Elbow Beach Hotel dispute last week were discharged from Magistrates' Court yesterday after pleading not guilty.

Attorney General Mr. Walter Maddocks, in a rare court appearance, said it would not be in the public's best interest to proceed with the charges against the five officers.

In what he admitted was an "unusual'' move, Mr. Maddocks said he would not offer evidence against the five and asked the Senior Magistrate to discharge them.

But he warned "it would be a serious error in judgement'' to assume the discharges created a precedent for similar incidents in future.

Barbara Ball, 68, Alfred Eugene Bean, 60, Robert Richard Johnson, 61, Austin Wade, 58, and Kenyetta Young, 50, all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mr. Maddocks said each of the five were present at the Elbow Beach Hotel last Thursday during a demonstration by hotel workers and refused to leave after being asked to by hotel officials.

He called the alleged offences "extremely serious'' and said a labour dispute can not be accepted as an excuse for breaking the law.

Police at the scene refused to evict the five union representatives after requests by hotel officials to do so. Mr. Maddocks said Police feared such action would incite a riot. He said they acted correctly.

Mr. Arthur Hodgson, the lawyer acting on behalf of the five BIU representatives, accused Mr. Maddocks of presuming the officials of being guilty in his speech to the court, contradicting his pledge not to offer evidence against them.

"Usually the reason no evidence is offered is because there is no evidence to offer or the case is very weak,'' Mr. Hodgson said.

BIU president Ottiwell Simmons MP, present during the hearing, declined comment on the outcome of the matter outside the court.

"There was no evidence. There was no guilt. And that's all I have to say,'' Mr. Simmons said.

CHARGES DROPPED -- From left, BIU defendants Barbara Ball, Alfred Bean and Robert Johnson are led by president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons and Southampton Princess shop steward Mr. Leroy Riley on their way into court yesterday morning.