'Are you worth being spiked?' Club owner hits back over allegations. Video / 9 News
The Perth nightclub owner at the centre of drink spiking furore has insisted his nightclub is "very safe" and asked again why someone would spike the drink of a 19-year-old woman in the club.
Neil Scott, 66, has owned the Rapture Nightclub in Perth for 37 years and said it was "one of the safest nightclubs" in the city in an interview with Nine News.
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.
Mr Scott hit back by posting CCTV footage of Miss Smith outside the club on his Facebook page and was widely criticised for mocking the alleged victim, news.com.au reported.
Miss Smith told Nine News she woke up in a "toilet stall. There was vomit everywhere and I was foaming at the mouth."
"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.
But Mr Scott doubled down and 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."
Shantel Smith, 19, says her drink was spiked at Rapture Nightclub in Perth on Saturday night. Photo / Instagram
Earlier, Mr Scott, 66, copped 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.
"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.
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 the original patron's message. Photo / Supplied
They said their drink was spiked and asked the club to increase security. Photo / Supplied
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 patron shared the club's response, which has gone viral. Photo / Supplied
The respondent then goes on to say that no one would "be stupid enough to waste their drugs" spiking someone's drink.
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.
