Man armed with screwdriver robs tourist at Suicide Cliff

An unidentified man armed with a screwdriver robbed a female Russian tourist Tuesday afternoon at Suicide Cliff in Marpi and took off in her rented car.

The operations manager of Belka Tours, who went to Suicide Cliff after learning about the incident, said the victim was scared, visibly trembling, and fearful for her safety. She was reportedly expected to cut short her vacation on Saipan because of the incident.

The tourist lost her bag containing over $100 cash, a digital camera that costs $1,200, hotel keys, some documents, and other items.

The victim has bruises on her elbows that she sustained after falling to the ground during the struggle.

The manager, who asked that he not be identified, said he received a call yesterday afternoon that the car—a 2011 white Toyota Corolla—had been recovered.

There was no information yet if the suspect had been arrested. The Department of Public Safety has yet to release information about the robbery.

The Belka Tours operations manager said that the victim had rented a car and drove alone to Suicide Cliff where she spent about 10 minutes taking pictures.

When the tourist went back to her car and got on the driver’s seat, a man whose face was covered with a scarf suddenly entered the passenger side.

The suspect poked the screwdriver at the victim and grabbed the car keys from her. The victim tried to push the suspect, triggering a struggle that ended when the victim fell outside the car. The suspect managed to get the victim’s bag and took off with the vehicle.

Some Japanese tourists who were in scooters witnessed the incident. They tried to help the victim by assisting her and calling the police.

The manager said the victim, who still had her cell phone, called Russia about the incident. The manager said it was their agent in Russia who then contacted him.

He said when he arrived at Suicide Cliff at 4:50pm, police were already at the scene, interviewing the victim and witnesses.

The manager noticed that the victim was shaking. He then dropped her back at her hotel.

“She’s disappointed,” the manager said.

This was the victim’s first visit to Saipan. She arrived on Sunday and is expected to cut short her stay.

The manager said he is really sad with what had happened as this will result in bad publicity about Saipan in Russia.

“We’re trying to promote Saipan and this kind of incident will damage the tourism business,” he pointed out.

Several tourists have fallen prey to burglars in Suicide Cliff and other tourist spots in Marpi in the last few years.

The Russian market is composed of mostly quality tourists who stay longer than one week at a minimum. They mostly come from the Far East Russia cities of Khabarovsk, Yugno-Sakhalinsk, and Vladivostok. About 422 Russian tourists visited the CNMI in August this year, from 383 during the same month last year.