Island Property clarifies facts on Customary Land Management Office break-in
September 10, 2024 3:58 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
The Daily Post has received feedback regarding the article titled “Customary Land Database and Confidential Files at Risk” (Issue 7106, 5 September 2024) and wishes to correct the inaccuracies in the published report on the break-in at the Customary Land Management Office (CLMO).
Maintenance criticisms dismissed
The article stated, “The building, managed by Island Property, had long been criticised for its poor maintenance, particularly the shutter windows, which proved alarmingly easy to breach.” This statement, which was not attributed to a specific source, has been contested by Island Property. We acknowledge that Island Property has not received prior criticism regarding the building’s maintenance and retract the assertion that such criticisms were made.
Break-in history
It was incorrectly reported that this was the second break-in to the CLMO premises since moving in on 15 March 2023. In fact, this incident marks the first break-in at the new location.
Previous occupants
The article mentioned a break-in involving Care International in 2015. Island Property has clarified that Care International never occupied the building. The only known break-in in the past 20 years involved Youth Challenge Vanuatu, a previous tenant.
“The only other break-in we know of in the last 20 years was when Youth Challenge, the tenant several years ago, had their office broken into by someone we were later told was a former member of their staff,” explained Douglas Patterson, Principal of Island Property.
Security measures
Contrary to the article’s implications, the hardwood entry door to the CLMO premises features both a security lockset and a deadbolt. The internal doors also have similar security features.
“It was designed this way so that if a burglar did manage to gain entry to any of these offices from the outside, they would not be able to easily access other parts of the premises without causing significant damage to the hardwood doors and frames,” Mr. Patterson explained.
“In fact, the burglars last week tried to break open some of the locked internal doors but were unable to, despite badly damaging the hardwood frames. The toilet windows also have steel security bars to allow for ventilation while remaining secure.”
Mr. Patterson also noted, “The article reported that staff ‘had diligently ensured that all doors were locked and secure’ – which may well be true. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the shutters. The shutter used for gaining entry, plus several others, were not properly locked, which I pointed out to a number of the CLMO staff on Thursday morning.
“Each shutter has a sliding bolt on the inside that, if properly slid into place, makes it extremely difficult to open the shutter from the outside without causing significant damage to the shutter itself and the channelling.”
