5 Mar 2013

Fiji police order probe into videotaped beating

7:02 pm on 5 March 2013

Fiji police say an investigation has been ordered into the prolonged beating of two men, which was recorded on video and released on the internet.

In statement, police say they understand the two are recaptured prisoners.

They also say they know that the men who appear in the video are not the prisoners who escaped from Naboro last year.

The nine-minute recording shows the faces of several of the men involved in the abuse and also shows the licence plate of a pick-up truck, on which one of the tied-up men was beaten and stripped.

It is not known who made the video and who released it.

The police say they are determined to expeditiously resolve the case.

In November, police said it could be months before an investigation would be finished into the recapture of the Naboro prisoners who suffered serious injuries when the military and police caught them.

At least four of the five men were hospitalised, including one who had to have his leg amputated.

The government said last year it launched an investigation into their recapture but to date has declined to comment.