North East St Elizabeth Member of Parliament Kern Spencer is embraced by a supporter as he leaves the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court, shortly after posting bail on Friday.

It was all Kern's

WHILE POLICE did not slap handcuffs on the hands of Kern Spencer, the member of parliament for North East St Elizabeth was forced to sleep behind bars for three nights.

He was jailed on Tuesday and during his unceremonial stay it was reported that his party was making preparations for him to be replaced as the man with responsibility for the constituency.

The Sunday Gleaner has been told that Donovan Pagon, son of seven-time MP Sydney Pagon, and Norman Horne, who lost his recent bid to represent South East St Elizabeth, were being considered as possible replacements for Spencer. However, PNP president Robert Pickersgill has said that no such decision has been made. Spencer's constituents say they will support the decision for him to resign only if he wants to go. They say he must consult with them before making a decision.

The Kern Spencer story developed last week as follows:

On Tuesday, Spencer, 33, was slapped with nine criminal charges. Six of them related to money laundering, one is a breach of the Proceeds of Crime Act and there are two counts of conspiracy to defraud.

The charges related to the Cuban light bulb scandal, over which Spencer exercised ministerial responsibiliy when he was state minister in the energy ministry.

Also charged with Spencer were Rodney Chin, director of Universal Management and Development Company Limited, Caribbean Communications, and Media Network Limited as well as Coleen Wright, a former personal assistant of Spencer.

On Wednesday, the trio was booked to appear in court Thursday but their attorneys rushed to court and got a hearing and secured bail offers late in the evening. However, the three accused could not take up the offers as it was too late to process their bail documents.

On that day a police team raided a house which was once occupied by Spencer's mother in New Town, Black River.

On Thursday, only Chin was able to take up bail. Documents for Spencer and Wright were not processed in time, so they had to endure a third night in jail.

On Friday, Spencer made bail after Patrick Roberts, a member of the PNP National Executive Committee, put up one of his properties as surety. Wright also made bail. Though obviously worn from his stay behind bars, Spencer held a brave face as he walked from the courthouse.

Also happening last week ...

Less care of boys

The Sunday Gleaner reported that girls were favoured over boys in the provision of high-quality health care and expenditure on medical treatment, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has reported.

The report suggests that caregivers, who are mostly mothers, generally spend more on girls' health than that of boys. This is despite baby boys being more likely to die from diseases, such as pneumonia - the prime cause of child mortality in Jamaica.

Smugglers hunted

The police launched a manhunt for survivors - believed to be players in the trafficking of drugs - who fled the scene of a plane crash in Clarendon on Sunday morning.

Costly lessons

Some Jamaican parents are spending more money on extra lessons than books, uniforms and tuition, according to the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions 2006.

The document, which was launched last week at the Planning Institute of Jamaica's New Kingston office, said parents were spending $12,155 on extra lessons compared to $9,317 for tuition; $6,009 for exams and other fees and $3,692 for books, on average, per year.

Sex in schools a growing problem

Amid several incidents of violence and sexual perversion in the island's educational institutions, another videotape surfaced showing two students at a Jamaican high school involved in a sexual act.

The amateur tape, which appears to have been recorded by another student with a cellphone, has been circulating via the Internet for several weeks.