Attorney Symister recommends that bail funds be held in escrow account to avoid the hassle of refunds at the Treasury

Leon Chaku Symister, an attorney-at-law, is recommending that an escrow account be set up to hold bail monies for accused persons, since many of them appear to be having major problems in getting their monies back when their cases have ended.
 
As a result, some persons who would assist a relative or friend with bail monies are becoming wary of helping because of the difficulty in getting back their funds.
 
Symister explains that, once bail is paid through the court, it is sent to the Treasury and placed in the Consolidated Fund, where it is used to do all sorts of things – including pay salaries.
 
Accordingly, he says it is unfair that people are unable to get their money back and are then given the run-around by officials at the Treasury Department.
 
The attorney says that a client of his recently experienced the hassle of having his bail money refunded.
 
A similar situation existed with mothers who were trying to obtain their child-maintenance payments. It took the intervention of Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh to rectify the situation and allow women to receive these funds on time.