Transcript
RICARDO FISHER: They took me back to the police station and pulled me out of the truck and beat me. Beat me in the carpark of the police station. I got arrested for drunken disorderly. So they pulled me out and a friend of mine saw me getting beaten in the carpark by the police and he tried to jump on top of me to try and stop them from beating me, so they proceeded to beat him. Then the pulled him off of me and dragged me to the police cells, beat me in front of the police cells and then dragged me into the police cells and then more of them came. I dropped to the ground as I was beaten in the cells, I remember covering my face, because they were punching my face and then the rest of them were stomping on my body. When I woke up, I couldn't move, so I was laying on the ground of the police cell all morning. Then they came and gave me some food. I told them I couldn't move and I couldn't even reach for the food and they just said 'just get the food'. Then lunch time, I lay on the floor all morning until lunchtime. They came and brought food at lunchtime and they said 'what you don't want to eat?' I told them I can't move. They just kicked the food into the cell and left me there for another hour or two. Then finally they came in to find out what was wrong with me because I was crying in pain. They finally came and carried me, they had to carry me on to the back of police truck and then take me to the hospital from there.
SALLY ROUND: You were quite heavily intoxicated were you?
RF: The night, on Monday night, yes.
SR: But you do clearly remember what happened?
RF: I do clearly remember.
SR: So you weren't that intoxicated that you were completely blind drunk?
RF: No, no, I wasn't.
SR: So then you were in hospital for a couple of days? Is that right?
RF: Yes. Until Thursday. They said I had broken ribs on both sides. I thought it was my spine because I had a lot of trouble moving. They did an xray and CT scan on my spine and they said there are no fractures on my spinal cord. That is the thing that I was mostly worried about. So just broken ribs and just bruising all along my back and my chest area.
SR: And you were under police guard while you were at hospital?
RF: Yes that is right. As soon as I was discharged from the hospital, police took me back to the station and charged me for drunken disorderly and misconduct at the police station and resist arrest. So they just charged me and then they released me on bail to my parents. As soon as I was released, I lodged a complaint with the police station, telling them I was beaten and they just put the complaint down in their book. I also lodged a complaint that I also had like $150 missing from my wallet when I received my property back. I just would like people brought to justice because this seems to keep happening to everybody. People are dying and they just get away with whatever they do.
The Fiji police have been contacted for comment.
