POLICE Commissioner Allister Guevarro has threatened legal action against the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian over its reporting on businesswoman Star Sabga’s access to medical care during her detention.The top cop, via an attorney in a pre-action protocol letter dated August 20, accused the newspaper of publishing a “false and damaging narrative” that portrayed him as deliberately withholding treatment from the 70-year-old woman.Through attorney Aslim Fiaid Hosein, the Commissioner demanded a correction, retraction and apology, as well as damages and legal costs.The pre-action letter referred to the Guardian’s August 19 front-page report headlined “STAR SEEKS URGENT CARE”, which stated that Sabga had complained of severe chest pains and lost 29 pounds, while repeated requests for a doctor’s visit had allegedly gone unanswered by the Commissioner.The letter stated that the reports conveyed the defamatory impression that the Commissioner personally refused, obstructed or deliberately delayed urgent medical treatment for Sabga, callously disregarded a medical emergency, acted contrary to a court order and abused the powers of his office.The letter stated that the publications called into question Guevarro’s fitness to serve as Commissioner and damaged his integrity, judgment and reputation.The attorney noted that contrary to the report, Sabga had in fact already been granted access to a doctor—two days before the Guardian report was published.According to the letter, Dr Jacqueline Pereira-Sabga was permitted access to Sabga on August 17.It states that requests for medical access had previously been made on July 29 and 30, with further correspondence on August 10 and 14. However, access was granted on August 17, before the Guardian’s August 19 publication.The pre-action letter also cited correspondence from Sabga’s own attorney, Carlon McLeod, dated August 19.McLeod stated that his legal team had not provided correspondence to the media and that, had it done so, it would have informed journalists that Sabga had been permitted access to Dr Pereira-Sabga from August 17.The pre-action letter alleges that the Guardian therefore relied on incomplete and unauthorised material and failed to verify what he described as a critical development before publication.The letter also alleges that the Guardian did not put the essential allegation—that Guevarro was continuing to refuse medical access—to either the Commissioner or the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service for a response before publication. The Commissioner demanded that the Guardian immediately cease repeating the allegations and, within 48 hours, publish an interim correction stating that medical access had been permitted on August 17.Guevarro is also seeking damages, including aggravated damages where applicable, reasonable legal costs, information about the circulation and digital reach of the reports and an undertaking that the allegations will not be repeated.The Guardian has been given 28 days to provide a substantive response, including whether it admits or denies the allegations and what legal defences it intends to rely upon.The letter warns that if satisfactory undertakings and remedial proposals are not received, Guevarro has instructed his attorney to commence proceedings without further notice, seeking damages, possible aggravated and exemplary damages, injunctive relief, interest and costs.However, the Commissioner has indicated that he remains willing to consider an early meeting or mediation if immediate corrective action is taken.Sabga was detained in June under a Preventive Detention Order (PDO) amid allegations that she was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other senior Government officials.The State alleged that intelligence identified Sabga as playing a significant role in the alleged conspiracy and linked her to businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve.However, when ordering Sabga’s release on July 27, High Court Judge Vigel Paul found there was no evidence that she had taken steps to further the alleged conspiracy beyond the initial conversation. Sabga had not been criminally charged with the alleged assassination conspiracy.