A Chinese woman, Xu Yitong, has taken to social media to share her allegations of se*xual assault against a staff member at a luxury hotel resort in the Maldives. Xu, a 26-year-old University of Sydney student traveling alone, recounted her distressing experience on Twitter. She claimed that a butler named Usham, assigned to her at the Ritz-Carlton Maldives Fari Islands, se*xually assaulted her. Shockingly, Xu also revealed that the hotel resort forced her to leave without offering any form of apology.
Xu explained that she had requested assistance from the front desk to contact her family after her phone broke, which led to the hotel sending Usham to her room.
“He started forcing his tongue into my mouth and said ‘I will be a gentleman,’” she said. “He then pushed me to bed and started removing his pants and he put his penis in my mouth twice. He then went ahead and touched me down in my private part and tried to [do] intercourse.”
The aftermath: Shortly after the incident, Xu said she informed hotel managers, who allegedly “made it look like nothing.” She then requested the police.
She said two staff members then took her computer — which allegedly had Usham’s semen on its screen — and a towel he used to wipe it before she told them that it should be handed over to the police only. Authorities eventually arrived, took a sample from her mouth, and informed her that results would take a week and that they could not arrest Usham yet.
Xu, who appeared to have bruises all over her body, also underwent a medical exam. Meanwhile, Ritz-Carlton allegedly told her to leave “at the earliest” and that the case had nothing to do with the hotel.
Xu additionally said the hotel resort also accused her of trying to get free accommodation: “You only train your housekeepers to ask for tip @RitzCarlton. I was raped in your hotel and you did nothing. You told me I did this to get a free stay. I paid the full amount to the hotel.”
What the hotel resort is saying: Ritz-Carlton Maldives Fari Islands said the matter is now under investigation.
“We take such allegations seriously and this matter is currently with the police. The safety and well-being of our guests and associates are of the utmost importance. We continue to cooperate with the authorities, and are in regular communication with the guest,” it tweeted in response to Xu’s allegations.
Chinese Embassy responds: The Chinese Embassy in the Maldives said it attaches great importance to the case and that it has lodged representations with local police, tourism authorities, and the hotel resort itself. It vowed to maintain communication with local authorities as the case progresses.