ONE OF THE BOSSES of the Indian construction firm responsible for the rebuilding of Kensington Oval denied the company hired illegal workers when he appeared in the District "A" Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Surendra Babu, deputy general manager of Larsen & Toubro, with offices at Manor Lodge complex, St Michael, had the 14 charges read to him as he stood in the dock before Magistrate Pamela Beckles.

He was released on $10 000 bail with a surety and the case was set for hearing on August 3.

Attorneys for the Indian workers, Douglas Trotman and Veronica MacFarlane, held a watching brief.

Babu, who answered the charges on his own behalf and on the company's behalf, denied they engaged in the employment of a person who was not a citizen, a permanent resident or an immigrant, and to whom no work permit had been granted for engagement or employment at Kensington Oval.

Magistrate Beckles turned down an application by the company's attorney Ralph Thorne for Babu to be released on personal bail and asked that his surety be a resident or a national.

She later granted Thorne's request for pre-trial disclosure. (HLE)