MANILA, Philippines?The Court of Appeals has ordered the Shangri-La hotel in Makati City to pay the family of a Norwegian business executive P52 million in damages after he was robbed and killed in his hotel room 10 years ago.

The appellate court?s Eighth Division upheld a Quezon City Regional Trial Court?s decision of Oct. 25, 2005, that found the hotel remiss and liable in the death of Christian Harper, 30.

The court also increased the amount of damages awarded to Harper?s wife and son, Ellen Johanne Harper and Jonathan Christopher Harper, from the P43,901,055 awarded by the trial court to P52,078,702.50.

?Makati Shangri-La is a five-star hotel. The reasonable care it must exercise for the safety and comfort of its guests should be commensurate with the grade and quality of the accommodation it offers,? the appellate court said, concurring with the decision of the trial court.

Disagree with findings

In a statement, the hotel said that it did not agree with certain findings in the decision and would file an appeal.

?Makati Shangri-La has been advised of the decision of the Court of Appeals on the Harper case... and on advice of its legal advisors, it will proceed to appeal the decision,? the hotel said.

Harper, a business development executive for Alstom Power of Norway, was on a business trip when he was found dead in his 14th floor room on Nov. 6, 1999.

Bound, gagged with tape

Investigation showed he was robbed of cash, credit cards and a laptop. His eyes, mouth, hands and feet were bound with packaging and electrical tape.

Hotel cameras showed a man and a woman, both believed to be foreigners, going with Harper to his room hours before he was found dead.

Harper?s family filed for damages for the hotel?s alleged failure to provide ample security to the executive.

The hotel countered by saying that it was Harper?s negligence that led to the incident since he had brought the suspects into his room.

Adequate security lacking

?Defendant-appellant?s contention that it was Christian Harper?s own negligence in allowing the malefactors into his room that was the proximate cause of his death is untenable,? the appellate court said.

?To reiterate, the defendant-appellant is engaged in a business imbued with public interest, ergo, it is bound to provide adequate security to its guests. [D]efendant-appellant failed to exercise such reasonable care expected of it under the circumstances,? it said.

The hotel?s security officer testified that the victim?s visitors did not pass through security checks, and that other guests had reported losing valuables in their rooms, the court said.

The court learned that one of the suspects later tried to use Harper?s credit card to buy a watch at a nearby jewelry store, but left the shop in a hurry when the clerk tried to verify his identity.

The suspects have never been caught. Reports from Norman Bordadora; Agence France-Presse