More than 60 drivers were charged over the weekend with driving with alcohol content in their bodies above the prescribed limit.

This comes barely a few days after the police had launched their ‘Festive Season Crime Prevention’ campaign which included the ‘Arrive Alive’ campaign to combat drinking and driving.

During the weekend, static roadblocks targeting drunken driving resulted in 62 drivers being charged with driving with alcohol content in their bodies above the prescribed limit.

The Minister for Habitat, Infrastructure and Land Transport Charles Bastienne has categorically refuted recent corruption allegations against him, allegations which have been reported in the local press.

He has rather threatened the perpetrators with “looking into the possibility of dealing with them”, meaning taking legal action.

It was on December 1 that the Seychelles Weekly newspaper reported that in October this year, Mr Bastienne, then Minister for Internal Affairs, had received the sum of R122,500 from the chairperson of a Nepalese recruitment agency named United Manpower Agency in return for the recruitment of Nepalese personnel for the Seychelles Police and Prison Services. According to the Seychelles Weekly, the money was paid through a representative of a local recruiting agency called Ligi’s Agency and a security firm - Marpol Security Services - in which the newspaper claimed Mr Bastienne owns interests.

The minister has reacted to the accusations by saying that they are personal attacks against him and attempts to discredit President Faure’s government. In a meeting with the local press yesterday, he denied having interest in the security company and ever meeting the Nepalese businessman who has made the accusations.

“There is neither fire nor smoke in this situation. My hands are clean and for the two years I have been in government, I have worked for the betterment of every Seychellois,” he said.

According to his explanation, the saga has arisen just because the Nepalese national at its source was not given business by the Seychelles’ government. The minister however admitted R122,000 was paid “to an individual” as recruitment fee for 12 Nepalese, while rejecting accusations that the money reached his office. This in spite of claims of a video showing a young lady counting a significant amount of money which she says was destined to the minister’s office.

Announcing that President Faure has asked him to shed light on the matter through the press, he also confirmed that he has already sent a relevant report to the Head of State. His account is that he was approached by the two Seychellois proprietors of the security firm who in return of a recruiting fee of R500, offered security officers for a salary of $600, instead of $1200 dollars which was being paid to Nepalese already working for the prison and Police.

“If I was corrupt I would not seek to pay $700 instead of 1200 which would permit the country to make savings of R16 million per year,” he commented.

However Minister Bastienne said, after a first group of officers had been recruited, some of them refused to work for a salary of $600, only agreeing to do so if they were refunded $8000 which they had paid for their employment.

The police have said they believe that the ‘Arrive Alive Campaign’, road blocks and spot checks may have contributed significantly towards the reduction in road accidents and fatalities this past festive season.

From December 31, 2016 until Tuesday January 3, 2017 a total number of 22 accidents were reported to the police. Almost the same number of cases, 23 to be exact, was recorded during the Christmas season.

Only one case of serious casualty was recorded during the New Year period whereby a 19-year-old male from Roche Caiman is still admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) following a scooter accident on the main road near the airport.  

Out of the total number of accidents during that period, excluding the victim admitted in the ICU, five people received medical attention and released.

Only two drivers involved in the total number of accidents were tested with alcohol content in their body over the prescribed limit.

No cases of fatal accidents were recorded during the Christmas and New Year period compared to one case on New Year’s Eve in 2015 which claimed two young lives.

The police would like to acknowledge and profusely thank all stakeholders, partners and public in general for their participation and contribution in the ‘Arrive Alive’ campaign.

The police mounted a search party to rescue a Sudanese male visitor aged 35 years accompanied by his two-year-old daughter who got lost while exploring La Digue over the weekend.

Call for help from the man was received on Friday August 12 at around 2.50pm. Helping the regular police with this search and rescue operations were officers from the Response Services Unit and also Fire and Rescue Services Agency based on the island.

The Seychelles Police Dog Unit was established in 1972. The dog section which comprised five male German Shepherd dogs was housed at the Union Vale prison. Here they are with their respectful “Boss”.

From left to right: Inspector Chang-Waye and Mick, P.S Sauzier and Rocky, P.C Lesperance and Bruce,  P.C Bijoux and Rubert , P.C Payet and Rebel.

Compiled by Tony Mathiot

The Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) has completed its final report following the incident and loss of lives on fishing vessel Faith, which occurred on the evening of August 13, 2016.

The investigation was initiated by the MAIB on August 14, 2016.

The report has been submitted to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan.

Commenting on the incident, Minister Morgan said: “As I receive this report, I am reminded just how tragic this incident was to not only the families of those who died but to the entire Seychellois nation as well. Our main motivation is to learn from this occurrence and to ensure that we apply the recommendations that this report has, so as to ensure that such an event is averted in the future. The sea is often unforgiving and our history documents very well events of vessels sinking or going missing. With the report in hand I will now sit down with respective agencies to review and to ensure that we act on the key recommendations that the MAIB has made. We owe it to the families and to those who survived and all Seychellois to ensure that more is done to avert such tragedies in the future,” said Minister Morgan.

The report having been formally handed over to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Transport will be closely reviewed in consultation with the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration and the Seychelles Police.

It is to be recalled that in the incident, which occurred halfway between Praslin and La Digue, three persons – two women and a man – lost their lives.

More than 80kg of drugs were destroyed over the weekend.

The 79.779kg of cannabis herbal material and 3.954kg of cannabis were burnt

at the Seychelles Hospital’s incinerator in the presence of members of the judiciary criminal justice stakeholders committee.

They included the judiciary, attorney general, National Drugs Enforcement Agency (NDEA), prison authorities and the police.

Cases related to the drugs have either ended in a sentence, acquittal or the defendants have exhausted their right of appeal.

Regarding the Charita drug case all the lawyers agreed that the exhibit could be destroyed – 79kg of herbal material along with other substances.

The Registrar of the Supreme Court Julianna Esticot said the drug-destroying exercise was a necessary one.

Gino Jean, Achille Agathine and Pierre Pothin from the Police Force have successfully undertaken a local training in the field of drugs and explosives detection and general purpose work.

They did so through a refresher course organised by the Seychelles Police Force in partnership with the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA). 

The dog handlers received their certificate yesterday in a ceremony which took place at the Seychelles Police Academy, Pointe Larue.

Present at the ceremony were the Minister for Home Affairs Mitcy Larue, the Commissioner of Police Reginald Elizabeth, the chief executive (CEO) of SCAA Gilbert Faure, among other high police officers.

Commissioner Elizabeth stated that Seychelles has recognised the vital role that police dogs contribute to law enforcement.

“The Seychelles Police Force has recognised the vital role that police dogs contribute to law enforcement which includes narcotic detection, explosives detection and general purpose crime prevention. Police dogs are utilised globally in the fight against crime and for this reason, the Seychelles Police Force intends to upgrade and expand its police dog capacity,” he said.

He added that Seychelles’ training will provide much better security at the Seychelles International Airport.

“In our dedication to upgrade the security at the International Airport, we have embarked on a joint project with the SCAA where the common objective is to have detection dogs with the ability to perform various searches,” he said.

The Seychelles Maritime Safety Authority has urged all fishermen and seafarers to be more responsible when at sea and notify the authorities each time they leave port.

They should also ensure that they have at least basic safety equipment before setting out to sea.

The director of the SMSA, Captain Joachim Valmont, made this statement yesterday during a press conference at the SMSA conference room.

The press conference was to give more details on the rescue mission that took place on Saturday night and Sunday morning after a boat accident claimed the lives of three persons – two women and a man – off Round Island, about half way between La Digue and Praslin.

Captain Valmont expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the three victims – Cynthia and Helena César, and Bernard Camille – on behalf of all the authorities involved, before going on to give details about the SMSA’s involvement in the rescue mission which ended up saving the lives of Aubrey Jacqueline and six-year-old Rio Chang-Tave.

According to information gathered by our reporter on La Digue and later confirmed by police spokesman Jean Toussaint, the boat capsized in the Ros Kannal area after a lady – Cynthia César – had fallen overboard and the other occupants all moved on one side to try and retrieve her.

After the accident, which occurred at about 7pm, the boat’s skipper and owner, Teddy Stravens, managed to swim to the Mary Anne, a yacht which was then moored off La Digue. The crew took him back to the accident area and after they could find neither sign of his boat nor of any passengers, they brought him back to the island.

“Upon hearing of the incident, I immediately contacted the Seychelles Coast Guard to ensure that they have received the information about the incident and to find out what their response was,” said Captain Valmont, who explained that the coast guard immediately took control of the operation while the SMSA took charge from the command centre to help coordinate the rescue operation.

He went on to explain how they sought help from the HMAS Perth that was in port at the time and the vessel provided one of the helicopters to help with the operation.

Also present at the press conference was the chairman of the Maritime Accident Investigation Board (MAIB), Captain Robert Morgan, Police Commissioner Reginald Elizabeth and the Seychelles Coast Guard’s on-scene Commander during the operation, Captain Hans Radegonde.

Captain Morgan noted that the role of the MAIB is to investigate and establish the facts and causes of the accident so that they can eventually make recommendations to the SMSA to ensure such incidents do not happen again.

“We began our investigation on Saturday night and we have interviewed a number of people in our attempts to get the information we need and we are still doing this as the investigation is ongoing,” said Captain Morgan.

He added that he was not at liberty to reveal any findings so far until the investigation is complete.

Captain Radegonde on his part was on the scene of the accident and he explained that the rough seas and poor visibility made it very hard to locate the victims at night and that the wind and current played a big part in moving the boat from where the accident was reported to have happened and this made the search even more difficult.

“We continued our search early the next morning, with the assistance of two helicopters and a plane and it was then that we found the two survivors,” said Captain Radegonde, before adding: “The older man was in okay condition, but that of the little boy was much more critical and after administering first aid, we handed both of them over to the Baie Ste Anne hospital for further treatment.

With regard to the third victim, Bernard Camille, he was only found when the both was ashore as at the time of the search and rescue operation, two civilian boats took the wreckage and tugged it back to La Digue.

“We did not have any contact with the wreckage while at sea and if we did, we had divers on board who would have been instructed to search the wreckage before it was taken ashore,” added Captain Radegonde.

Police Commissioner Elizabeth on his part revealed that the skipper of the boat has appeared before the court and has been released on certain conditions while the investigation into the accident continues.

Many people have been asking about the role of the Marine Police in this incident and here the Police Commissioner explained that the Marine Police normally patrol coastal areas and not the open sea.

“We knew that there would be a lot of water activities during this time and our officers were stationed on Praslin as their boats were not equipped to patrol the rough seas between the two islands,” the commissioner said.

In view of this incident, questions have been asked about maritime safety and here Captain Valmont explained that it is the responsibility of every fisherman or skipper to notify the port of their destination, number of passengers, their return date, etc… but often these things are not done.

Three persons – two women and a man – have lost their lives following a boat accident which happened on Saturday evening off Round Island, about half way between La Digue and Praslin.

Named ‘Faith’, the converted Mini Mahé with a 15 horse power engine and added cabin had left La Digue about half an hour before and was on its way to Praslin with six persons on board. They had spent the day at the island’s feast.

According to information gathered by our reporter on La Digue and later confirmed by police spokesman Jean Toussaint, the boat capsized in the Ros Kannal area after a lady – Cynthia César – had fallen over board and the other occupants all moved on one side to try and retrieve her.

After the accident, which occurred at about 7pm, the boat’s skipper and owner, Teddy Stravens, managed to swim to the ‘Mary Anne’, a yacht which was then moored off La Digue. The crew took him back to the accident area and after they could find neither sign of his boat nor of any passengers, they brought him back to the island.

The alert had then been given and an intensive nearly 15-hour coordinated search followed. It was conducted by the Seychelles Coast Guard, Air Force, Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA) and Marine Police with the help of local aviation company Zil Air, Australian navy vessel HMS Perth and various vessels from Praslin and La Digue. These included the smallest vessel of the ‘Cat Coco’which is based on La Digue and Praslin’s ‘Cat Rose’.

After the night search proved unsuccessful, rescue operations resumed early Sunday morning. By mid day, two persons – Aubrey Jacqueline and six-year-old Rio Chang Tave – were pulled alive from the relatively rough seas. Three other persons were unfortunately found dead. They have been identified as Cynthia and Helena César, and Bernard Camille aged 65 years old.

Michel Godley, normally a sailor on one of the tankers of Seychelles Petroleum Company (Seypec) who helped in the rescue operations on board the ‘Lady Caroline’ skippered by Louis d’Offay, was spending the weekend on La Digue. He recounts how Aubrey Jacqueline and Rio Chang Tave were saved.