Two individuals, at around 9 pm this Saturday, July 27, set fire to the floor of the café located in Cais da Ribeira, in Funchal, leaving the premises immediately afterwards. The space’s security cameras recorded the moment.
To DIÁRIO, the owner of the establishment, Márcio Nóbrega, gave an account of what happened: “They entered during the day and it was still quite busy. However, people were leaving and they stayed there and then made a bonfire. When they left, they lowered their heads. In other words, what they did was premeditated. It was on purpose.”
The situation did not end in something more serious because the flooring is synthetic. “They left and left it burning. It went out naturally as the flooring is synthetic and ended up not catching fire. If it had been made of wood, the whole floor would have burned down.”
The value of the damage is, according to him, “at least 500 euros” to replace the floor.
Márcio Nóbrega says he will take measures to prevent similar situations from happening again. “What I was told is that they called the police, but no one showed up. Because of this, we will have permanent security from tomorrow onwards.”
He says that the place has been used inappropriately at night. “It’s too much. A few days ago, chairs were thrown onto the ground and into the sea. A few days ago, homeless people were sleeping there. It’s constant. There’s no security at all in that part of the city. It’s just crime. Fishermen also go there,” the owner confesses.
He also adds that in the future he will have to put a gate in place so that the space can be closed at night: “We are going to put an iron gate, but for now we are going to put a permanent security guard”, he reiterates.
Tired of these situations, he argues that the city of Funchal needs more policing, especially at night and in the early hours of the morning.