Theo Hayez inquest hears about his ejection from Byron Bay bar before disappearance

A strict rule applied in NSW pubs and bars led to Theo Hayez’s ejection before he disappeared, and his family remains devastated.

An inquest into the disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez has heard why he was ejected from a bar in Byron Bay, to the “enormous distress” of his family, before he went missing in May of 2019.

Mr Hayez vanished after he was asked to leave the popular bar Cheeky Monkey’s while out with some fellow backpackers.

He was reported missing days later however, despite months of extensive searches that involved dozens of specialist police, SES employees and hundreds of volunteers from the local community, the 18-year-old has never been found.

Theo Hayez went missing in May 2019.

A two-week coronial inquest into his disappearance kicked off in Byron Bay today with Mr Hayez’s family getting an exemption to come to Australia and attend in person.

Speaking at the inquest, counsel assisting the coroner Kirsten Edwards said there was one particular detail that had left the family heartbroken – the fact that Mr Hayez had been kicked out of the bar despite evidence suggesting he wasn’t heavily intoxicated.

In her opening remarks, Ms Edwards ran through CCTV of Mr Hayez at a bottle shop and of him partying at Cheeky Monkey’s with a group of backpackers on the night of May 31, 2019.

Despite evidence showing Mr Hayez had only drunk two beers at the bar, and fellow backpackers telling police the 18-year-old didn’t appear to be intoxicated, he was asked to leave just before 11pm that night.

Cheeky Monkey's Bar where Mr Hayez was last seen. Picture: Regi Varghese

Mr Hayez went to the toilet just before 11pm at the club before he was spotted by a security guard.

“The security guard thought that he was swaying and he asked Theo to step outside,” Ms Edwards told the inquest, explaining the CCTV footage.

“What we're going to see is Theo and the security guard walking from the top near the bar outside towards the front.”

After walking outside, the security guard asked Mr Hayez to stand on a cross outside to have his photo taken “because he’s being ejected”, Ms Edwards said.

“You can see there, he’s talking to a man in the queue and using facial and head expressions like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on.’”

Mr Hayez was then told he’d been ejected for being too intoxicated and would not be allowed to re-enter Cheeky Monkey’s for the rest of the night.

The final footage police were able to find of Mr Hayez was CCTV just around the corner from Cheeky Monkey’s that showed the teenager texting on his phone and walking towards a pole.

But, at the last minute, he avoided the pole, something Ms Edwards used to support her theory Mr Hayez was not intoxicated.

CCTV of Mr Hayez after getting kicked out of Cheeky Monkey’s.

It was at this point in the inquest that Ms Edwards took a break to “explain” something, “particularly for the benefit of people outside of New South Wales”.

“The laws in New South Wales enforce responsible service of alcohol strictly and it may have been enforced particularly strictly in Byron Bay at this particular time,” Ms Edwards said.

“Licensees can face large fines and can lose their alcohol license if any intoxicated person is supplied alcohol on the premises. Some might say, ‘Well, why would you go to a pub if it wasn’t to be affected by alcohol?’ But that’s not the law in New South Wales.

“Bar owners and managers are encouraged by law enforcement officials in educational campaigns to be hyper-vigilant and to err on the side of caution.

“Security guards are trying to watch for signs of intoxication and have the discretion to assess whether someone is affected by alcohol. That process is far from scientific. It’s not done on blood analysis or breath analysis or even on how much alcohol a person has purchased.

“This of course means that mistakes can be made.”

The search for Theo involved hundreds of people. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Ms Edwards did not level blame at the security guard but did say the evidence as to whether Mr Hayez was actually drunk was “ambiguous”.

“He may have been affected, or it may just be that the confusion and language issues were misinterpreted.”

The incident sheet detailing all people that were ejected that night listed the reason Mr Hayez had been kicked out was because he was “approaching intoxication”.

Ms Edwards said the security guard and the manager of Cheeky Monkey’s would testify at the inquest later this week – evidence the family was eagerly awaiting.

“I can tell you on that, that Theo’s ejection on his own and without any chance to tell his friends has caused his family an enormous amount of distress,” Ms Edwards said.

“They feel that Theo wasn't affected (by alcohol) and the ejection was without any basis.”

Mr Hayez only had the contact details of one of the backpackers he had been partying with however the evidence did show the group had been drifting in different directions.

“None of them actually knew until the coronal investigation and the police investigation that Theo had been asked to leave and almost universally their reaction was confusion because they said that Theo didn't seem drunk … they said others in the bar seemed much more drunk,” Ms Edwards said.

There was no evidence to support earlier allegations Mr Hayez had been doing something wrong in Cheeky Monkey’s or that he had had his drink spiked.

After leaving Cheeky Monkey’s, Mr Hayez’s phone pinged throughout Byron Bay, with his last known whereabouts being near the Cape Byron Lighthouse just after 1am on June 1.

The inquest into his disappearance will run for the next two weeks.