PHILIPSBURG--Government is still to receive a report on the joint control conducted at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino on Thursday, February 4, which led to mounting complaints from the resort about the “shameful” and “aggressive” manner in which the control had been conducted.

 

The complaints led to the Council of Ministers temporarily halting the joint controls until receiving clarity on the matter via a report on the incident. Prime Minister William Marlin told reporters at the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday that he was expecting the report on Monday, but he had been in Parliament all day on Monday. Marlin said the report was still not available on Wednesday.

 

The PM said when the complaints first started to come in about the joint inspection at Maho on Thursday, the Secretary Generals of several ministries had been contacted, but none were able to say what had transpired. The Head of Immigration was also asked and while he had been aware of the controls, he too did not know what had transpired.

 

Hence, Government’s decision to temporarily halt the inspections pending receipt of a report.

 

Marlin said it is wrong for a company to violate rules and fail to operate in accordance with their documentation. Government’s position is not that controls should not take place; he said the question is the manner in which the controls are conducted.

 

He alluded to an unrelated incident in which a local motorist informed him that they had been stopped by an officer who asked for their driver’s licence, when the motorist provided their driver’s licence the person was then asked for their identification card. The motorist indicated that their driver’s licence is a form of identification and this led to an argument between the motorist and the law enforcement officer.

 

“The decision wasn’t that you are not allowed to do your job as immigration or police but seemingly there was something wrong with the joint operations and we said let us find out what went wrong because if there is a misuse of power or authority or things are being done that are misinterpreted then we need to deal with [these issues – Ed.],” Marlin said.

 

That joint inspections were spearheaded by the Justice Ministry’s Immigration and Border Protection Service and included the Health Inspectorate, Social and Health Insurances SZV, the Fire Department, Economic Affairs, Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI, and the Inspectorate’s Labour arm. The Inspectorate of Public Health has since indicated that it will resume its controls as it relates to food safety compliance.

 

The Sonesta Maho Group of Companies has also publicly condemned the “shameful” and “aggressive” manner in which the joint control was conducted on its property noting that during the process guests were intimidated, a legal employee shackled, an officer refused to show his identification and management was not notified of the control. The Group said it has video surveillance of the entire incident, which it called “a violation of the rights” of its guests and staff.

 

The Daily Herald