A businessman in Mayreau on Tuesday paid a water taxi EC$150 to transport police from Union Island to Mayreau to attend to two British visitors who were robbed Monday night.
Dennis Forde, who is also a sea captain and Justice of the Peace on the island, said he paid the money to save the nation further embarrassment, as the tourists were about to use their money to pay to transport the police officers.
Richard Hunter, 61, a sea captain from Kent, England and his 30-year-old daughter were robbed Monday night as they made their way from Forde’s business place to their yacht.
Their assailant, who was armed with a cutlass, took the visitors’ cash, credit cards, telephone, keys, and glasses.
Hunter told iWitness News on Tuesday that they called the police at 10 p.m. Monday and they came 11 a.m. Tuesday from Union Island on a private water taxi.
Residents frustrated as British tourists are robbed in Mayreau
Forde told iWitness News on Friday that the police in Mayreau have a patrol boat but is often doesn’t have any gas.
He, however, wondered why the boat that patrol’s the Tobago Cays Marine Park was not used to transport the police officers.
Forde told iWitness News that two other visitors, Canadian and U.S. citizens, were also robbed in Mayreau last month.
“This is tough. This is happening now so no one wants to come ashore in the night,” he said.
Forde also said that the government needs to pay more attention to Mayreau.
“Everything we have on the island, they are taking it away. We have a nurse, they moved her and never brought back one,” he said, adding that recently, someone suffered a sunstroke and persons had to go online to get information on providing care for the person.
We increasing the GG house allowance by 100% and have a situation like this happening
This is a window into how well we are able to manage both law and order and our tourism industry.
This shouldn’t be News. Nothing is wrong with a citizen making contributions whenever he/she can
Shane Daniel, SHAME ON YOU. Being an officer of the court you know that the police should avoid anything that might be taken as a conflict of interest or a potential bribe. Citizens should not have to pay for police transportation. That is the reason why we have taxation.
Shane, why shouldn’t this be news? If your house or a member of your family is robbed and you call the police and you have to hire a taxi to bring the police, isn’t that ridiculous? It’s the same thing, not being it happens in the Grenadines. It’s only shows that something in the system is not working properly and should be addressed.
Yes, this mentality is why Camillo went to Brooklyn to beg for money to finish the ill-fated Argyle airport, money that will actually end up fighting the next election, or bye-election, whichever come first.
Keystone Cops