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DEPUTY Chief Magistrate Brian Dabideen said clarification of the limitation period, outlined in a recent Privy Council ruling, must be resolved before any further progress in the case involving charges under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act stemming from the 2022 diving tragedy.

Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd, Land and Marine Construction Services Ltd (LMCS), and several executives face OSH charges stemming from the deaths of four LMCS divers who were trapped in an underwater pipeline at Paria’s Pointe-a-Pierre facility in February 2022.

At a virtual hearing on October 9, Dabideen stressed that the Privy Council judgment on September 16, which addresses the issue of limitation under Sections 93 and 97B of the OSH Act, could determine whether the case proceeds or ends. “That is where we need to focus,” he said.