8 Nov 2006

Fiji grants bail to Foster amid poor jail conditions

3:02 pm on 8 November 2006

Australian conman, Peter Foster, has been granted bail by a Fiji court despite police fears he will try to flee the country.

A Suva magistrate has agreed Mr Foster should be granted bail because of the squalid conditions at the Fiji capital's remand centre.

Conditions for Mr Foster's bail will be set this afternoon.

Mr Foster has pleaded not guilty to forgery, uttering forged documents and obtaining a work permit on forged documents.

Fiji police have argued against the 44-year-old Australian being granted bail, saying there is a risk he will try to flee the country, but magistrate John Semisi said recent High Court rulings over the conditions at the Korovou remand centre meant he had no choice but to grant Mr Foster bail.