Darrell Bradley
Former Deputy Mayor Eric Chang was thrown into the mix of the immigration scandal involving the illegal sale of a Belizean passport to imprisoned South Korean businessman Won Hong Kim. Chang was in Taiwan on an official visit when the scandal broke in September and after his name was called, he remained in Taiwan for an extended period returning to Belize only two weeks ago. Well he attended his first city council meeting this afternoon. While the councilor took part in the discussions, he remains without a portfolio, following his demotion in mid-October. News Five spoke with Mayor Darrell Bradley today, who initially told the media that a meeting with Chang upon his return was mandatory. That sit-down has taken place and according to the mayor, Chang has reaffirmed his commitment to the Belize City Council despite rumors of his involvement in the scandal.
Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor
“Explain to him that I was dissatisfied in the manner than he comported himself. Being away from the jurisdiction and not being in contact especially given the fact that we were in the throes of an infrastructure project. And given the fact that he is deputy mayor so that when I leave the country he is the one who should run the city and I was not comfortable with the way he dealt with that situation. We tried to contact him and we couldn’t contact him, he expressed his regret in how that entire thing evolved. He expressed what I wanted to hear his firm commitment in continue in office and discharging his duties effectively as an elected representative. I indicated clearly to him as I did indicate to the people of the public that he will remain without portfolio and he will remain not deputy mayor; that position has been removed and given to somebody else. So he is still a councilor he still has obligations to his office, to represent on the council, the views of the member s of the public. He came to the meeting today; we met for about two and a half hours and he participated actively in the meeting and I expect that he will continue to the end of his term that he will discharge his functions effectively as a councilor. He indicated to me that this is what he wanted, he gave me a firm commitment and he showed up at the meeting today.”
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