(COLOMBO) – An Australian man was hospitalized after he was attacked by a mob in Southern Sri Lanka on Monday evening following a festering hotel furor, police said Tuesday.
They said Mark Williams 57 was attacked by goons hired by suspected competitors on the same evening he commissioned the budget hotel ‘Headspace’ which had been closed for more than two years.
The attack took place in front of several horrified foreign guests and others.
Williams was attacked after he had attempted to speak with the mob aimed at settling the issue, police said.
Three persons were subsequently arrested in connection with the incident but were later released on police bail.
A large number of foreign nationals are known to operate guest houses, motels, restaurants, hotels and so on in the south which is a tourist hot spot.
Monday’s incident comes after the island-nation boasted on Tuesday that it had received 151,496 tourists in November which is the highest number for a single month.
The bulk of the tourists had arrived from India, the Russian Federation and Germany, according to officials.
