Philipsburg:--- Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Romeo Pantophlet confirmed to reporters on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that the contract issued thrice to the former Director of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau was not within the confines of the law and it is one that warrants an investigation. Pantophlet said that the STO Director was hired through a company called Innovations Creations and Marketing N.V. (ICM) and she was paid NAF. 16,000.00 per month and this he said does not include the perks that comes with the position such as traveling allowances and tickets. Minister Pantophlet said that when he took office the contract for the STO director could not be found within the government apparatus and one was later provided to him, but there was no booking number on the copy he received. He said it appears as though the former Minister made an agreement with ICM of which May-Ling Chun is the director, the working relations between ICM and government started on July 11th 2011, and the contract he said was for a period of three months. Pantophlet said for one reason or another, the contract was silently renewed twice. He said the NA/DP/IND government was facing the third renewal after which the person in question could become a permanent employee of government. Pantophlet said he met twice with Chun to discuss the contract that was awarded to her by the former Minister of Tourism Franklyn Meyers since the third contract was coming to an end on June 30th 2012. Minister Pantophlet said government offered Chun a contract with the highest scale within the government structure which is scale 13 but she refused the offer. Minister Pantophlet said Ms. Chun was informed by the Secretary General that 
the contract she obtained with the former Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs would not have been renewed. "I met with Ms. Chun on June 19th and June 25th where we started discussions and she promised to get back to me the following day but she never did. Then on June 29th she sent a notice to government informing them that she was not given enough time to consider the offer which was a scale 13 contract which would last as long as six months. Chun also informed government that she was seeking legal counsel and she was waiting on a response from her lawyers, while all of this was happening the contract expired. Minister Pantophlet also indicated that he has in writing that Ms. Chun informed government that the new contract she was offered is not acceptable to her. Minister Pantophlet said his Ministry has since taken a decision to appoint an interim director in the person of Gus Priest. When asked by reporters how Priest was chosen for the interim position, he said that the intention of his Ministry is to give locals priority when there is a vacancy. Minister Pantophlet said that he wanted to appoint Mr. Edward Dest to the position but Mr. Dest is out on sick leave and the next person in line is Gus Priest.SMN News has been reliably informed that the attorneys representing May-Ling Chun sent a letter to the government of St. Maarten on Wednesday afternoon demanding that she be paid. Information obtained from government showed that Chun was paid for the period she worked as Director of the Tourist Office through her company ICM, but Chun is claiming that she has to be paid because the contract she obtained from the former Minister of Tourism Franklin Meyers states that she would automatically become the director of the Tourism Authority when it is established. In an invited comment, the Minister said that the contract with those details expired on June 30th 2012 and Government does not have to abide by its contents. Furthermore, an investigation into the ICM contract may soon take place due to the current developments.