Mohamed Bittich from Viswinkel Het Goudvisje in Breda is angry with the police. His case was destroyed by an attack last year on August 21, but the perpetrator is still not found. “I want to recover the damage, but they don’t even speak to me,” says the owner of the fish trade, who will soon be restarting as a fish restaurant.
Mohamed Bittich stands on a ladder with a large drill in his hands. The owner of the fish shop is hanging security cameras. And no, he doesn’t do that because there was an attack on his business last year. They were already there at the time, but an explosion and subsequent fire caused a destroyed facade and household effects.
To his frustration, Mohamed still does not know who is responsible for the attack. “My whole case was a total loss and the police let nothing know,” he says. “We are now half a year later and I really want to know what the research is doing. Whether they already have a perpetrator in mind. But they just don’t talk to me. It is really very sad, because they just push me away when I call.”
“You are afraid that such an attack is something personal.”
The owner of the goldfish thinks it is a strange state of affairs. “We are here in the center of Breda and there are a lot of cameras. There must be something to be seen. I want to know who the perpetrator is so that I can recover the damage.”
According to the police, there was still contact a few months ago. “In the meantime, there is no update to report and therefore no contact required,” a spokesperson said. “For now there is little or no investigative indication in this study anymore, but if there is new information, we will of course get started with it.”
The goldfish now looks very tight and new again. With the help of the landlord and crowd funding Mohamed has completely rebuilt his business half a year later. He is looking forward to the restart, but there is also uncertainty.
“The problem is that I still don’t know who did it,” he says. “Or what I have to look for. I really don’t know what it’s about, but you’re afraid it’s something personal. Suppose they’ll find out where I live. I have a woman and a child, and then it’s not nothing. I actually wanted to stop, but the people around me have dragged me through it. Don’t let them destroy them.
“My business and I have nothing to do with crime or money laundering.”
The attack can of course be a mistake, or intended for someone else. But Mohamed also knows that it is whispered that he would be ‘wrong’ himself. Where there is smoke is fire. “Well, those heroes behind their keyboard, huh. They know it all so well and say that I did something wrong.”
“But my business and I have nothing to do with crime or money laundering. Absolutely not. I have always worked hard from an early age, started as a cook and have structured something myself. Maybe it is envy. I really don’t know.”
“I can’t be destroyed by an idiot.”
On April 9, Mohamed officially reopens the doors of the goldfish. And if the municipality approves its permit application, the fishing shop will also be a fish restaurant with forty seats.
“I don’t let an idiot destroy,” he concludes. “I am not a criminal or money laundering and I will prove that too. And I am really looking forward to that.”
