Along the Fraser It wasn’t exactly Born Free but … p6
Traffic up 8% on Golden Ears Bridge. p10
THE NEWS
Always hope Sister wants people to remember. p3
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, February 28, 2014 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · Delivery: 604-466-6397
September a celebration for new city? Maple Ridge approaching 140th anniversary by Nei l Corbe tt staff reporter
Maple Ridge will celebrate its 140th birthday in September, and plans are to turn it into an event that will foster a renewed civic pride. But first, the District of Maple Ridge must become the City of Maple Ridge. Or will it? Maple Ridge is in the middle of an elector approval process to change its status from district to city. Staff would like to have the process finished by the municipality’s Sept. 12 anniversary, to usher in a new era, and a new image. “We want to create a really great community celebration,” said spokesman Fred Armstrong. “It’s a great opportunity for people to learn how and where the community started.” “Roots are important,” said Mayor Ernie Daykin. See Maple RIdge, p3
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Gravel not that great Kevin Priebe and his dog Happy navigate 132nd Avenue at 224th Street on Wednesday. The new gravel shoulder makes it hard to move chair. See story p9.
Crown seeks jail time for former RN Abihudi Imbai convicted on two counts of sexual assault for kissing patients by M o ni s ha M a r tin s staff reporter
A former registered nurse at Ridge Meadows Hospital who kissed two patients while they were sedated won’t learn his fate until next month. Abihudi Imbai, 35, was convicted on two counts of sexual assault
last August following a three-day trial in Port Coquitlam Provincial Court. At a sentencing hearing Thursday, Crown prosecutor James Powrie requested a prison term of between three or four months for Imbai or an 18-month conditional sentence, which would be served in the community. He noted, however, that a conditional sentence would not be appropriate as it would not stress “denunciation or deterrence.” “Mr. Imbai’s actions completely ignored the best interests of his pa-
tients,” said Powrie. “The offences happened at night, there was no one around. They were completely at the mercy of their nurse. Society places considerable trust in health care professionals not to act this way.” Imbai is accused of inappropriately touching and kissing two women at Ridge Meadows Hospital on June 11, 2012. One of the woman said she had been given morphine for pain relief during the evening but was conscious when Imbai assaulted her. After the incident, she told
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James Powrie, Crown prosecutor her husband who reported it to the hospital the next day. She didn’t learn about the second victim until trial proceedings began. Fraser Health started an investi-
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“The offences happened at night, there was no one around.”
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gation within two days of receiving the complaints and fired Imbai within two weeks. According to the College of Registered Nurses of B.C., Imbai voluntarily gave up his practising registration on Aug. 2, 2012. A slight, thin man who wears thick glasses, Imbai attended court with his wife and five other supporters. A psychological assessment and pre-sentence report prepared for provincial court judge Garth Smith noted Imbai was at a “low risk” to reoffend. See Court, p8
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