involving a local television station that allegedly broadcast an illegal lottery.

DeFontes Broadcasting Company Limited and Neil Inchcup are jointly charged with conducting a lottery -- in the form of Freeport Home bingo -- over VSB television on October 22, 1994.

Inchcup, 59, of Collector's Hill, Smith's Parish, is also charged with conducting a lottery -- a bingo game -- at the Dockyard on October 18, 1994.

He is also charged with allowing a multi-purpose room located in the Clocktower building, to be used to conduct the lottery on that same day.

The seminal issue turns on whether or not the Freeport bingo game was an illegal lottery.

Mr. Richard Hector, who is representing Inchcup, took exception to the charges against his client.

"This is ludicrous,'' he said. "If anything, these charges should have been brought against (Wedco general manager) Mr. George Smith. Not my client.'' Mr. Hector was objecting to the Crown's wish to place evidence of a bingo game held on May 13, 1994 before the court.

The Crown wanted to show that Inchcup was the manager of that operation, consequently he had the "knowledge and control'' of the bingo activity going on that evening.

However, Mr. Hector said that the Crown was attempting the impossible because the basis for the charges against his client emanate from events that allegedly took place on October 18, 1994.

Therefore anything that may have happened at the Dockyard in May, he said, was not relevant to the charges his client faced.

"The Crown wants this court to believe that my client was the manager in May (1994) so that any alleged illegal activity that may have happened in October (1994) is also his doing.

"This is a quantum leap,'' he added. "Anyone trying to make that leap will get a severe judicial hernia.'' But Senior Magistrate the Wor. Will Francis sided with the Crown and ruled that who was managing the Freeport bingo on May 13, 1994 was relevant.

Sgt. Paul Singh said he went to the Clocktower building on May 13, 1994 with another officer around 8.15 p.m. and they stayed for three hours.

During that time he said he observed cashiers selling bingo packets at the entrance and upstairs in the multi-purpose room.

He said Inchcup introduced him to an American bingo consultant called Don Gibson.

In the multi-purpose room he said there were more than 100 patrons sitting at tables holding a variety of cards which were six inches square and subdivided with numbers.

These numbers ran in columns and corresponded with the words B-I-N-G-O which ran across the top. He said Gibson would call out the combination of numbers needed to win prior to the beginning of each game.

Sgt. Singh said Gibson would randomly select the balls and call out the letter and number which the patrons would then mark on their card.

When a person had the correct sequence of numbers, they would call out Bingo! And then an attendant would pay the prize in cash.

Sgt. Singh said he saw this happen frequently throughout the night and prizes ranging from $250-$5000 were given out. Throughout the evening, Sgt. Singh said Inchcup acted as the manager, supervising staff and ensuring things ran smoothly.

Sgt. Singh said a similar set up was in place when he arrived on October 18, 1994 to perform another inquiry.

Under cross examination from Mr. Hector Sgt. Singh admitted he could not say exactly how long each game was.

Moreover, he said there were different types of bingo games being played although he could not recall all the varieties.

The case continues this morning in Magistrates' Court. Mr. Peter DeJulio appears for the Crown, while Mr. David Cooper appears for DeFontes Broadcasting Limited.