7 Aug 2006

Fiji police have arrested and charged 20 more for Lautoka attack

10:24 am on 7 August 2006

Fiji police have arrested and charged a further 20 men in connection with the storming of the headquarters of a large indigenous Fijian company in Lautoka late last Friday.

The Fiji Sun reports that the men, who have been charged with unlawful assembly and forcible entry and some with assault, are expected to appear in the Lautoka magistrate's court today.

Officers from the Police Tactical Response Unit are still looking for more than 50 other men who were also involved in the attack which was led by the sacked chief executive of Ba Provincial Holding Company, Isimeli Bose.

Bose, who was armed with n iron bar during the storming, was charged with unlawful assembly, forcible entry and two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm during an special sitting of the Lautoka magistrate's court on Saturday.

Although prosecutors strongly opposed bail, the magistrate released Bose on bail because as chairman of the state-owned Fiji Ports Corporation, he has to sign a multi-million dollar deal with the Chinese government today.

Several security guards guarding the premises who were assaulted and injured during the attack are in stable condition in Lautoka Hospital.