22 Oct 2015

Fifth suspect in Fiji torture video case still at large

5:12 pm on 22 October 2015

The Fiji Police are yet to arrest the fifth suspect in the 2012 beating of prison escapees shown in a video leaked online.

The other four appeared in court yesterday charged with sexual assault, and will appear again in court next Wednesday.

The suspect, Pita Matairavula, will be produced in court once he has been located.

Mr Matairavula has been a member of the Fiji military and worked as the Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama's personal security officer.

Earlier this year, he was granted bail following another court case in which he was among nine people charged with the manslaughter and rape of Vilikesa Soko.

The nine were granted bail, with the Magistrate ruling there was no evidence to indicate the accused were a flight risk.

This week's court appearance follows a protracted investigation which had once been closed before it was re-opened.

When the video of the abuse was leaked, Mr Bainimarama vowed to stick by his men, saying he couldn't discard them because they did their duty in looking after the security of Fiji.