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Britannia in Kingstown at dusk on Nov. 8. (Photo: Dexstar Rose/Facebook)
Britannia in Kingstown at dusk on Nov. 8. (Photo: Dexstar Rose/Facebook)
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Three men assaulted and robbed in Kingstown on Wednesday a group of passengers from the cruise ship, Britania during its first call to the city this season.

A witness told iWitness News that the crime took place at Bentick Square (along the Road to Leeward near Milton Cato Memorial Hospital) around 1 p.m.

The witness said that the group of seven male and female visitors, said to be in their 60s, were walking near the Chinese restaurant on Bentick Square when three men approached them.

The men choked one of the male visitors and burst a piece of jewellery from around the man’s neck before fleeing in the direction of Massy Store in Stoney Ground.

An off duty police officer gave chase and caught the man, but the assailant escaped after trading punches with the police officer.

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The witness said that he pursued the two other assailants who ran in the direction of the gas station, but stopped his pursuit after the men ran in the direction of Edinboro.

The witness told iWitness News that the group was shaken up after the incident and many persons in the area, including staff of the MCMH came to their assistance.

The incident could potentially put a stain on St. Vincent and the Grenadines as the nation is expected to received 270,000 cruise passengers this season, twice last year’s figure and three times that of 2015.

16 replies on “Cruise passengers assaulted, robbed in Kingstown”

  1. Looks like before we even get started with this season we may just miss our chance to clear our bad reputation. I wonder if the man in charge of our economic system is ever going to wonder if he has been doing things the wrong way,and instead of borrowing money and raising taxes to pay the interest on all the loans that maybe he should have instead lowered taxes to encourage investment and jobs so we would have less crime? I wonder if this has or ever will cross his mind?

    1. misa callwood says:

      this comment is so true….I’m about to do this same cruise in december and i dont even want to read the news. this is going to be my bf first time in my country and he can call me this morning to tell me go and read our news….now we may not get to come there again

    2. Don’t you think it’s time we stop blaming everyone else for acts of crime in this country and start blaming the criminals ?
      When we blame the government or music or movies.or drugs or alcohol, or whatever else. What we are doing is justifying the actions of the criminals. And that’s something a lot of you guys overlooked

  2. If the next cruise ship tourists experience our usual hospitality of robbery and rape, I think we will have to lower our expectations of how many visitors we are going to get. Yesterday I talked to some of the tourists and they noticed that SVG is in worse shape than any other Caribbean Country they have ever visited. Does anyone besides myself believe we need to make some very big changes?

  3. james cordice says:

    Our Tourism Department in SVG need to conduct training programs that would be use as a mechanisym to propel Vincentians into the mindset of a service nation.

    It is incredibly important for all persons in SVG to realize that SVG in extremely difficult and costly to get to from many locations around the world.

    Therefore we Must respect the tourist and try our best to create a lasting positive impression of our country, we must be accommodating, friendly, informative, helpful, kind ,honest, presentable and gentle.. we must also give them a little space to move freely..

    Robbing visitors can create such an embarrassing an costly blight on our country,one that will affect the industry and altimately our entire nation negatively!.

    So my people! Let us try each Day to do all that we can do, to ensure that our visitors enjoy their visit with us, They are spending money in our country,let’s make sure that they can spread wonderful news of our stalwart services in SVG ! Let them long to return to our shores and bring others.

    We will also required an additional measure it punishment for those who decides to defame our country’s hospitable reputation by robbing or disrespecting the visitors that we invite on our beautiful country.

    Now I realize that things are tough! But let’s be creative, make and sell something or provide a service to our visitors,this will be more industrious than trying to steal from them.

    Come on guys!!!! You know better! You can do better! Let’s build a new SVG… The one we knew and loved, we are better! Let us apply our goodness!

    We can assist is this process by posting ideas of solutions.. let’s make this work ! We can!

    Peace & Blessings
    Cordice

  4. It only take 1 bad experience like this…to damper a person’s holiday…then they’ll tell every friend they meet about this experience…people will choose not to book a cruise or cruise line take out SVG out of the itinerary…it affects us all…especially when we as small islands/economies rely heavily on tourism

  5. Such a shame. Especially as these visitors are bringing revenue to the country. People will not want to face such such behaviour.

  6. St/Vincent needs a middle class. There are only two classes, rich and poor. When the poor have no hope, they turn to crime. Things are going to get worse unless we develop a middle class.

    1. evette prescott says:

      Even if there’s need for a middle class which you think might be the solution what these young men and others who are thinking crime need is God in their lives.All crime offenders and would be crime offenders need to know the ten commandments whic clearly teaches we should not steal or rob from our neighbours.May the hand of God reaches them and may the spirit of God convict their hearts. God knows everyone by name and He sees them.Revenge belong to God and He will execute on the behalf of those who are affected by the wrongs of those who seek to bring discomfort and shame.

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