Not punishable, but unethical; possibly obstructed investigation

July 25, 2012 9:06 AM

WILLEMSTAD — The person who had taken the picture of the 6-year old twins found dead in a bathtub of a hotel room hadn’t committed a penal act. This also applies for having circulated the picture.

Nevertheless, it was unethical and the person, who took the picture on the so-called place of offence, possibly obstructed the investigation for clues. Obstructing the investigation is a penal act though.Officer of Justice Giselle Veen-Jonkhout stated the aforementioned. After the discovery of the drama in a hotel room of the Marriott Hotel Sunday evening, the picture was circulated via Blackberry and Facebook. The picture was deleted after a storm of indignation. The officer was on duty that evening. She saw the picture on the Blackberry of a police officer even before she had entered the bathroom. Besides the usual investigation into the facts of what seems a family drama, the police are also investigating who took and subsequently circulated the picture, said the officer of Justice. The 35-year old mother of the twins was admitted to the Klinika Capriles with a certificate of insanity. Shortly after the bodies were discovered, she was found at sea crying, perhaps wanting to take her life.

The Public Prosecutor requested autopsy on the bodies of the twins. This will establish the cause of death. For the time being the twins’ grandmother is to stay on the island for interrogation. She had come to Curaçao with her daughter and granddaughters for a holiday. The father of the girls is in Belgium and was informed, reported Joren Vandeweyer, spokesperson Foreign Affairs in Belgium. For privacy reasons, the identity of the mother and the victims will not be disclosed.

The consulate of Belgium on Curaçao will arrange legal assistance for the mother. The officer doesn’t know whether the father will travel to Curaçao but a family member will be coming to the island this week. The Public Prosecutor can release the bodies after the autopsy and the latter could be repatriated to Belgium for the funeral. Nothing is known about the background of the family.

The picture that was circulated Sunday evening had the watermark from morning newspaper Vigilante. Blackberry users, who had received the message on the drama, saw a link halfway in the message. Clicking on the link had produced the picture in question. The message hadn’t warned that the picture was shocking. The picture included an invitation to subscribe to the sms-service 8080 of Vigilante that passes on news from the police. The watermark from the newspaper was deleted from the picture later on.

From the Netherlands, Vigilante-director Lilo Sulvaran denied before the Antilliaans Dagblad that Vigilante had circulated the picture and said  that the person in question is to give account. He said the commotion about the picture is uncalled-for.

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