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Belize City Police are trying to find the person or persons who deliberately set on fire a mobile home, the residence of forty eight year old Canadian businessman Daniel Briscbois. Briscbois told 7News that since he took over ownership of Club Planet formerly known as Planet Hollywood there have been several threats against him but it was not until Wednesday night that those threats turned real when his RTV valued at over hundred thousand dollars was destroyed.

According to the businessman he has been in Belize for the past two years and in February after buying the club situated at the corner of Gabourel Lane and Queen’s Street he decided to make it a membership only establishment and that is why he believes he is being attacked by certain individuals from the area who once had access to the building but are no longer allowed inside without an ID or membership card and now just want to make trouble.

Daniel Briscbois, Victim of Arson
“Wednesday night around 11:30 I heard somebody calling out that there was a fire and I came out and my mobile home was on fire.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
I notice it was extensively damaged.

Daniel Briscbois,
“Yes very extensively. Someone put gasoline under it and started a fire underneath it and burnt out the whole front of it.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
And the inside as well was destroyed.

Daniel Briscbois,
“The inside was destroyed as well and the thing that is really scary is that’s where I live, where I sleep, so somebody is trying to get back at me.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
And not only the trailor was destroyed but you’re saying your car as well is damaged.

Daniel Briscbois,
“My car was damaged earlier. Right now we run a very exclusive private club and so we don’t allow certain people, members of the public that are not members and those that are not members get frustrated, don’t want to follow the rules, don’t want to allow for the membership like everyone else does, and this is the retaliation that I am getting back from them.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
What is the estimated cost of damage here and what you intend to do?

Daniel Briscbois,
“These are about a hundred thousand U.S. dollars brand new and it is an older unit so I don’t have any insurance on it. I couldn’t get insurance on it so I am stuck with it. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it now.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
These are serious threats against your property, what do you intend to do?

Daniel Briscbois,
“I’ve contacted the police and asked for their assistance but nobody really saw anything, it happened in the middle of the night, and so they have their hands tied as well. So unless somebody come forward and speaks out, we are kind of in the dark here.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
You think you’ll get so frustrated that to the point that you’d plan to pack up and leave?

Daniel Briscbois,
“Never. I will not leave, I will stand my ground here. I am not giving up, never surrendering. They don’t know who they are dealing with. I am a businessman, I am not here to hurt anybody or anything – I am just trying to make a living like everyone else. I am trying to make a nice club for Belize and because we’re eliminating the ragamuffin element of people, the ones that give trouble and start the fights – we don’t want them in here. When you behave you can come in. As for now you are not welcome and so this is the result.”

Like we said Belize City police are investigating. They suspect arson because at the scene authorities retrieved from the scene a piece of a plastic water bottle with liquid which appears to be kerosene. They strongly believe that was used to start the fire. Most of the damage to the mobile home was inside the vehicle’s front cabin.