Andrew Munnings, the Albert Street businessman who was sent to jail for owing tax yesterday is back home tonight after a harrowing 24hours in the Hattieville Prison. A compromise agreement was worked out between his attorney OJ Elrington and Belize Tax Services this evening in Magistrate's Court when BTS accepted a payment of two thousand dollars. With that, Munnings - sporting a prison-shaved head -spoke to the press outside the courtroom half an hour ago:
Andrew Munnings, Munnings Funeral Home
"Well, it is still a live court matter, so I don't comment much on that or anything. I must thank OJ for taking his time out to represent me in this time and we currently have another civil matter that we will be bringing, but I think for right now, it's not about me really, you know, I must take this opportunity to thank the public itself, you know, because a lot of people always are asking but why everybody is rallying for Andrew Munnings, why not everybody else, you know, and it is really how I treat people. I cannot pull something from the air that I don't have, you know, I mean, if it is that I could have paid off every single thing that the tax service is saying that I owe them, I would have done that because one night away from my daughter felt like a lifetime."
"But what comes from here and everything we continue to fight, like I said, the tax service is still holding this as a matter. My freedom right now is certainly because of God, legal advice, and of course, the Belizean people and many, many people who are not here in Belize."
"So this interview is just to say thank you so much."
Reporter
"Sir, what comes after this?"
Andrew Munnings, Munnings Funeral Home
"What comes after this, I'm going to take a shower. I am going to put some type of mark up on my head because this wasn't voluntary at all. And I'm going to go home and hug my daughter."
So, that's the shape of things this evening - Munnings is home with his family - but his fight is far from over, and the case has sparked a major public debate - and caused a huge blowback upon Belize Tax Services - and we'll talk to their Director General and the Prime Minister about all that later on in the news. Plus, you'll hear from his attorney OJ Elrington.
