Superintendent of Police, Harry 'Bungles' Daley yesterday took the witness stand for some four hours in the corruption trial against him in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.

The former head of the St Catherine North Police Division told the court that the money he was collecting from the key witness, Tafari Clarke, was money owed to him by Lennard Miller, uncle of Clarke, and not extortion funds.

"I know him (Miller) for over 30 years. I know him like a brother. He died in about November or December 2003," Daley said. "Prior to his death, I loaned Lennard Miller money. He always borrow from me and repay me but this time he wanted a substantial sum, $500,000, but when I checked my resources, I could only lend him $250,000."

Block-making plan

Daley said Miller explained that he needed the money to develop a small backyard block-making project of his into a more "commercially viable" business.

He said that two justices of the peace aided in the preparation of the loan agreement, which was signed by all parties.

"Repayment should have started in January of the following year (2004). An initial payment of $20,000 and thereafter $10,000 per month for two years," the policeman said. "Miller died before the commencement date. I didn't receive any money from him before he died."

However, Daley told the court that following Miller's death, the family of the deceased "decided to acknowledge the payment plan".

Extortion money

The repayment process, he said, started with Lennard Miller Jr, son of the deceased, giving him $30,000 in 2005. However, after Miller Jr's death, the payment baton was passed on to two other persons, one being a justice of the peace and the other being Tafari Clarke.

Daley said that on the day he was arrested, the $15,000 Clarke gave him was not extortion money as Clarke told police but was the actual loan-repayment amount for that month, as agreed by the family, and half the payment for a month Clarke had previously paid up for.