Madam President,

I am bringing the following matter to the attention of the Press Association of Jamaica.

I was at the opening of the ATL Autohaus in Bogue, Montego Bay on Friday, November 26.

During the party aspect of the event, I was in the company of persons including family members of the State Minister for Information Daryl Vaz. At the time he was not there.

Suddenly, this man was in my face using expletives while attacking me about a story referring to his taxes that was scheduled to be published in the Sunday Herald on Sunday November 28. I was taken aback.

The minister’s wife placed her hands around my waist and escorted me away from what I considered to be a threatening situation and I asked her, “What was that about?” She replied that he was upset about the Sunday Herald always writing about him. I said to her that if he can’t take the heat he should stay out of the kitchen, and if he didn’t give us anything to write about him, we would not have anything to write about.

I walked away from her to a newspaper executive, said what had just transpired and questioned how Vaz knew about the story that was to be published on the Sunday. The executive was non-committal.

I was stunned at the minister’s behaviour, which in my opinion, was threatening and abusive.
As a member of the media I take great offence from the minister, a public official, being verbally abusive to me about a story to be published in my newspaper. And as a woman also, I take great affront of the minister coming up into my face and using expletives to me.

Yours truly

R Christene King