WILLEMSTAD – The court has indefinitely postponed the criminal case against former Member of Parliament Rennox Calmes, following a decision yesterday by Judge Mr. Leijten to grant most of the defense’s requests to hear additional witnesses. The postponement comes due to the complexity of arranging these testimonies.

Calmes is accused of forging multiple payslips between March 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023, allegedly inflating the salaries of three employees either alone or with others.

Witness requests

Defense attorney Eldon “Peppie” Sulvaran requested permission to question five individuals. Judge Leijten approved four of them—Boelijn, Pauletta, Cijntje, and Symor—but rejected one request.

Calmes insisted that the testimony of the excluded witness was crucial to his defense but left further explanation to his lawyer. Sulvaran particularly emphasized the importance of hearing from Sillé, who had provided statements suggesting “red flags” in the case and had made independent calculations that the defense claims were inaccurate.

Judge’s ruling

Judge Leijten denied the request to hear Sillé, noting that he had already explained to police how he reached his conclusion that Calmes had falsified documents. However, the other four witnesses will be called to testify.

Because of the need to conduct these witness hearings, the court has delayed proceedings for an indefinite period.