BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MAURICE WIDDOWSON, owner of popular tourist site Caribelle Batik, said he would not allow the recent burglary at his establishment in Old Road to deter him from his work at Wingfield Estate.
Widdowson told SKNVibes that his Romney Manor-located Caribelle Batik had opened its doors for business on Sunday morning (Nov. 21) and the manager became alarmed when she noticed one of the windows was open.
“Immediately she called the police and they responded quickly and found paper scattered on the floor inside the building and the cash from the float bag, which was in a hidden safe, was missing,” he said.
Widdowson said the float, which totalled US$2 000 and EC$400, was money to be used to start the day’s business.
He said police dusted the place for fingerprints and that the screen of one of their recently bought computers was smashed.
“We will continue our work on the development of Wingfield Estate. This has not demoralised me. I will continue to work on that area. We have a great track record with Old Road,” he said.
Widdowson said he later learned during his investigations that the security guard, who was on duty the night before the incident, had left the compound at around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
He is of the view that the burglary occurred between 1:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.
The proprietor said that Caribelle Batik has been in the village for 34 years and this is the first time they have experienced anything of this nature.
“We have a remarkable record which speaks well of the village and Caribelle Batik…that we’ve been good to each other. I went into the village and a number of males expressed sorrow and frustration for the incident that happened. Someone even said that they’d be very surprised if the perpetrators were from Old Road, because of the good relationship the business and the village has had over the years,” Widdowson said.
Widdowson declared that the crime occurred at a time when they were planning to install new security measures. He informed that management had planned to meet with a new security agency on Monday (Nov. 22) to install the measures.
He expressed hopes that the incident would not be the beginning of a series of burglaries and stated that they seldom keep monies at that location, as the majority of business done there is by credit cards.
“We will never carry money up there. We don’t keep cash, and most of the business is done with credit cards. We don’t feel vulnerable after this incident, but not comfortable either.
Widdowson said that the business has resumed its regular work schedule.
