Who’s lying? Bevis or LIAT?

Bevis Sylvester

Caribbean airline LIAT has refuted claims by Delta Petroleum’s Tortola-based General Manager (GM) Bevis Sylvester, who has suggested that LIAT staff may have stolen his Blackberry phone on the aircraft on Feb. 3.

In a statement released today, LIAT branded the “allegations to be extremely serious”, noting that “the company has been in contact with the passenger and LIAT’s Security Department is continuing its investigations into the incident”.

LIAT said “based on reports received during our preliminary investigations:                          – Bevis Sylvester was not the last passenger to deplane, as one article suggests
– There is no record to support the claim that Mr. Sylvester identified an employee with whom he pleaded to return his phone
– Sylvester was assisted by LIAT representatives on duty who responded to his complaint that he could not locate his phone
– There is insufficient evidence to state that the alleged theft occurred onboard the aircraft or by a LIAT employee.”

The news first surfaced in St. Kitts-Nevis online publication, SKNVibes, in which Sylvester explained that he was visiting the Federation to conduct and finalise a number of business deals when he lost his cell phone. Sylvester said his company is planning to hold its annual staff gathering in March, and to host the massive event they had sought St. Kitts as its venue – hence the main reason for his visit.

Sylvester told SKNVibes that after he disembarked the aircraft at the VC Bird International Airport in Antigua and was proceeding through the security area, he recalled that he had left his phone on one of the seats in the aircraft.

Sylvester explained that while in the aircraft he was in conversation with one of Tortola’s richest businessmen who was seated next to him.

“We were the last two persons to exist the plane as we were both having an important conversation, taking into consideration that we are both from Tortola. As we were going through security I realised that my phone was not on me, so I immediately informed security that my phone was left on the seat. Now we were the last two persons and it was a mere two or three minutes I was out of the aircraft when I realised that my phone was not on me. I returned to the aircraft but found no phone and this left me devastated,” the general manager was quoted as saying.

He told the newspaper that his phone was a BlackBerry “and it contains invaluable and tremendous information that are critically important in his day-to-day execution of his duties”.

“It’s not just a BlackBerry phone, as I can always get another one. But it’s the information that was in that phone I am worried over. I have lost contact details and critically important information on a lot of persons, and some of the information is irreplaceable,” he said.

Sylvester is adamant that a LIAT employee picked up the phone.

“The phone was picked up by an employee of LIAT and this is not fair. You just can’t go around stealing people’s phone. This is inexcusable! I could understand if it were money or something like that, but to steal someone’s BlackBerry phone in this day and age is what I am really upset about,” he said.

The Delta GM told SKNVibes that he had an unsuccessful trip because the incident had affected a number of his planned meetings in the Federation.

“One of the LIAT employees at the airport was very embarrassed because they knew that the phone could have only been picked up by one of their staff. These people need to know that you can’t go around stealing like that. It’s not that I lost my phone but, rather, it was stolen from me; which means that I have some issues with persons stealing from the people who they are expected to serve and to provide a service to,” he was quoted as saying.

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43 Comments

  1. There's some truth!
    February 12, 2011

    I’m not too sure f all Mr Bevis said is true yet I can testify that LIAT employees do steal from people’s luggage!!! Its happened to me and others continuously!! This is an issue management should deal with instead of making it a laughing matter!! Yes!! They do laugh about it!!!

  2. eva
    February 12, 2011

    Me and my brother( his first time in Dominica) went home for reunion in 2008 and since it was his first trip he had a lot of things with him back for our mother that have not been back since she left in the late 70´s for Sweden, on our way back to Sweden his luggage was stolen in Antigua, after trying to get it back for over 1 year we had to give up, thats sad because it makes us HATE LIAT.

  3. www.besthealthstore.info
    February 12, 2011

    Liat has served dominica well, even if they have been having problems

  4. stop the bleeding
    February 11, 2011

    mister making noise about a phone..please he should be happy he landed safe and he alive…i suspect mister have some naked pics of girls he doh want nto get out lol

    • Too much
      February 11, 2011

      Girls or guys lol lol

      • hahahahaha
        February 13, 2011

        guys

  5. great thinking
    February 11, 2011

    In the interest of neutrality and evidence, I strongly believe that Mr. Bevis should not make unfounded conclusions. The repercussions might be too many to bear. It could be one of three things. 1. You misplaced the phone among your personal items and will find it at a later date. It has happened to many of us 2. A liat employee could have stolen it. 3. The gentleman you were speaking with could have gone off with it by mistake.

  6. Pal rep
    February 11, 2011

    Antigua’s airport is known for that. Just ask Dominicans, we been going thru that for years now. that’s whe we trying to go to night landing, int’l airport, anything to get out of the grip of Antigua’s airport and theft.

  7. MAESTRO
    February 11, 2011

    MR BEVIS IT IS VERY PATHETIC ( IF THAT IS A CORRECT TERMINOLOGY) CARLESS AND RECKLESS ON YOUR PART AS A BUSINESS EXECUTIVE TO MAKE A PUBLIC ALLEGATION WITHOUT SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT IT YOU ARE DOING YOR COMPANY A GREAT DIS-SERVICE AND INSTEAD OF FORGING A PARTNERSHIP OR RELATIONSHIP WITH LIAT YOU HAVE CREATED A MONSTER THAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL. THIS SHOULD HAVE NEVER GONE PUBLIC UNTIL AND UNLESS THE AIRLINE FAILED TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OR OFFERED TO REPLACE YOUR PHONE EVEN IF THEY ARE CONVINCED THAT IT WAS NOT ONWE OF THEIR STAFF MEMEBRS WHO STOLE YOUR BB. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT YOUR CLAIM AND YOU NEED TO APOLOGIZE TO LIAT AS YOU CANNOT SAY WHERE EXACTLY YOUR PHONE GOT MISPLACED AND WHO MAY HAVE PICKED IT UP. YOU NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED ANOTHER PASSENGER AND THAT PERSON COULD HAVE BEEN SITTING OR STANIDNG NEXT TO YOU WITH YOUR PROPERTY WHILE YOU WERE TRYIGN TO CONVIMCE YOUR PATHETIC AND CARELESS SELF THAT IT COULD ONLY BE A LIAT EMPLOYEE. WHO WOULD BE SO STUPID TO STEAL A BB ON A FILGHT THAT THEY ARE WORKING ON KNOWING THAT THE PASSENGER WILL RETURN TO LOOK FOR HIS PROPERTY AND ESPECIALLY IF IT IS ONLT LIAT STAFF LEFT ON THE FLIGHT AT THE TIME???????I AM ON LIAT’S SIDE THIS TIME AND THIS IS THE FIRST I AM HEARING OF SUCH ALLEGATIONS AGAINST LIAT STAFF MEMBERS. THEIR RECORD OF INTERGRITY IS PERFECT AND YOU SHOULD HAVE EXRCISE RESTRAINT IN MAKING THIS A PUBLIC THING. NOW YOU LOOK MORE FOOLISH THAT THE AIRLINE THAT YOU ARE SEEKING TO TARNISH. YOU ARE JUVENILE SIR.

    • hello
      February 11, 2011

      what utter rubbish and gabbage this blogger wrote..about intergrity! haha do you know what everyone is capable off…think before you blog!!

      • lol
        February 11, 2011

        well as a liat staff myself i have to agree with the previous blogger…up to todday passenger wasnt sure where he left his phone on arriving in dominica this morning..he was convinced he forgot it at immigration, how ever i got a discription of his phone and sent a message to barbados cuz that was the next stop and the cellphone was on its way back up from b/dos by 900am and is currently held at the liats office waiting to be picked up…2 days ago another passenger left his phone on the liats last flight to b/dos and we recovered it and sent to him….. you’d be supprised that the phone could bhave been picked up by another passenger…
        we had a situation last year where a athelete that went out to represent dominica in antigua picked up a passenger he was seating next to ipod while deplaning and denied having it…wwe had to get customs to search him and low and behold it was in his pocket…the flight was still ont he ground and it was returned to its owner…

        in the heat of his conversation with tortolas wealthy businessman he could have left the phone anywhere maybe even in tortola…

        • MAESTRO
          February 13, 2011

          Thank you LIAT STAFF MEMBER I guess we have lost all reason and we want to go with the first allegation and blame LIAT. I STAND BY MY COMMENT AS ONE INVOLVED FOR OVER TWO DECADES IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS. I never said that what Mr. Bevis alleged was not a possibilityb BUT it came out as if nothing else could have been the case with his phone and if thats the way he is going to handle such a matter in his workplace I would hope that the blogger who thinks more than i did before he/ she blogged would be the employee accused of theft innocently and FIRED. PEACE.

      • MAESTRO
        February 13, 2011

        Sorry I hurt your feelings blooger BUT I would think you who think alot more than people like me before you blog would have a lot more to share on the situation. Thanks anyways for your empty comments. We do appreciate all comments even from people like you who enjoy insulting others not even knowing how qaulified or informed the other person maybe to speak on the issue. When one makes a statement of allegation one must present enough and reasonable suspicion BUT the gentleman has NO IDEA about the disappearance of his phone BIT he is certain about one thing it has to be a LIAT EMPLOYEE on the flight that stole his BB. I pray and await the conclusion of the investigation and lets hope that when LIST is cleared of this senseless and baseless accusation you will join Mr Bevis in a public apology to LIAT. I never meant that what he alleges is not a possibloity BUt it cannot be the ONLY possiblilty NEVER. Until then he should not have gone public with that accusation. I pity the employees who work under his Supervision. I WISH YOU WERE ONE OF THEM. PEACE

        • MAESTRO
          February 13, 2011

          CORRECTION
          LINE 5: BUT
          LINE 6: LIAT

      • profiler
        February 14, 2011

        The man not even sure where he left his phone, resting your phone on a seat, sounds fishy to me. I know of some companies that would replace the phone, just for customer satisfaction….please LIAT don’t!!!!

    • hope
      February 12, 2011

      well said and this man should really APOLOGIZED Publicly to LIAT and Staffs because he run his mouth without any facts to support his claim so after he pick up his phone I would suggest that he apologized so to bring this chapter to a close.

  8. besthealthstore.info
    February 11, 2011

    Liat has a long history of both good and bad news i nthe caribbean

  9. Vibes
    February 11, 2011

    Why would a big company like LIAT want to steal a mere Blackberry? I can understand that they just had a 15million dollar loss, but geez, that would be stooping real low! lol.

    • Peeping Man!
      February 11, 2011

      One employee, isn’t the whole company,,That employee should just fess-up and return the phone…That is bad business for Liat..

  10. The truth
    February 11, 2011

    Some Liat staff are amazing. However on the flip side, I don. Put nothing pass others. There are some nasty pieces of work on the Liat employment line

  11. Wake up
    February 11, 2011

    Politicians with power are like crack addicts- Paros. They would do anything to hold on to power, lie cheat steal and kill. Yesterday the man said he is not resigning less than 24 hours he changed his mind .Power corrupt and corrupt absolutely. My fellow Dominicans please don’t put politicians on a pedestal. The people of Egypt knew that this leader , his family and cronies were ruthless crooks yet so many people refused to accept the truth even when the truth ws seating on their faces. Mubarak and company killed a lot of people , they victimized and oppressed so many people by implementing a police state system. They manipulated law enforcement to suite their agenda thus the reason why the police was quickly taken out of the picture.
    It is a Bab Kamawad moment for us in Dominica

  12. Piper
    February 11, 2011

    So let me get this straight. This guy has all these important contact and he did not take the 10 minutes it tales to back up his file on a computer?

    I have a BB and every now and again I sync my BB with MS Outlook. You then have a copy of all your phone contacts, and tasks in two places. You lose your BB? Simple, You buy yourself another one, go home, plug in your BB to your computer, and voila, all your contact and their numbers are back to where they belong.

    • bb master
      February 12, 2011

      you took the words out of my mouth…you could even use a simple application like google sync to back up all your contacts online while using the blackberry desktop manager to back up everything even phone settings and alarm times. whats more one can lock and encrypt your bb so that if it falls into the wrong hands it is rendered useless. i suspect this guy just wanted to upgrade his old bb but dont want to spend lol. he try and pull a stunt like what a recent artist at the creole festival tried

    • way papa
      February 13, 2011

      Yes Piper you hit the nail right on the head…Backup Backup Backup….I mean I am not rich and I would be bothered over losing my phone but man an exec or manager who can afford it why doesn’t he have a backup? Does the company he work for have an I.T department who could make recommendations like this?

  13. Dubique767
    February 11, 2011

    What type of executive are you, mate? Wek!wek!Wek! I lut ma leeta tel fone…Wek!Wek!Wek!

    How could you let a lost mobile phone hamper your business trip? I think you did not engage your critical thinking skills…where was you plan B, mate? These small things show whether a leader can stand and deliver in the face of adversity. Let us hope that your mobile does not have incriminating and salacious information. Is that why you are so pissed? Common, mate. You are an executive, for god sake. You may have lost the phone, but the data should reside with you mobile carrier, or you should have backed-up those important information. Leadership 101…Class begins in a few minutes. Don’t be late.

    It astonishes me that in this day and age, an executive’s business trip was not successful because he lost his phone. You are telling me that this business “leader” did not have the foresight or critical-thinking skills to engage his secretary in order to gain access to his important contact information? You are telling me that an executive got so emotional over losing a phone that he sabotaged his bread and butter? How could you not have a success trip as a result of losing a phone? Jesus, man! I have been on trips where I have lost my laptop with very pertinent data, and I was able to walk into a boardroom, and deliver my message without a glitch.

    • another
      February 11, 2011

      Hi Dubique767….well said…dont think Mr.Bevis is in that elite class of top notch Pros!
      haha…a true a rounded Pro also has many wings branching out..got to tap on your inner brain!

      Hats off D….ENJOY YOUR DAY!

      • Dubique767
        February 11, 2011

        same to you, mate.

    • Homeboy
      February 11, 2011

      May I recommend you for public office Dubique. Your advice on the banana quagmire and now your business 101 class. You have my full support.

      • Dubique767
        February 11, 2011

        Thank you, sir

    • Jayson
      February 11, 2011

      Hat’s off to u brother!!!

    • way papa
      February 13, 2011

      I think this guy got some strings pulled to get this managerial position. This is like the department of homeland security having all their data on one server without a backup and it crashes. LOL

  14. BC
    February 11, 2011

    Could this problem be isolated to LIAT employees in Antigua? I’ve used Liat in other islands and had no problems, but I lost a few things in Antigua. That was a long time ago so I guess it’s an ongoing problem.

  15. dont
    February 11, 2011

    Salaries,to liat employees exculding Management across the network is extremly poor, for a Monopoly Regional Air Carrier,present increase in cost of living does have a major pinch on staffers.

    those practices are completely in bad taste, but thats a reality of the Fact,that we must face.
    Due to the extremly Poor Management for decades in dealing with the overall situation.

    Liat runs wishy washy!

  16. Boyz2men
    February 11, 2011

    In Antigua??? why am not surprise???

  17. crackberry
    February 11, 2011

    if your BB is so precious to you.. and has such important information for your every day doings… i’d suggest you not be careless with your phone. my own BB doesn’t even have important info on it and believe me i know where is it every moment of the day because i can not afford to buy a new one.

    It’s embarrassing to be a grown man like that and loosing your phone. stop blaming other people. you were careless and left it… or maybe it was on you as you walked across the tarmac and it slipped from your pocket and some other person picked it up. it wasn’t stolen.. just whoever found it (if it wasn’t crushed on the tarmac) just isn’t a very honest person.

    I’d suggest a reward. no questions asked…if it really is just the info you want.

  18. hey
    February 11, 2011

    welcome to the club Mr. Bevis, thats nothing you with Liat it spreads from aircraft to offices…
    Factual is a lengendary legacy that is a underground secret element which management across the region know about almost on a daily basis!

    wonder how much monies and items stolen are unclaimed for throughout Liat’s network

    you would be very well surprise,any interestling many Bosses are asked to pay back the doe!!
    and given a tap on the back….Caribbean citizens would be surprise to know what pans out in Liat’s network throughout the region……liat needs a clensing Period!!

    • MAESTRO
      February 11, 2011

      What you have commented here and if you had not commented at all is the same, it equals to ZERO, you have made no contribution to the discussion.

      • dont
        February 11, 2011

        Maestro…..the truth will always offend ya!!….you misguided scale…

  19. Fairplay
    February 11, 2011

    Many Dominicans have suffered theft at the hands of airport workers in Antigua over the years.

    • tanty
      February 11, 2011

      oh yes fairplay we have suffered tremendously, I am not surprise. Shame

    • MAESTRO
      February 11, 2011

      Airport Employees does not translate to LIAT EMPLOYEES so let us be careful not to mix things up guys please?

  20. AmazingFace
    February 11, 2011

    Aylas! I can imagine what you went through. I don’t know why LIAT employers so voleh nuh..They made their reputation already.

  21. only in DA
    February 11, 2011

    Liat Employees stops stealing peoples belongings…..they stole my sneakers a few years ago…damn theives

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