OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | day 12.45pm.
THE Giddings family from England, injured in the Planet Hollywood bomb blast 13 months ago, were invited to the city for a “friendly meeting” but they weren’t smiling afterwards, the Cape Times reported on Friday.
Planet Hollywood bomb blast victims who expected to be compensated for injuries in the terror attack learned on Thursday that they would have to prove the restaurant was negligent before they could be paid out.
The Giddings family, whose daughter Laura lost her left foot in the blast, said they had been invited by Planet Hollywood International to come to Cape Town for a “friendly meeting.”
“We were made to believe it was going to be a friendly chat, but we became suspicious when we were invited to a lawyer’s office, and so asked our lawyer to come with us,” said Tony Giddings.
“They told us we have to prove that Planet Hollywood was negligent. The attitude they displayed showed contempt for the people who were injured in that blast.
“Their people shook our hands when we were at the hospital and promised to look after us. Even their superstars promised to help us, but nothing has been done,” he said.
LeisureNet, the Planet Hollywood franchise holder in South Africa, said in a statement on Thursday night that any claims for compensation should be made to the Victims’ Relief Fund.
They were responding to a statement by the Giddings family that they wanted to lay a claim against LeisureNet Limited.
Leisurenet’s statement said the Victims’ Relief Fund, to which Planet Hollywood International and LeisureNet made contributions, had been set up to assist individuals and families.
Nico Smuts, spokesman for LeisureNet Limited, did not respond to messages left on his cellphone.
Tony Giddings, who lost his big toe and was told by doctors that his leg would have to be amputated when he gets older, said his family was not intending to take money from the Victims’ Relief Fund, as it didn’t have enough money.
He said that although the Planet Hollywood shareholders, such as Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, had promised to donate R1-million to the fund, only R750000 had been received by the fund.
Giddings said money from the Victims’ Relief Fund should be given to South Africans, and particularly to victims who are less fortunate than his family.