Chinese Tourist Accuses Maldives Hotel Of Doing ‘Nothing’ After She Was Raped By Staff
While vacations are always something to look forward to, a lot can go wrong during a trip.
Recently, a 26-year-old Chinese student posted damning allegations against a luxury resort in the Maldives, claiming that she was raped by one of the staff.
I was raped in the Maldives. I don’t know how many people this will reach to but help me get help. I arrived in the Maldives on the 6th. I was to return to China on the 10th but i extended mg stay and decided to stay at the @RCMaldives pic.twitter.com/Sw97N5j6qI
— XuYitong (@YolyYitong) June 18, 2023
She also accused the resort of trying to cover up the incident.
The hotel has since responded to her post, saying they are currently cooperating with the police to investigate the matter.
Chinese student allegedly raped in Maldives, shares story on Twitter
Twitter user @YolyYitong recounted her harrowing experience in a lengthy thread on Sunday (18 June).
“I was raped in the Maldives,” she wrote. “I don’t know how many people this will reach to (sic) but help me get help.”
Accompanying the post were images of bruises that the OP had supposedly sustained during the attack.
She also shared photos of police reports and health checkup receipts as proof that she went through such an ordeal.
There’s even a picture of a man, presumably the perpetrator, holding a bottle of champagne.
Source: @YolyYitong on Twitter
According to the OP, she arrived in the Maldives on 6 June and checked into The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, four days later.
Upon her arrival, she was assigned a butler, who helped her settle down in the hotel.
That same day, she accidentally got water on her phone and was unable to turn it on.
When she contacted the front desk for help, the butler came to her room and let her use his phone to speak to her mother.
It was during this time that the butler tried striking up a conversation with the OP, asking her about herself.
Things took an uncomfortable turn when he asked the OP if she “slept outside by the room pool”. This, the OP said, made her realise that he had been watching her.
The butler then left the room for a while but returned when the OP’s mother sent a message via his phone.
He started chewing gum and purportedly asked the OP if she wanted to kiss him, which left her feeling “numb”.
She declined, saying that she dislikes physical contact. However, the butler still allegedly proceeded to sexually assault her.
Tourist accuses authorities of trying to cover up incident
After he left, the OP took some time to compose herself and went to report the incident to the hotel managers.
Although they went to inspect the room, the OP claimed that they “made it look like nothing”, so she asked to call the police.
At that moment, two staff members allegedly came to take away her computer and a towel, both of which purportedly had the butler’s semen on them.
When the police arrived, they took a sample from the OP’s mouth and told her that they would need a week to get the results.
They also allegedly said that they had “no reason” to arrest the butler yet.
The OP added that she was asked to leave the hotel as soon as possible and that they never even apologised to her.
“I was raped in your hotel and you did nothing,” the OP stated. “You told me I did this to get a free stay. I paid the full amount to the hotel.”
Source: @YolyYitong on Twitter
Speaking to The Independent, the OP, who was identified as 26-year-old Australia-based student Xu Yitong, said that even though she has filed a police complaint, the Maldives government and its law enforcement agencies have yet to provide an official statement.
She also accused the authorities of attempting to cover up the whole thing.
As of right now, only the Chinese embassy in Malé has been in touch with her.
The Independent reported that the embassy had sent an email to the hotel, the police, and the deputy minister of tourism urging them to “find out the truth”.
Hotel says they’re cooperating with authorities
Responding to Ms Xu’s tweets on Tuesday (20 June), the hotel stated that they “take such allegations seriously” and that the police have taken charge of the matter.
Source: @RCMaldives on Twitter
“The safety and well-being of our guests and associates are of the utmost importance,” it emphasised.
“We continue to cooperate with the authorities, and are in regular communication with the guest.”
Citing a report by Raajje Online, The Independent also noted that the Maldives police are in the midst of questioning those connected to the case and collecting samples from the scene.
However, Ms Xu fired back in another tweet alleging that she has received “no communication nor an apology from the resort since the incident”.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Google and @YolyYitong on Twitter.
