_{(l-r) Lee Mark Chang and Hon. Shyne Barrow}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Jan. 30, 2025

Lee Mark Chang, the Mesopotamia candidate for Tracy Panton’s United Democratic Party (UDP), has demanded an apology from Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow for making untrue statements about him during a press conference held on Tuesday, January 28.

During the press conference which the Shyne Barrow-led UDP held at the party’s headquarters on Youth for the Future Drive in Belize City, while criticizing the work of the Briceño administration, Barrow was asked by a local reporter about Chang contesting him in his area.

In response to a reporter’s question at the press conference Barrow mentioned Lee Mark’s name in the same breath he mentioned Eric Chang who was questioned by a Senate committee about what he knew about activities surrounding a passport scandal several years ago.

“That’s the gentleman [who] was hustling passports with Eric Chang? Remember the passport corruption scandal? Remember Eric Chang? Same Lee Mark Chang? I am not concerned about Mr. Chang,” he noted.

While Barrow seemed to be joking with his colleagues when he spoke about who Chang was, he (Lee Mark) didn’t take the joke too kindly. He decided to seek legal action and sought assistance from an attorney at Balderamos Arthurs LLC, addressing the statements Barrow made.

“The widely publicized passport corruption scandal involved the sale of Belizean passports to Chinese nationals, an act which is a criminal offence… The statements are not true, and seek to disparage our client so that you would gain political advantage in the campaign leading up to the general elections. The statements were therefore calculated on your part and intended to cause our client serious reputational damage,” a letter from Chang’s attorney to Barrow says.

The letter demanded that Barrow publicly apologize to Lee Mark and give it the same attention as the alleged statement.

“… You are hereby advised to promptly and immediately publish an apology to our client… the said publication is to be given the same publicity as the defamatory statements you published,” it noted.

Barrow has two business days upon receiving the letter to compensate the firm $5,000 in damages; and if he fails to do so, the letter says a lawsuit will be filed, and the financial claims could range between $30,000 and $50,000.

It is unclear whether Barrow has done so or not.