Perth nightclub owner goes on all-out attack over spiking

A Perth nightclub owner has launched a stunning attack on a teen whose drink was spiked, saying she’s “not particularly attractive” and made it all up.

The Perth nightclub owner who’s facing a major backlash over the way he’s dealing with a drink spiking incident in his club has launched yet another attack on the girl who reported it.

Neil Scott, 66, told theWest Australian today Shantel Smith — the 19-year-old girl who raised the alarm — is just a “plain Jane” who made up the story for attention.

“She’s not a particularly attractive girl,” he said. “It’s just implausible to imagine that she had her drink spiked, it just doesn’t sort of add up.

“She’s just a very plain Jane type of girl. I can’t understand why anybody would be possessed by her.”

It comes after Shantel Smith, 19, claimed she had her drink spiked in the club and sent a message to notify the staff. She received a dismissive response, which she shared on social media in a case that has now gone viral.

Ms Smith told Nine News she woke up in a “toilet stall. There was vomit everywhere and I was foaming at the mouth.”

Shantel Smith said she woke up in a “toilet stall” on Saturday night. Picture: Facebook

“I just couldn’t believe I was being blamed for something that happened to me without my knowledge,” she said about the furore that followed her Instagram post.

Mr Scott hit back by posting CCTV footage of Ms Smith outside the Rapture Nightclub in Perth on his Facebook page and was widely criticised for mocking the alleged victim.

Mr Scott said: “Lets face it, why would somebody spike her drink? Why would they do that? What are they hoping to get? What is she hoping to get from it? I don’t know if she thinks she’s special enough to be spiked, I don’t know if that’s how it works.”

Police have confirmed they are investigating.

But in the meantime, Mr Scott is copping a huge backlash online for posting CCTV of Ms Smith at the club on his Facebook page.

“The large girl with the white top, the short black skirt and the black and white shoes is Shantel Smith, the girl who claimed to have had her drink spiked,” he wrote.

Neil Temple Scott posted CCTV on his Facebook page.

He’s been slammed for his reaction.

“She can be seen entering Rapture Nightclub at 10.58pm and leaving at 2.53am. Note none of her friends seems perturbed at all.

“She seems in good spirits and did not leave the club once in the 2 hours 55 minutes of attendance. Nor did she seek help or assistance from any of the 14 staff on duty.”

In her Facebook messages, Ms Smith said she believed her drink was spiked at the club on Saturday.

“I only had 2 or 3 drinks before I came in so I definitely wasn’t drunk, bought 1 drink from the bar and was then unconscious for the next 2.5 hours, vomiting & experiencing other common symptoms of a date rape drug,” she said.

Shantel Smith, 19, says her drink was spiked at Rapture Nightclub in Perth on Saturday night.

Ms Smith suggested the owner should consider increasing the club’s security, noting that none of their friends will be going there again due to the lack of a single bouncer inside.

“I have since (after talking about what happened with friends) found out that this has also happened to 2 other people I know over the past couple of weeks all at Rapture,” she said.

“Word spreads fast so just wanted to let you know so you could try to make some extra precautions to help avoid things like this from happening. Luckily I have good friends who were looking after me but not everyone can be that lucky.”

This was her original message.

She said her drink was spiked and asked the club to increase security.

The screenshots allegedly show the manager of the nightclub doubting Ms Smith’s claims that she was spiked while at the venue.

In the messages, the club owner asks a serious of questions including “What proof do you have of your drink being spiked?”, “Why would anyone want to spike your drink?”, “Would you like a crowd controller to hold you drink for you next time you attend a nightclub?” and “Are you worth someone trying to spike your drink?”

The respondent then goes on to say that no one would “be stupid enough to waste their drugs” spiking someone’s drink.

The club’s response went viral.

The response has gone viral, and the club’s Facebook rating has plummeted to 1.1 stars out of 996 reviews.

Alisha Aitken-Radburn from The Bachelor/Bachie In Paradise shared the post to remind people that drink spiking happens, and victims deserve support.