SIX SUSPECTS REMANDED

Assault on Dutch tourists Surf Bar closed on SLTDA orders

The controversial ‘Water Creatures Beach Guest Restaurant & Surf Bar’ in Mirissa, where a group of Dutch tourists were brutally assaulted, was closed yesterday, on an order from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) pending investigations.

Earlier, six suspects were arrested by the Weligama Police in connection with the incident and remanded till April 19 after the Daily Mirror exposed the incident.

The SLTDA yesterday summoned the restaurant owner for an inquiry but did not reveal his identity.

Police Media Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said the suspects were produced in the Matara Magistrate’s Court and would be later produced at an identification parade.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said it would sponsor the victims’ return to Sri Lanka to give evidence on the incident. SP Gunasekara said in the wake of this incident a block of land had been acquired to set up a Tourist Police in Mirissa and said that measures have been taken to transfer the Weligama HQI, following the incident.

A Dutchman and two female tourists were reported to have been brutally assaulted at Mirissa on April 8 when resisting attempts of sexual harassment.

According to the SLTDA, the restaurant was not registered with it and had sold liquor without a valid license.

However, Daily Mirror found that even after the SLTDA confirmed that the restaurant functioned without a valid liquor license or registration, on April 14 the restaurant had held a huge drinking party for foreign nationals to the accompaniment of DJ music.

Police said four Israeli nationals had also been assaulted during a recent event at the same place.

The incident went viral in social media, criticising the authority’s negligence and delay in enforcing the law and ensuring the safety of tourists. Following the incident, SLTDA yesterday said it would initiate a mobile registration operation to identify and register illegal restaurants and hotels along the coastal belt, to prevent such incidents in the future. PIC BY KITHSIRI DE MEL

Even after the SLTDA confirmed that the restaurant functioned without a valid liquor license, the restaurant had held a drinking party for foreign nationals