The two cooks were apprehended by local police after a traffic control on Tuesday June 14.
They were held for immigration reasons for they could not produce any valid resident papers. As a result they qualified for free government room and board on the concrete floors of the local police station.
It was discovered that the two were the main chef cooks of St. Maarten well known Indian restaurant Shiv Sagar on the Front Street. The restaurant was forced to close its' doors because of the arrests. The owner was summoned to the police station and was told to bring passports and one way flight tickets.
The restaurant owner fully complied with the demands of the immigration-department, but found his and his personnel's' treatment by authorities very rude and unjust. The owner retained the services of the law office of Attorney Remco M. Stomp who immediately filed an injunction at the local court of first instance against the detention and the plan of the Governor to deport the two cooks back to their native India.
Stomp pointed out to the judge that the two gentlemen already remained on the island for more than 10 years with the necessary documentation. Their boss had, for the many years that they worked at the restaurant, always filed his requests for the work permits on time after which they were granted by government. The cooks therefore were always in the possession of a valid resident paper.
The fact that they could not produce their documents for 2010 was due to the fact that their employer retained the services of a new legal services provider in the Frontstreet area, which did not perform as was promised to the restaurant. As a result the restaurant did not receive its work permits on time, for the first time in a period of ten years.
"For this reason the Governor could have applied different measures instead of immediately detaining and deporting the two cooks and forcing the well known and law abiding restaurant to close its doors. The measures taken by the Governor are disproportionate and therefore illegal", Stomp argued.
The judge agreed with Stomp and judged the detention unlawful. The judge, consequently, ordered the immediate release of the two cooks.
