Heyliger supports police
actions to rid island of
‘visitor harassers’
PHILIPSBURG--Economic and Tourism Affairs Commissioner Theo Heyliger has come out firmly in support of law enforcement officials detaining persons who harass tourists visiting the island.
His support was underlined in a press release issued by the Government Information Service (GIS) Tuesday and his remarks are believed to be linked to a current controversy in which Attorney-at-Law Jairo Bloem is threatening to take the local Chief of Police – Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards – to court.
That controversy was featured Tuesday in a Canadian newspaper, The Daily Courier in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, in which there were unfavourable comments about the manner in which the detained persons were treated, including one Rob Bentien (33), “a Kelowna man (who) is in jail without charges on a small Caribbean island, prompting his mother to question the efficiency of Canada’s Foreign Affairs department.”
Bloem alleged Monday that he was being denied access to several of his clients who had been detained by the local authorities since last Thursday. He said detained persons had a right to legal counsel before speaking to police and that the refusal to provide them with legal counsel was “an abuse of power and a breach of people’s fundamental rights.”
The Daily Herald understands that the detained persons in question were allegedly found operating as Off-Premises Consultants (OPCs) in the timeshare industry without being in possession of legal authorisation to reside and/or work in St. Maarten.
In his statement late Tuesday, Commissioner Heyliger commended the police and immigration for conducting control exercises and detaining “persons from the Americas, Europe or the Caribbean who are harassing our visitors.”
“They may be on the island without legal status and/or a working permit, and the authorities have a right to detain them,” Heyliger said.
He continued: “The hassling, rude, and aggressive behaviours by some OPCs (timeshare salespersons) give St. Maarten as a tourist destination a bad name. We will not tolerate this type of behaviour, which can impact negatively the livelihood of our people. The timeshare industry is a very important sector of our economy.”
And, contending that some of those OPCs who harass visitors gave the timeshare industry a bad name, Heyliger said, “We will not stand for that. Government and the industry have a responsibility to deal with this issue of visitor harassment.”
He said Government was taking action against this growing problem with the establishment of the Soualiga Patrol, which is tasked with, amongst other things, dealing with OPCs who act contrary to the way they should conduct timeshare sales on the island.
“Our law enforcement services should continue to take action against persons who harm our tourism industry, the very industry that puts bread and butter on the tables of every St. Maartener every day.”
Heyliger added that the tourism sector has received persistent reports over the years of some OPCs using heavy handed tactics against visitors to the island and this will no longer be tolerated.
Meanwhile, according to the Canadian newspaper, “Rob has been working since March for a timeshare company in St. Maarten (and) he and about six other foreign workers from the United States and Britain were rounded up late last week and are being held in a small cell.”
The paper reported Rob’s mother as saying the St. Maarten authorities had been trying to have the men sign papers, but they refused because the documents were not written in English.
“No charges have been laid. That’s why (the St. Maarten authorities) want them to sign these papers. It could be admitting to murder. They’re not stupid,” she was quoted as saying.
She said Rob had been allowed to make one brief phone call, to a family member in Canada, Monday morning.
“He’s in a seven-by-seven-foot cell with a hole in the floor for a toilet. … His health is good for now, but it’s been five days. He doesn’t know how long he can tolerate it. … They get one meal a day, plus bread …,” the family member reported.
St Maarten Apartment for vacation rental
