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Non-Tech : Auric Goldfinger's Short List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: afrayem onigwecher who wrote (18559)	11/28/2006 9:22:48 AM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

Mangapets' Hamouth loses bid for surveillance tapes 2006-11-27 16:24 ET - Street Wire by Mike Caswell The West Vancouver promoter of Mangapets Inc., Rene Hamouth, has been denied access to surveillance data the RCMP may have collected from his home. In a decision made public Friday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge said the RCMP does not have to supply surveillance data for any investigation that may be under way. It is not clear if police are investigating Mr. Hamouth for anything, but the promoter is suspicious. He is suing the Attorney General of Canada for allegedly bugging his home, claiming the RCMP and CSIS are conducting unauthorized surveillance. He wants damages for trespassing. To further his case, Mr. Hamouth had apparently requested copies of "any surveillance of any description" from the government, but it seems the government would not give Mr. Hamouth the data. With Friday's decision, the judge has also denied Mr. Hamouth access to any tapes, saying his broad requests amount to a "fishing expedition." The tapes could reveal why the government has Mr. Hamouth under surveillance, as he claims. However the RCMP, it seems, can withhold any wiretap evidence connected to an authorized investigation. "None of the defendants are required to provide Mr. Hamouth with information with respect to authorized surveillance, particularly with respect to any investigation ... which may be on-going," the judge said. Mr. Hamouth's lawyer argued it is impossible to know if the government has proper authorization to do surveillance without listening to the tapes, but the judge said that was not enough reason to hand then over. He said " ... what the plaintiff is doing here is essentially undertaking a fishing expedition." The judge did grant Mr. Hamouth a partial victory by allowing him to reframe his request and direct it to specific individuals in the RCMP and the government. It is not clear if those individuals could provide copies of the tapes, however. The judge ordered the government to come up with a list of people who could address Mr. Hamouth's questions within a week. Mr. Hamouth launched the case last January, alleging police and CSIS bugged his house and were blatantly following him around town for no reason. He claimed they told his bankers he was under investigation. The Attorney General of Canada and the City of West Vancouver, which are defendants in the case, deny any wrongdoing. Outside of court Mr. Hamouth has a new company, Mangapets Inc. There is no indication the stock, which appears to have no active business, has anything to do with the alleged RCMP surveillance. The company trades on the OTC Bulletin Board, where it last closed at $2.31 (U.S.).