12 Nov 2007

NZ conspiracy suspect stops eating in Fiji hospital

6:12 am on 12 November 2007

There are further worries about the health of Ballu Khan, the New Zealand citizen alleged to have been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Fiji's interim prime minister.

Mr Khan, is who is under police guard in hospital in Suva, is reported to have stopped eating.

His Suva lawyer Tevita Fa has told Fiji TV that Mr Khan has told him he does not feel like consuming anything

Mr Khan has been in hospital since November the 3rd after sustaining injuries when he was allegedly assaulted by the military and the police during his arrest.

Mr Fa says he will apply for a team of three independent doctors to examine his client today.

Meanwhile, the police have rejected Mr Fa's request that Ballu Khan be allowed to leave for medical treatment in New Zealand for fear that he may not return because of the serious nature of his alleged offences.

Eleven other people who appeared in the Suva magistrate's court last week for being part of the same plot were charged with inciting mutiny and conspiracy to murder.