Purchase receipts take spotlight in Ruel Reid trial

A series of customer pick-up notes attached to six 2018 purchases made from a prominent local merchant were the subject of witness testimony during the fraud trial of former Education Minister Ruel Reid and his co-accused on Thursday. The testimony and evidence put forward by the prosecution concerned who had purchased and collected the items: a Samsung Smart TV and an Android TV box bought on March 17, 2018, as well as a Proctor kettle, Hamilton Beach juicer, Black + Decker iron and a Conair footspa bought on April 29, 2018. Thursday’s witness, who appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court before Senior Parish Court Judge Sanchia Burrell, testified that he had provided direct oversight of safety and security at the merchant.

He said that when cash purchases, which can refer to cash, debit and credit card transactions, are made, a valid government- issued identification card must be provided. Led during examination- in-chief, the witness confirmed to the court that an account is created for customers using that ID, customers’ first, middle, and last initials and their date of birth; and that no person can make a purchase on another person’s account. Once a full cash payment is made, he confirmed, the system automatically releases that account and sends information to the merchant’s warehouse supervisor, who prints a delivery note or customer pick-up note.

The witness indicated that customers can then pick up the items from the warehouse, and this would entail both the customer and sales representative visiting the delivery area, verifying the delivery note/customer pick-up note, the sales rep testing the items in view of the customer, and the customer signing for the item and showing identification. The witness noted that the customer pick-up note would detail the customer’s name, phone number, address, date of purchase, date of pick-up, product description, merchant stamp and serial number where applicable. He then went on to confirm to the court that on February 5, 2019, a police sergeant called him and provided him with a telephone number.

The witness said a search of the merchant’s records database retrieved at least six customer pick-up notes associated with the phone number, under the name Ruel Reid, which were then printed and verified against the information in the database. The witness confirmed that on February 20, 2019 he signed the six…