17 Sep 2019

Fiji deaths: Survivor's mother relieved at man's murder charge

From Checkpoint, 5:55 pm on 17 September 2019

The mother of the sole survivor of a mysterious and deadly poisoning tragedy in Fiji says she's relieved that a man known to the family has been charged with murder.

Sangeeta Devi's one year old baby was found last month in a remote part of the rural interior of Fiji, crawling among her dead relatives.

They had been caring for her while Ms Devi was in Australia. Ms Devi's parents, her sister and her two nieces died from drinking a poisonous liquid found at the scene.

Sixy-two-year-old Christchurch resident Muhammad Isoof has been charged with five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in relation to the baby.

He appeared in Nadi Magistrates Court on Monday and has been refused bail. Before charges were laid, he had been kept under under house arrest - almost next door to the family home of the victims, where Ms Devi and other close relatives have been staying.

RNZ Pacific's Jenny Meyer asked her how she felt about the man charged with killing three generations of her family now being behind bars.