Is Mauritius still a safe place to visit?
The murder of the young Irish bride on her honeymoon in Legends has just revealed the true face of the high class hotel in Mauritius. The phenomenon is growing in recent years and involves employees who want to come into conflict with their own customers. At the beginning of 2011, the outlook for Mauritian Hotel seems not to be very bright. The murder of Irish Michaela Harte, more about a beloved daughter of a well-known soccer coach, during her honeymoon at the Legends Hotel has just exposed some harmful practices that take place in hotels. Sooner or later the image of Mauritius Paradise Island famous for being among the best destinations for the honeymoon has taken its toll. Stealing the fabulous properties of tourists is a relatively common practice among some hotel employees.
When suspicions can be proven, some hotel companies prefer to avoid tragedy so as not to tarnish their reputation. This time, a banal robbery has turned into a sordid murder. All the news channels in the world have the news broadcast on a loop. At the moment when the Irish lady went to look for some cookies in her room number 1205, she suddenly came face to face with the murderers. She was looking for some cookies to break her coffee, but she never thought that she was going to die. Disregarding the bride’s habits, the room attendant and her supervisor had used the room’s master key to break into the room and search through the bride’s personal effects. When the Irish lady caught the two employees in the middle of her full action, her supervisor strangled her. During her struggle, the other man pinned her by her feet.
In addition to luxury and magnificence, employees want to make the most of customer opportunities. They start by simply dealing with small objects. Recently, the Trou aux Biches criminal police came across a minor case that is considered less unusual. An employee of the Veranda Hotel entered a client’s room every day and stole a ticket. The client was finally able to catch him by marking a sign on each of the notes. However, the petty thief can become a criminal overnight; and that is the case of Legends Hotel. Everyone remembers the gruesome murder of Indian billionaire Mir Mujeeb on January 31, 2005. Residing in a luxury bungalow on Cap Malhereux, he was targeted by Prabakar Takar, the latter a former Paradise Cove employee turned vigil on behalf of Gray . Security Ltd following suspicion of theft against him. Rather than look out for the well-being of the heir to an empire, Prabakar had organized gangs of himself, taxi driver Navin Koonjul, gardener Rajiv Mungrah, and hotel boss Rajiah Dookee to try to rob the victim of “millions” of he. When his credit cards were finally stolen, he was taken to a sugar cane field in Grand Bay, where he was tortured. They beat him, stoned him and ultimately ran a car over his body before burning him while he was still alive. The man’s death was much later, after terrible suffering. His father, Abdul Rashid Mir, told his story to a media journalist that his son had moved to the island in 1996, however he always said that “Mauritius was the safest place of the world”.
Since then, various incidents have been recorded more frequently among clients of five-star hotels. In September 2007, Jean Suzanne, the head of Infinity and adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office, was deprived of a Jaiga Lecoultre watch (valued at Rs 900,000) at Shanti Ananda. In this case, an investigation by the CID of Chemin Grenier would solve the security guard known to Ramanah. A former gardener of the establishment known as Jericó was involved, after he made an “inventory” of the clients’ goods. Until now, the hotel boasted of being at the highest level of security. They looked to the “informal sector”, where many clients preferred to rent private houses. Many disgusting incidents have almost crept into some other villas and bungalows; among others, there was a case of attack on a Korean couple in Belle Mare in August 2008. The husband was beaten with a club while his wife was injured, they preferred to leave the country immediately instead of reporting the complaint.
As Mauritius is unwilling to disclose the number of attacks and robberies against tourists, in March 2008 the Prime Minister revealed that within a year from March 2007 there had been five assaults, one rape and one 805 cases of robbery against tourists. The thefts involved most of the bags left on the beach. Those in hotels are not solved because clients often think about losing their belongings while they are arranging their suitcases. In other cases, police doubt that tourists will make a false statement to receive their insurance premiums. Many hotel employees are aware of these shortcomings and are being tempted. Later, at the end of last year, the Trou aux Biches CID cracked down on a gang of twelve thieves, all employees of the Veranda Hotel. In the same region, a close investigation among a handful of Meridian Hotel employees has seen a drop in the number of reported thefts between November and December last year.
At 3:00 p.m. this Friday, January 14, four days after the murder in room 1025, AHRIM prefers to remain silent, indicating that a statement on this “crisis” is in the process of being drafted, which is the case of Mrs. Harte.
