11 Feb 2013

Kiribati police investigate violent death in Betio

8:11 pm on 11 February 2013

The police in Kiribati say two people could be responsible for the death of a man who had suffered extensive facial injuries.

The police in Betio say Teaitao Mikaere, who was in his early 30s, was found dead in Tarawa on Friday morning.

The assistant officer in charge of the Criminal Investigation Division, Raoranti Randolph, says the man's face was badly battered, which could be the result of being punched or hit with a hard object.

He says police are still investigating what happened to the deceased and says the man's wife told police she last saw him the night before.

"They just came to eat some food and then they had a quarrel and the deceased punched the wife and then the wife left him and caught on the bus back home. And the next morning they hear that he was dead."

Raoranti Randolph says given the man's injuries, two people could be responsible for his death.