FRIDAY September
6 2013
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Human trafficking trial begins
WV woman pleads not guilty to four immigration charges ANNE WATSON awatson@nsnews.com
THE trial of aWest Vancouver woman charged with employing a young woman from Tanzania illegally and forcing her to work 18-
hour days at her British Properties home got underwayWednesday in B.C. Supreme Court. Mumtaz Ladha, 60, a homeowner on Bramwell Road in the Properties, faces four counts under the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, one of them related to human trafficking. Ladha has pleaded not guilty to all four counts. The Crown called four witnesses on Wednesday morning after the trial got began an hour late.Two were representatives of the women’s shelter where the woman — who cannot be named — sought refuge, allegedly from Ladha, in June 2009.
Laurie Parker-Stuart, now retired, was a domestic violence counsellor working at the woman’s shelter. Stuart said she received a call from the Vancouver and Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services regarding the young woman asking for assistance. “It wasn’t domestic violence in the usual sense,” said Stuart, adding there was “question as to whether it
might be human trafficking.” She said the woman, whom they referred to as “Isha,” was emotionally closed and under stress. “Not dissimilar from the demeanour of people coming in from a difficult situation,” said Stuart. “She didn’t really have anyone.” The woman arrived without her passport and with only the clothes she wore, Stuart told the court. West Vancouver police
were then contacted to retrieve her passport and clothing from Ladha’s residence. West Vancouver police Const. Kelly English assisted in retrieving the woman’s passport from Ladha. English told the court she went to the house and Zahra Ladha, Ladha’s daughter, answered the door. English described entering the room
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First bear of year shot in August ANNE WATSON awatson@nsnews.com
THE North Shore lost its first black bear of the season after the bruin became too accustomed to humans. Conservation officers shot the young male bear, captured along Ridgeway Avenue in North Vancouver, on Aug. 21. “In this particular case, this bear was becoming quite habituated,” said conservation officer Ashley Page. “A lot of residents were not storing their garbage correctly, so it was going from property to property and as a result of doing that, it just became quite comfortable around people.” Conservation officers decide, at that level of See Attractant page 3
POP! POP! Jheric Hizon, Jhayme Hizon, Cheng-Wei Hsu and Ray O, The Now or Never Crew, perform at an icebreaker for new Capilano University students Tuesday. Scan with the Layar app for more photos and video. PHOTO CINDY GOODMAN
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