French Ambassador mugged in Belize City

While the Prime Minister’s speech was well received by Belizeans and visitors alike, there was one foreign diplomat who never made it to the park. On Saturday morning the French Ambassador to Belize, having traveled here for the occasion from her base in El Salvador, was beaten and robbed as she walked down the street toward her hotel. Sixty year old ambassador Michelle Dantec, was returning from the Marine Terminal on foot to the Radisson on Cork Street about 9:15 a.m. when, as she reached almost in front of the Taiwanese Embassy, a man on a bicycle rode by and grabbed her purse. The feisty diplomat held on, at which point her assailant threw her to the ground and punched her several times in the face. He escaped with the handbag, which contained a watch worth two thousand Belize dollars, plus around three hundred dollars in cash. Dantec was treated at K.H.M.H. and also underwent tests at a private clinic. No permanent injuries were diagnosed and she left Belize today. This afternoon Police told News Five that they are looking for one Edward Westby of a Pink’s Alley address, who may be able to help them in their investigation.