On August 17th, 9:20pm (local time), José-Luis Preza Díaz, Austrian resident (Salvadorean Citizen, father of an Austro-Canadian Citizen) was brutally attacked and hit in the face by local self-appointed La Digue “Boss”, Gregoire Payet.
Details of the incident:
José-Luis Preza arrived to La Digue from Mahé on August 16th at 10:00 hours, for an -already planned and prepaid- two week stay at La Digue Island Lodge.
On August 17th around 11am, Mr. Preza said that he approached the reception of Island Lodge Hotel looking for the Manager. The intentions of Mr. Preza were to discuss with the Manager the possibility of playing guitar for the Guests of the hotel.
Mr. Preza is a composer of classical acoustic music in Vienna, Austria. He is also a professional Enterprise Software Businessman, having worked in the USA, Africa, Europe and Latin America for the last 18 years, with high profile corporate customers like American Express, American Airlines, and other Fortune 100 companies as well as Intelligence agencies and Police around the world.
The receptionist at the Island Lodge Hotel said that the Manager, Mr. Raoul, will be back in the evening, so he should return at that time to discuss his proposal.
Mr. Diaz did return to the Island Lodge Hotel at 21:20 hours, local time, as suggested by the receptionist. He said he parked his bicycle at the entrance and approached the security guard. He told the guard that he wanted to speak with the Manager Mr. Raoul. The guard told him to go to the reception.
Mr. Diaz said that after walking 5 or 7 meters, a man suddenly appeared from a door and immediately asked him his name and what he wanted. Mr. Diaz said that before he could answer the man immediately yelled very loud “GET OUT”, twice or 3 times, to which he responded “I am looking for the manager Mr. Raoul, are you Mr. Raoul?” The man replied “obviously you do not know who I am.” So Mr. Diaz asked “Sir, who are you then?” The man answered “I am Mr. So and So” “GET OUT”, with a sneer on his mouth like he was smiling.
Mr. Diaz said that he honestly thought the man was just joking, and he asked the man “Are you serious Sir?”
He replied “That is the problem with you people” and he hit him in the mouth, making him bleed. Mr. Diaz claims that the whole incident took place in front of staff and Hotel guests.
Mr. Diaz said that after he realized he had been hit in the face and that he was bleeding, he just turned around and left. The person who hit him, he said, is none other than Gregoire Payet. Mr. Diaz said the man yelled to the Security Guard in creole as he was leaving.
Mr Diaz then immediately went to the Police Station in La Digue. It was 21:45 hours. There was only one officer at the station, a young policeman. He was very polite and helpful and he asked Mr. Diaz if he needed a doctor and showed him the bathroom to check out the wounds in the mirror. Mr. Diaz told the officer that he will be going to the hospital after talking to him and making a police report.
Mr. Diaz said that when he went to the Hotel, he was very nicely dressed. He said that he even had shoes and was sober. He said that he hardly drinks alcohol anyway and he did not make any trouble. “Otherwise the Island Lodge would have called the police themselves to arrest me and bring charges against me. I would still be in jail for sure if I would have been out of order.” he said
At the Police Station, he told the young officer what had happened and the police officer entered his complaint in the police occurrence book and then he made a phone call. He even said “I know how you feel; I would not like to be in your shoes.” A few minutes later two other policemen arrived at the station. Mr. Diaz said that he later found out that the officer in charge (one of the officers who arrived) was called “Leggaie” (or something like that) and he immediately started yelling and shouting at Mr. Diaz in a very loud and aggressive manner.
Mr. Diaz said, “I told him I was the victim and I should be treated accordingly.” He said that Leggaie then yelled at him “SHUT UP” and told him that he would get in trouble or in jail if he “did not follow his rules.”
“I said nothing else. I stayed seated and quiet.” Mr. Diaz said.
“After that he made a long phone call (in creole) about 5 minutes or so, and then he told me -in the same aggressive way- that all is known now and I should go home. I asked to fill out the Police Report to which he did not let me do, and when I asked him to go with me to look for the man so they can fine him or catch him, he said “the man was already sent home, we know who he is”
I asked him “how can you know who the culprit is if I have not showed you the person?”
He responded “We know who he is. Finish”
I asked for the name of the person so I can fill out the Police Report, to which he responded “You keep your name, I keep my name, we keep the man’s name”
I asked him then “whom are you protecting? Why am I not allowed to fill out a police report?”
I told him I knew people in Mahé Police Headquarters, and that I was going to call them. Mr. Leggaie yelled YOU CAN CALL THE FBI; CIA; INTERPOL; ANYONE YOU WANT: GO HOME!
He yelled again “COME TOMORROW AT 9AM, GO NOW”
So I went to my hotel.”
I returned to the station a few minutes later with my Girlfriend, an Austrian Citizen, to ask Officer “Leggaie” for his name and for the name of the man who hit me. Mr. Leggaie yelled again at both of us, yelled out his name and turned his back to us, leaving in his vehicle. At the Police Station doors were closed and I was not allowed to go back in.
I called immediately (from a pay phone) Mahé Police Headquarters and asked to speak to Officer Roger Teremouldy (Intelligence Officer, cell phone 722-253) and told him what had happened, he told me to call him back in 10 minutes. I did and he also said pretty much what Mr. Leggaie had said. Mr. Roger did not want to give me the name of the culprit either.
This is when I realized the man who hit me must be the Owner of the Hotel because he was being protected by the police. At the time I did not know who the aggressor’s name was, I had been only 30 hours in the island and had spent the time at the beach. I knew nothing about the politics of La Digue or Seychelles.
In the morning I told the owners of the Guest House what had happened. They told me that Mr. Gregoire Payet is the owner of the hotel and from almost the whole island, as well as many more islands. Mr. Payet is a very rich man they said, and I should be careful. They kindly suggested that I forget the incident because “if you make problems, Gregoire can send people to kill you”
I called Mr. Roger in the morning of Monday August 18th and told him I was not going to return to the police because I feared for my life and for my girlfriend. Actually, I wanted to leave Seychelles immediately but my girlfriend did not want to as we had paid a lot of money for the vacation and were not going to get it back.
A couple of days later I saw Mr. Payet on the streets of La Digue, I saw him actually several times, he saw me too, we used the same roads as La Digue is very small.
It is very unfortunate that this man Payet thinks just because he owns a few more coconuts than other people he can go around hitting people, worse hitting tourists. He lives from tourism.
However rich he might be, and a friend of the President Michel and Rene and other high-level Seychellois, he should not be allowed to hit tourist in public or otherwise.
He is a disgrace to all Seychelles and to the Seychellois. Seychellois are kind people, very friendly and honest. Unlike Gregoire, Seychellois are very very nice happy people.
I will be taking this matter with my Lawyers and intend to make it public in the Media (Europe, America, Asia, Australia, everywhere)
I hope Europeans, Americans, Canadians, and all tourists think twice before staying in any property of primitive Gregoire Payet, he does not deserve any support from us civilized people, how he called me.
Editor’s Note: I hope Mr. Diaz is not declared a Prohibited Immigrant!