British couple sue tour operator after armed robbery in Dominican Republic

A British couple who were attacked, terrorised and robbed at gun point at a Dominican Republic hotel, have sued tour operator First Choice for substantial damages for failing to provide adequate security during a holiday in June 2007 at the Gran Bahia Principle hotel, a sprawling property in the tourist hot spot of Punta Cana.

The proposed suit, which was reported in the London Times, claims that Chris and Winifred Hyde were brutally attacked and robbed by two bandits at gun point in the wee hours of the morning.

According to the newspaper report, Hyde says he was woken at 4 am by his wife's screams. "There were two men in the room. One was holding a pistol to her head and the other had a stiletto to his throat."

During the ordeal, Hyde said, the robbers raided the room safe and threatened to cut off his wife's fingers to steal her rings.

Hyde said that he feared for their lives because the robbers made no attempt to conceal their faces. "I thought they would kill us," he said.

What was disturbing was that he called in vain for the hotel's security guards and they were forced to walk all the way to the reception and had to wait for two long hours for the head of security to arrive.

Hyde added that the manager suggested that they accept an offer of one week's free holiday at another resort by way of compensation, in return for them keeping the matter confidential. The offer of compensation was subsequently raised to two weeks plus monies to the value of the jewelry stolen.

The couple bluntly refused the offer and filed a six figure claim in the courts.

The lawyer representing the couple, Andrew Morton, from the law firm of Pannope said, "Under package-holiday regulations, tour operators are liable for the acts and omissions of the hotels they use."

(Caribbean Net News)