00:00The court today found Republic Bank liable for one customer's loss of
00:04personal items in a May 2022 bank heist. The heist at the Kuva Bank involved
00:11robbers tunneling into the bank, drilling into the vault and emptying safety
00:16deposit boxes, stealing the contents. Attorney Kyle Tak-Lalsing says the heist
00:21involved heirlooms of indentured families like Mangal Sutras and gold
00:26coins. Tak-Lalsing, Stephen Ramkisun and Matthew Aloha represented Curtis
00:31Matura, a customer of Republic Bank Kuva, who mounted the legal challenge after
00:36losing his possessions in the robbery. In the matter, High Court Judge Carol
00:41Gobbin was charged with determining whether the bank discharged its
00:46obligations or whether it was negligent in the performance of its contract.
00:50Despite the security measures in place, the intruder, according to the judge,
00:55shockingly conducted a four-hour operation using heavy equipment, drilling
01:01walls, crawling on the ground, avoiding cameras and sensors in a well-planned
01:07and well-executed heist, breaking several security boxes and did so undetected. In
01:13the ruling delivered on Monday, Justice Gobbin said, quote, I find that the
01:18defendant's security systems fell short and below the standard that was required
01:23and the claimant is entitled to judgment, end quote. The vibration sensors, she said,
01:29failed to pick up what must have been unusually significant vibrations. The
01:34motion sensors failed to pick up movements of at least three persons who
01:39were in the bank for almost three hours using heavy equipment, she says, quote,
01:44the absence of live monitoring in the context of what might be considered
01:48reasonable in the current environment of Trinidad and Tobago and at the time of
01:53the heist pointed to a failure to provide adequate security in the
01:57circumstances, end quote. Gobbin also says it was inexcusable to not have
02:02vibration sensors and motion sensors in the vault itself. Damages will be
02:08determined by the court at a later date. This now paves the way for at least 10
02:13others to mount similar action against the bank for compensation for their lost
02:18items. The defendant, Republic Bank was represented by Cobin Garcia, senior
02:23counsel and Tonya Rowley or Vichy to worry. Rupnerein TV six News
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