Director of Rompa Entertainment Charged with Illegal Slavery
Christina Mesley
Omni-1 Entertainment District -- (OTPC) -- A sub-department of Omni-Pol has charged Wayne "Whaynn" Harbinguer, Director of Rompa Entertainment, with two counts of employing slaves purchased from the Omni-Tek organization Slaves of Rubi-Ka as cheap labor in Rompa Bar. He was convicted of those charges in a closed tribunal.
The charges laid by the Omni-Pol sub-department revolve around Whaynn's alleged purchase of "Unole" and Carly "Kajira" Niss from Slaves of Rubi-Ka President Mistress "Zette" Dumontaigne over the course of the past month. Although the amount paid for Unole remains undisclosed, according to Glendora "Arimathea" Niss, an advisor with Obsoleet, Whaynn paid 800,000 credits for Kajira. (Editor's note: Kajira has left Rompa Entertainment, and is now a member of Obsoleet.)
For his part, Whaynn maintains that, although he did in fact purchase the two women, his intentions were noble. "I freed those two slaves and took them under my wing, mentoring and giving them decent jobs. I admit to paying for them, but once the payment was made they were free."
It is this latter point that Whaynn continually stresses, and given the nature of the suppression gas both in the bar in the city of Omni-1, it seems that Whaynn is powerless to stop his "slaves" from fleeing. In fact, Unole was described by one patron of Rompa Bar as "Rompa Entertainment's best waitress", and aside from the ever-wonderful "Headlessjack", seems to be one of the most friendly and helpful members of Rompa Entertainment's staff.
Despite Whaynn's pronouncement of innocence, Arimathea vehemently disputes his intentions.
"Two nights ago, my daughter was in Rompa Bar in this very booth. I usually don't mind her being here because there is supposed to be full suppression gas." Arimathea explained during an interview at Rompa Bar. "However, she called me frightened because she heard gunshots from the next booth over. When I arrived, Whaynn insisted that the suppression gas was in order and told me that my daughter experienced an illusion, then gave her free ice cream and muffins. While I was discussing the matter with Whaynn, a man who goes by the name "Blackswords" came in and was shouting that he should be allowed to speak with Kajira, one of the waitresses that worked for Whaynn. Whaynn clearly stated right in front of me that she would suffer consequences for speaking with him. Whaynn told me before that he purchased [the slaves] to free them, but in spending time here I've learned that they are not allowed to leave, they aren't given personal time, they aren't given a paycheck - only tips from customers - and they aren't allowed to speak with whomever they wish."
Arimathea went on to claim that after the altercation with John "Blackswords" Rm, Whaynn was responsible for murdering Kajira in spite of the suppression gas level, and then blaming it on Mr. Rm. "By this point I was acting as a human meat shield for my daughter because I didn't want her to get hurt by any crossfire. Finally there was a standoff and Whaynn claims that Blackswords shot Kajira...however I saw with my own eyes that Kajira was standing behind Blackswords when it happened and Blackswords was aiming in front of him. It's impossible that Blackswords shot her."
Shortly after Kajira was murdered, Whaynn was arrested by Captain "Saxon1" Suitt, and escorted to a secret location where a trial was conducted.
"I was not allowed to make any plea bargain negotiations at all!" Whaynn claimed. [i]"The entire trial was on a very tight yes or no basis. I was found guilty immediately...there were no jurors, no witnesses, nothing!"
For their part, the Omni-Pol sub-department has remained tight-lipped about the case, citing their policy to not comment on pending litigation. However, at a recent interview in Reets' Retreat, Captain "Saxon1" Suitt, the officer responsible for Whaynn's arrest, did state that Omni-Pol did not arrest Whaynn for Kajira's murder. "Kajira herself says he didn't attack her, so we only arrested him on the slaves charges." When Captain Suitt was asked if a concurrent investigation was underway into the role that Mistress Zette played in this illegal slave trade, he would only say that "I am currently trying to gather enough evidence on Zette...but there is nothing solid yet."
Captain Suitt did confirm however, that Whaynn was tried by a court composed of only Omni-Pol members, with Captain Lida "Templus" Pierce acting as the presiding judge.
Current Omni-Tek Corporation regulations governing its leased territories and the operation of its subsidiaries do not specify which department is responsible for trying any judicial function of the Corporation. In an attempt to shed light on the legal dilemmas revolving around the Omni-Pol v. Whaynn case, the Omni-Tek Press Corps contacted Kelvin Ratterman, a legal advisor with the Interstellar Confederation of Corporations.
"The actual purchase of any Homo Solitus or genetically-altered sentient being is strictly prohibited by ICC Regulations. However, and more importantly in this matter, it is a fundamental principle of the rule of law and a cornerstone of the theory of an independent judiciary that a defendant cannot be tried by his accusers, military tribunals notwithstanding." Mr. Ratterman stated. "Going back thousands of years, no civil society has ever operated with such a slanted concept of prosecutor-as-judge."
Though Mr. Ratterman declined comment on official Omni-Tek corporate policies, he did say that it was his firm belief that "the initial trial and subsequent judgment should be deleted from the databanks, as yet another abuse by Omni-Pol of their somewhat privileged position within the Corporate hierarchy. If any trial was to take place, it should have been referred immediately to Omni-Admin, as the department responsible for all administrative areas for Omni-Tek Corporation of Rubi-Ka, as well as all personnel problems not involving internal espionage."
Despite the thin procedural grounds on which the initial trial was based, Omni-Pol seems to be standing firm on their insistence that Whaynn be tried for his crimes. However, as what can only be seen as a pervasive doubt on the part of Omni-Pol as to the validity of the initial closed-door hearing, Whaynn has been granted an appeal.
The appeal has been filed, and Whaynn has retained Andy "Prezidential" French to act as his legal counsel for the appeal.
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