NZer claims she was cruise ship spiked-drinks victim

An Auckland woman says she was the victim of drink-spiking aboard the same cruise ship on which an Australian woman died naked in the cabin of four men.

Kasmira Sewpershad, 22, an advertising executive from Auckland, said it was not hard to see how Dianne Brimble's death occurred.

"Security on cruise ships needs to be a lot better," she said.

Ms Sewpershad told Brisbane's Sunday Mail newspaper that she was left "sick and disoriented" after something was slipped into her glass during a 12-day cruise on P&O's Pacific Sky liner in December.

The incident occurred during a pyjama party in the ship's Starlight Disco -- the same nightspot where Mrs Brimble was last seen socialising with a group of men before she was found dead and naked on the floor of a cabin in September 2002.

An inquest has heard the Brisbane mother-of-three died from a lethal dose of a date-rape drug.

Ms Sewpershad initially contacted the cruise-bruise.com website, which logs crimes aboard liners, after reading about Mrs Brimble.

She is angry that when she reported her incident to ship staff, they told her there had never been a drink-spiking incident on the Pacific Sky before.

"Surely medical staff should have known about this and therefore treated the matter very seriously," she said.

"Instead they chose to lie. How many people are going to have to die from cases like this before anything is done about it?"

Ms Sewpershad and her brother Nivin, 18, went on the cruise with their parents to mark the couple's 25th anniversary.

She says she was targeted by drink spikers after leaving her glass to take part in games at the party on the third night at sea.

Suffering nausea, shakiness, disorientation and memory loss, she went to wake her parents and they called for medical help. But a nurse told them the doctor was off-duty and it would have to wait until the next day. A blood test to check for drink spiking would cost them $500.

"When I recovered, I was infuriated to hear how P&O had dealt with this situation," Ms Sewpershad said.

A P&O spokesman said procedures had been reviewed and improved so any passenger claiming, or suspected, of having been affected by drugs could request a test and it would be paid for by the cruise line.

- NZPA