The Jamaican Office of the Public Defender has announced its intention to probe the recent scrap metal ban in the country, claiming that they want to take up the fight for people who have been hurt by the Jamaican Government’s decision to shut down the country’s scrap metal industry in an effort to tackle metal thefts.

The public defender will spend a month probing the recent decision to suspend trade before providing Minister of Investment, Industry and Commerce Dr Christopher Tufton with recommendations for the future of the scrap metal industry.

The public defender’s office will also be open to receiving evidence from scrap metal merchants who can prove that they earned an honest living from the trade and weren’t involved in purchasing stolen scrap metal.

Public Defender Earl Witter yesterday argued that his office had a duty to investigate, despite overwhelming support for the ban in the Jamaican cabinet.

He said “No matter how popular the decision (to suspend the trade), the question is … in relation to the honest dealer who plays by the rules is the decision fair because if it is not fair, then in relation to that dealer it is unjust.

“And it is not the business of government … to work an injustice against some in order to punish others.”