BRUSSELS – The Aqualibi water park in Waver is assuring visitors that it is safe to visit the park. This comes just two days after a 17-year-old youth harassed two 15-year-old girls at the park and tried to rape one of them.

On Tuesday afternoon the youth accosted the two girls in a waterslide area and tried to rape one of them. He has been handed over to the juvenile court.

The mother of one of the victims was very shocked at the incident on Tuesday. She laments the fact that there are not enough safety measures in place. “It shows there is a total lack of competence. I don’t want the same thing to happen to other children,” she said. She is considering filing a complaint against the park.

The Walibi company is insisting that everything is being done to ensure visitors’ safety in the park. Lifeguards are trained to prevent these kinds of situations and the complex is equipped with surveillance cameras. The Waver police are immediately alerted in case of an incident.

“Both we and the police maintain a zero-tolerance policy. And a safety plan has been set up with the police,” a spokesperson for Walibi said.

The victim’s mother is also offended by the free tickets the teenagers were given after the incident.

“That is a misunderstanding. It has been our policy for the last 30 years to give a free ticket to anyone who has an unpleasant experience at the park so that they can come back under better circumstances. It is a commercial gesture,” said the park.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Belgian news