . The diary of action was handed over to Mr. Leckey. We do record the time of commencement and ending of statement on it. I would say it is an elementary rule. I have been in the police force for 9 years. I regard myself as a competent police officer. Maybe I forgot to write the time the statement ended on the statement itself. It could be I forgot at times to write down the time at which the statements end. I finished taking the statement exactly at 4.10pm. When I said “exactly 4.10pm.” I made a mistake I can’t say it was 4.15p.m. I’ve got a quick handwriting. I have not referred to the diary since that day. I do not remember all the times of the statements which I took. I have forgotten from whom I took statements on 15th February. I cannot remember all I did on that day. It could be I finished taking Exhibit C at 4.10p.m. I’ve got a quick handwriting. I said it could be around 4.10p.m.
A.G.:
The diary is not available at the moment. Supt. Ashford can be questioned about it.
Witness:
I handed over the diary of action to Mr. Leckey. The diary of action is a sheet of paper on which the times are noted down.
Q. Do you remember that you actually noted the time at which Exhibit C ended in your diary?
A. Yes.
Q. If it is your practice to enter it at the end of the statement and you entered it on the diary of action why didn’t you enter it on your statement?
A. When the person giving a statement is a suspect we enter both the time of commencement and conclusion of the statement but when he is only a witness we only record the time of commencement.
Q. Why did you enter it in your diary of action?
A. It is a practice here to enter the time of conclusion in the diary of action. When he is a suspect we write the time of commencement and conclusion on the statement and also on the diary of action. When he is only a witness we write time of commencement and the time of conclusion on the diary of action.
In this case I wrote the time of commencement on the statement only. At that time the accused was not a suspect. I followed the right procedure.
Q. Why did you tell the court earlier that you forgot to write the time of conclusion on the statement?
A. Because you had asked why I had not entered it I said I forgot.
Q. Did you forget to write it or were you following your proper routine?
A. I was following the proper routine.
Q. You did not forget?
A. No.
Q. Why did you say you forgot?
A. Because you asked me.
Q. So you decided to tell a lie?
A. It was not a lie. I said I forgot.
Q. Did you question Mr. Amede Larue?
A. Yes.
Q. On what date?
A. It could be on the same date or the next day but I took a statement from him. I recorded the time of commencement of his statement but not the time of conclusion. I recorded that on the diary of action. When I completed Exhibit C I read it. back to the accused.
I invited him to make corrections.
Q. And he made a few corrections?
A. I think so.
(Witness shown Exhibit C). I made the correction and initialed it. I made 2 corrections at his request and I initialed them.
Q. How long did it take the whole procedure to read it back and make corrections?
A. I cannot remember, about 10 minutes.
I have given evidence in courts of law many times before.
Q. When did you cease your investigations in this case?
A. I can’t remember.
Q.It was later taken over by Scotland Yard?
A. Yes.
Q. About when?
A. I can’t remember.
Rxn: I took the statement on 15th February. Today is 2nd September. I had nothing to do with the statement between 15th February and today. At the time I took a statement from accused he was not a suspect. I took a statement from him as a routine. I only wrote the time of conclusion on the diary of action.
The statement referred to by the witness Antonio Horeau and which was produced and marked exhibit C is reproduced below.
The Seychelles Police Force
A serial No--------- C.R. No. 28/72
Anse aux Pins Police Station
Name : Guy Pool
Occupation: Security Guard
Age : 22 yrs. Religion: R.C.
Statement taken at Reef Hotel Anse Aux Pins on the 14th February 1972 at 15.30 hours.
States:
I am 22 years old security guard employed at Reef Hotel of Anse Aux Pins since the 16th November 71.
I have been working on two different shifts from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Since a month ago, I have been working on the 3.00pm to 11.00pm shift.
On Saturday the 12th February, 1972 I worked from 11p.m. to 7 a.m. and I changed my working shift with Bernard Bonne so I could have the evening of Sunday 13th February 1972 to attend a dancing session at Chez Nous Bar, Pte larue.
I went to Chez Nous Bar at 8 p.m. yesterday and left at 8.30p.m. as I didn’t feel that it was going to be a swinging dance.
Leaving Chez Nous Bar at around 8.30 p.m I cycled to Baie Lazare and arrived at around 9.15p.m. The band in attendance was Les Boys and I only came back to Anse Aux Pins the following morning at around 6.30a.m.
I only learnt that the Reef Hotel had been damaged by an explosion when I reached home. At around 10 a.m. I came to the Reef Hotel and reported to Mr. Green concerning a private matter.
I have never during my tour of service seen anything suspicious or heard anybody mentioning the bombing at Reef Hotel.
I do not support any of the political parties and I am not a member of any unions.
On Tuesday 8th of February 1972 I visited the office of S.P.U.P. to see Mr. Rene concerning a civil matter while I was on Agalega Island.
Statement taken, read over and admitted to have been correctly recorded.
Det. Cadet S/I Dingwall
Sgd. Guy Pool
After the witness Antonio Hoareau had given his evidence the prosecution called cadet S/I Andre Dingwall.
P.W 7 Cadet S/I Andre Dingwall stated
I am Louis Andre Dingwall. I am a police officer. On 14th February, 1972 I was investigating a case. It was Reef Hotel bombing. On 14th February, I took statements in routine inquiries. I know one Guy Pool (identifies accused). I took a statement from him on 14th February. I wrote down his statement. I read it back to him. He did not make any corrections. I have his statement with me. It was recorded in English. Accused understands English well. I had seen him before when he was a prison warden. I also knew him at school. I read back the statement to him in English.
(Mr. Kapila: No objection to production. Witness read out statement. It is produced admitted and marked Exhibit D). The statement was signed by me and by the accused. I took further statements from other people. I did not take any other statement from accused but I was present when detective P.C. Antonio Hoareau took a further statement from accused. It took me under one hour to take Exhibit D from accused. I stopped taking statements concerning this case when the Scotland Yard people arrived and that was probably a couple of weeks after.
I interviewed one Daphne Pool. It was to ascertain the movements of Guy Pool before and at the time of the explosion. At the time I took Exhibit D Guy Pool was not yet a suspect.
I was present when P.C. Hoareau took a statement from the accused. It took over one hour but I am not certain. I cannot remember whether it was in the morning or the evening. We record the time of commencement and conclusion of statements in the diary of action. The time the statement is taken, the date and place is recorded.
We usually record it in our police book but at the time I did not have my police book with me. I recorded the time I took the statement in the diary of action but I did not record the time it ended.
XX: I can remember the date and time I took the statement. I recorded the date I took a statement from the accused. It was in the afternoon of the day of the bombing. I recorded it in English. I took it at Reef Hotel at 15.30 hrs. I can remember this very well. Guy Pool was on duty at that time. I saw him at the hotel. He could have been on duty or going off duty. I am not sure but I would say I interviewed 4 or 5 people that day, all or them at the Reef Hotel. Some of them were security guards and some were other staff.Det. P.C. Antonio Hoareau was with me when I took the statements. I did not record on the statement that he was present. I did not have a notebook at the time. I still don’t have a notebook. The diary of action is kept in the case file. It is a sheet of paper which eventually goes to the case file. There is an occurrence book at the police station. It is entered in the occurrence book that we are going out on investigation. The diary of action entries do not go in the occurrence book. The diary of action is a sheet of paper provided by the investigating department.
I am not sure but I would say it took just under an hour to take the statement from accused. It included reading it back to accused. Then he signed it. We usually enter the time of commencement in the diary of action and I did so. I did not enter the time of conclusion on the statement. It is the usual practice to enter the time of conclusion but I did not do so in this case as it is a plain statement i.e. an ordinary statement not under caution.
We usually enter the time of conclusion but at times we don’t. On the diary of action we write down the statement commences and the date.
I remember 15th February when P.C. Hoareau took a statement from accused. I remember being with him (Shown exhibit C).This is the statement. I recognize it. It mentions 15.30 hrs. Independently I could not remember what time he took the statement. I was only listening. Mr. Hoareau questioned the accused who answered. I do not know why he wrote in block capitals. I have seen him write in other cases. I always see him writing in block capitals.
(Shown exhibit C). It took over one hour for his statement to be taken. I cannot be certain. I cannot say under how many hours it took him to write the statement. He read it back to accused. I can’t remember whether he made any alterations (witness look exhibit C). There does not seem to be any alterations. P.C. Hoareau is a careful and competent police officer. He recorded the statements as the accused said them. The accused speaks creole and I guess he understood what he was being asked. Probably at times he thought of what to ask the accused. Most probably he referred to the statement of the accused which I had taken on 14th. He had the statement with him. I believe Hoareau had directions from higher authorities to take a second statement from the accused. It must have been to get further details of what he had told me the day before. I can’t remember whether I’d given my statement to Hoareau, maybe I did, maybe I did not. I cannot recollect seeing further statements being taken from other people. I know the Scotland Yard officers questioned a number of people but who they were I don’t know. I believe that a number of people who had ready been questioned were further questioned by Scotland Yard.
On 15th February Hoareau and I took statements from other people. We took many statements on that day. It is a long time and I would not know the order in which I took them. On 16th February I took a statement from Daphne Pool. I cannot remember the time off hand. It probably took me about 3 to 4 hour s to take the statement from her. I believe it was taken at the Reef Hotel. P.C. Hoareau was present. The statement was taken in creole. I read it back to her and she signed it. I wrote in the diary of action the name, the date and the time of commencing that statement. That was also a plain statement. We kept taking statements all the time. I took statements from a very good number of people in connection with the Reef Hotel bombing, 15 to 20 people.
In the course of his evidence the witness produced another statement which was admitted and marked Exhibit D in the case. We reproduce below the statement in question
The Seychelles Police Force Statement Form
A serial No.----- C.R. No. 28/72 Anse Aux Pins Police station
Name: Guy Pool Date: 15/2/72
Address: Anse Aux Pins
Occupation: Security Guard c/o Reef Hotel
Age:22 years Religion: R.C.
Statement taken at the Reef Hotel Anse Aux Pins on the 15th February, 1972, at 153.0 hrs in the presence of D/CAPT S/IA Dingwall.
States: With reference to the statement which I gave to the police yesterday the 14th February 1972 around 3.3.0 in the afternoon I wish to clarify that on Sunday 13th February 1972 since about 2 to 3 o’clock in the afternoon I left my home at Anse Aux Pins and I went to town in the lorry of Philip Gabriel driven by someone called Michel whose surname I do not know.
The lorry was full of passengers going to town. I spoke to someone called Philip whose surname I don’t know. He works as conductor in that lorry and he lives at Pte. Larue and I never spoke to anybody else because I didn’t know them. I went down town specially to attend the meeting which was organized by the S.P.U.P. The meeting was on the Gordon Square. Apart from Gordon Square I did not go anywhere else. When the meeting ended at 5.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. I went straight to the taxi stand to take a taxi driven by Andrea Sinon to take me to Anse Aux Pins. As Andrea had already taken my father, Roger Pool, I had to wait.
I left town at around 6.30 p.m together with my mother called Antonia Pool and my concubine called Marylin Jasmin and my sister Yvette Jacques who lives at Anse Louis and we went up in the taxi with Andrea Sinon.
I got home at about 7 p.m.
There, as I was in shorts, I changed to long trousers. I went to Pointe Larue where there was a dance. I arrived at Chez Nous at about 8 p.m. I went to Chez Nous alone by feet.
I left Chez Nous at about 8.30p.m.
Between 8 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. I was always in the shop of my brother Yvon Pool. The shop is attached to Chez Nous. The shop belongs to Rifned Jumeau.
I went to the dance but the music had not started. I did not go to the bar to buy any drink. When I left Chez Nous the music had not started. I cannot tell which band played.
When I left Chez Nous my mother and my concubine had arrived at the dance. They did not see me and I did not go to speak to them. I merely told my brother Yvon that I was going because that music was not nice but I did not tell him where I was going.
I went back to Anse Aux Pins, I called at my sister’s Daphne Pool who lives in a low cost housing, Anse Aux Pins. I was alone on foot.
I asked Daphne to lend me her man’s bicycle. I do not know its make or number, but it’s black. It has a dynamo and a luggage rack and it belongs to her husband named Stanley Hermitte. I told Daphne that I was going dancing at Baie Lazare but I didn’t tell her in which hall.
I went up alone and passed through Anse Royale. I arrived at the dance hall at the Social Centre at about 9.30 p.m. On the way to Baie Lazare I met several people walking but I did not notice their faces and lorries pass me but I did not notice their numbers. I had never jumped off my bicycle except up Les Cannelles hills.
When I arrived at the dance at Baie Lazare I paid Rs3/- to a man whose name I do not know. It is difficult no remember his face. He did not give me any ticket. He told me it was already too late, to go to dance. At the dance I only knew Amede Morel who works as a barman at Reef Hotel but we did not talk to each other.
I only saw a policeman in uniform working near the social centre and I don’t know either his name or his number. Apart from this policeman I did not see any policeman who I know. In South Mahe the police I know are Michel Marie and Antoine Charlette and on this Sunday the 13th February, 1972 I have not seen any of them.
I didn’t stay long at the dance. At about 11.30p.m. I went with a light colored woman whose name I don’t know, and I could recognize her face if I see her one day.
We went to sleep on the beach, Anse Gaulette until about 5 or 5.30a.m. 14th February, 1972.
From there I left that woman at Anse Gaulette on the public road and she told me that she lived Dame Le Roi. I came down to Anse Aux Pins through Anse A La Mouche and Les Cannelles Road and I arrived home between 6 and 6.30 a.m.
On the way I met only a few people at the junction of Anse A La Mouche and also at the junction of Anse Royale near hospital. Among those people I met I only recognized one named P’tit Gard whose real name I don’t know, standing at Anse Royale junction. I have not talked to him and I do not know whether he’s seen me. I do not know where he lives.
While I was going down to Chez Nous on 13th February, 1972, at about 7.40p.m. (20 to 8) I called at Anse Aux Pins Police Station I phoned Mr. Undercoat at Reef Hotel and he was not there. A number of people took the phone but I do not know who because they did not tell me their names. I phoned in the presence of Corporal Louise and two other constables. I phoned Mr. Undercoat on a question of work and left a message with that person who took the phone. I told him if Mr. Undercoat needed me phone me at Anse Aux Pins Police Station because the policeman there know where I will be.
(Sgd. G. Pool)