A Fiji mechanic who says he was hit by a stray bullet in the November 2000 army mutiny says he's fighting for compensation because he needs a hernia operation.
James Pillay initiated legal action in the Suva High Court against the military for gross negligence after claiming he was shot in the stomach in the firefight between rebel and loyalist soldiers who crushed the mutiny.
The 43-year-old father of three says he was shot in the driveway of his Samabula home from gunfire at the army camp at Nabua, about two kilometers away.
Mr Pillay says he needs about 10,000 US dollars for a private operation to fix three hernias resulting from the accident.
"It's a very big.trauma when you live with a foreign matter inside your body. At times I wonder why am I suffering like this. My stomach when its painful my children press it and people look at my stomach and sometimes make fun of it and say why is it so big and when I lift my shirt up and show them the scar I got and they're shocked to see it."
The trial is set for March 22nd but Mr Pillay says he'd be happy to settle out of court.
The 2000 mutiny aimed to assassinate the military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama and free coup frontman George Speight.
