Four days after a British couple was severely attacked and left for dead at their Tobago home, the British Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office have updated its travel advisory, warning its citizens to be extremely cautious when travelling to Trinidad and Tobago.
Deputy British High Commissioner Geoff Patton confirmed the advisory was updated late yesterday morning. "Following the recent attack, were have been forced to update our travel advisory, which is regularly updated," Patton said during a brief interview yesterday.
Inability to apprehend
The advisory said, "Although many visits to Tobago are trouble free, crime against tourists in Tobago and the inability of the Tobago authorities to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators, remain a concern. "There have been a number of serious robberies against tourists and residents. Some of these incidents have been accompanied by violence, including attempted rape."
The advisory also made reference to last Saturday's attack against British couple Peter Greene, 65, and his wife Murium, 59, at their Bacolet, Tobago, home and an incident at Bon Accord, Black Rock, in which a British woman was robbed and sexually assaulted at her villa.
"Caution is therefore advised when renting villas in Tobago. "All villas should have adequate security measures in place, including the provision of external security lighting, grills and 24-hour security guards. You should be aware of your surroundings at all times and preferably carry a mobile phone with roaming capability for use in emergency," the advisory stated. Visitors were asked to avoid isolated beaches such as Englishman's Bay and King Peter's Bay.
Welcomed gesture
Patton said the High Commission was able to make contact with the couple's adopted son in England. Murium was also able to speak with her adopted son who is expected to arrive in the country later this week, he said. Patton said he welcomed the gesture by the Tourism Division of the Tobago House of Assembly which has pledged to pay for the Greenes' son's plane ticket and his accommodation. Yesterday, officials at the Commission visited the couple at the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex, Mt Hope.
"Ms Judy Usher of the (UK High) Commission visited Mr Greene in hospital and was able to have a conversation with Ms Greene who was suffering from quite substantial injuries. She is really quite tired, but that is probably the results of the pain killers she is on. Mr Greene remains in a chemically induced coma and I understand he would remain in that coma for at least the next 24 hours and they are monitoring his condition very closely because he is officially listed as critical but stable," Patton said.
No motive
In an interview last evening, ACP Nadir Khan said the investigations into the incident was ongoing. He said the police were in the process of taking statements from several people but a motive for the incident has not yet been established.
Khan said, "We don't have any suspects at this time because we are not sure if it was robbery, even though there were signs that the house was ransacked. "As soon as we get clearance from doctors at the hospital we would proceed to interview Ms Greene so we would be able to determine what actually transpired at the house which would greatly assist us in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
