assault of a woman.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied the assault, which was alleged to have taken place at the Ducking Stool in Pembroke on May 7.

Crown counsel Cindy Clarke said the man was alleged to have "forceful intercourse'' with the defendant, who was known to him but was not having a relationship with him.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner rejected a Crown application to have the man remanded in custody.

He agreed with a request from the accused's lawyer, Philip Perinchief, that he be granted bail with reporting conditions.

Mr. Warner released him on $5,000 bail with a like surety and ordered him to report to Hamilton Police Station and not interfere with the complainant or witnesses.

MAN DENIES $20,000 JEWELLERY HEIST CTS Man denies $20,000 jewellery heist A man who allegedly stole almost $20,000 of jewellery from a house in Devonshire was remanded in custody yesterday.

Tracey Gladstone Caines denied taking the jewellery belonging to Veronica Outerbridge from a storage tent at the rear of her residence between May 3 and 4.

He is charged with stealing a 14-carat gold bangle, gold earrings, a white yellow gold wedding band, a jade and gold pendant, a gold diamond wedding ring, sapphire earrings, two gold diamond rings and a sapphire bracelet worth $19,140.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner remanded Caines, of the Salvation Army Rehabilitation Centre in King Street, Hamilton, in custody until his trial on May 22.

WOMAN CHARGED WITH IMPORTATION CTS Woman charged with importation A Devonshire woman appeared in Magistrates' Court yesterday charged with importing cocaine and intending to supply the drug.

Konika Michelle Spence, 25, of Boundary Terrace, is accused of importing cocaine on October 26, possessing the drug with intent to supply in Pembroke on November 16 and handling the drug with intent to supply on the same day.

The matter is indictable and can only be tried at Supreme Court, so Spence did not have to enter a plea.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner released Spence on bail of $5,000 plus a like surety and adjourned the matter until May 26.

MAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FRAUD CTS Man pleads not guilty to fraud An alleged cheque fraudster was arrested for another offence yesterday, just after being released from Magistrates' Court on bail.

Officers arrested Clarence Simmons in the foyer outside of plea court on suspicion of involvement in breaking and entering.

Moments earlier, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner released Simmons, 33, on bail of $5,000 plus a like surety after he pleaded not guilty to five charges of dishonesty.

Simmons, of Cottage Hill Road, Hamilton Parish, denied receiving a Bank of Bermuda chequebook stolen from Philip Chadwick on March 2 this year.

He further denied making out false cheques to himself and defrauding Shelly Bay MarketPlace by trying to obtain money by cashing a cheque.

Mr. Warner rejected an application by Crown counsel Sandra Bacchus to have Simmons remanded in custody, but he imposed conditions that he report to Hamilton Police Station three times a week.

POLICE HUNT VIOLENT GANG CRM Police hunt violent gang Police are hunting a gang of four who allegedly attacked two Smith's Parish men with baseball bats and golf clubs after a high speed chase in the Store Hill area.

The 20-year-old was found bleeding and semi-conscious and was hospitalised with multiple facial fractures. His 22-year-old companion also needed hospital treatment for a head injury.

Police are desperate for witnesses after receiving reports that the pair were chased on a bike by the four people in a white car, which was possibly a Hyundai or a Mazda, along the trail area of Store Hill at around 11 p.m. on Thursday.

Anyone with information should call Sgt. Nick Pedro at 297-1122 or call the anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-623-8477.

ELBOW BEACH RESORT DEAL APPROVED TOU Elbow Beach resort deal approved Shareholders of a Bermuda-based firm have approved a deal to purchase the management company that operates luxury hotels including the Elbow Beach resort.

At a special general meeting of Mandarin Oriental International Limited held yesterday, a resolution approved the acquisition of the entire share capital of the Rafael Group Limited for $142.5 million.

The deal means the management of Elbow Beach and other deluxe and first-class hotels in Bangkok, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Macau, will be assumed by Mandarin Oriental Ltd.

Elbow Beach has undergone massive multi-million dollar renovations in recent times and has a new general manager, Hartmut Zunk.

The hotel itself remains in the ownership of Saudi Prince Khalid Bin Sultan.

PHONE BOOKS WILL BE RECYCLED BUC TSH Phone books will be recycled The Island's old telephone books will be recycled and turned into animal bedding again this year, the Bermuda Telephone Company announced yesterday.

BTC's Project Directory Recycle has separate collection strategies for those businesses and residents located in the City of Hamilton and those outside its boundaries.

City of Hamilton businesses and residents are encouraged to collect old directories for drop off or collection on May 15 and 16.

Anyone with less than 50 directories should place them in a blue recycle bag and place it with their regular trash collection. Hamilton businesses with more than 50 are asked to arrange for a special collection with the City Works Depot at 295-6446.

In the second branch of the project, primary and middle school students are asked to participate in a directory collection competition.