The man accused of defrauding the Bermuda Housing Corporation of $1.3 million watched as more than 20 people toured his home in Devonshire yesterday afternoon.

Chief Justice Richard Ground, who is hearing the trial, attended the visit along with the jury, lawyers and Police officers involved in the case. The jury had requested a tour of the three-bedroom property in Tee Street having heard the prosecution allege that Terrence Smith lavished much of the stolen BHC funds on it.

After travelling to the site along with the Chief Justice on a pink public bus they were led through the gates of the pink house to see a waterfall in the garden.

Next, they walked through cedar entrance doors and inspected a living room and bar area on the ground floor. After being shown the kitchen and laundry room they were led up a cedar staircase. Upstairs, they peeked through the doors of the master bedroom and bathroom plus two other bedrooms.

Taken down to the basement floor of the house, the jury was shown Smith?s home theatre, 40 ft swimming pool, and a security system featuring a TV screen. Mr. Justice Ground banned the media from taking photographs or filming during the visit to Tee Street. He also warned jurors in advance that it would be a largely silent tour, without the opportunity for them to ask questions.

Smith, who had given permission for the tour of his home, was brought to the scene in a car with Police officers flanking him.

He is accused of fraudulently allowing $1.3 million of BHC funds to be paid to carpenter Steven Barbosa between September 2000 and February 2002 by rubber-stamping inflated bills for his work. Mr. Barbosa is said by the prosecution to have passed $924,668 in profits from this scam back to Smith in the form of cash and luxury goods for his home.

The trial has already heard evidence from both Mr. Barbosa and an electrician, Nathan Ming, that Smith instructed them to submit overpriced invoices for their work and then channelled the resulting overpayment into his own pockets.

Earlier yesterday the trial heard evidence from a third contractor who said Smith had encouraged him to overcharge the Corporation.

Firefighter and feral chicken catcher David Burrows Jr. spoke of how during 2000 he met Smith at Steven Barbosa?s carpentry shop. Having previously done some chicken trapping for residents at the Top Square BHC complex in St. George?s, Mr. Burrows said Smith instructed him to bill the BHC directly in future for his work at its properties. He said he had not been paid for invoices that he had submitted ? apart from one at St David?s ? and complained to the court: ?I?ve been catching chickens for free.?

He added that when he challenged Smith over the non-payments, he once told him: ?Send another bill but this time send it for more than it was supposed to be.?

Mr. Burrows said he had never submitted inflated bills to the BHC adding: ?I?m honest and I?m not doing anything underhand.?

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Larry Scott he confirmed that he had known Mr. Barbosa since primary school and used his sawdust for his stables. He denied making up the story about the inflated bill request.

Smith denies 46 counts of obtaining property by false pretences, and the case continues.