A security guard stationed at Ile-aux-Cerfs handed over a skipper to National Coast Guard (NCG) police officers late in the afternoon of Wednesday June 7. Earlier, Tawan Khuttur, a 21-year-old resident of Quatre-Cocos, had sexually abused an 11-year-old Indian tourist. The family, who arrived in Mauritius on Saturday June 4, were due to leave again on Saturday June 10. A policewoman assigned to the Family Protection Brigade took the girl’s statement at the Trou-aux-Biches police station that evening.
She was with her parents on Ile-aux-Cerfs at around 3pm last Wednesday. At some point, a stranger asked her to accompany him to the catamaran. As they walked down a path, she saw her mother and called out to her, but didn’t hear her. A little embarrassed, she told the skipper she wanted her mother to come with them. He turned a deaf ear before grabbing her by the arm and dragging her into a tent. He threw her to the ground and bit her on several parts of her face and body. Then he forcibly undressed her before sexually abusing her. She tried to scream but the skipper hit her. Then he told her to put her clothes back on, and she took the opportunity to run away and tell her father all about it, pointing to the skipper who was running away.
The girl, complaining of body pains, was taken to the Medical Inspection Room at Victoria Hospital, Candos, where she was examined by Dr Prem Chamane, Principal Police Medical Officer. The victim’s clothing was seized as evidence for examination at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Réduit. After giving his statement, the suspect was taken into custody at the Trou-d’Eau-Douce police station. He was brought before the Flacq court on Thursday June 8 before being returned to his cell.
