Issue No: 700; 25 April 2001

Leading the case is the reluctance of the police to charge Salaseini Gardiner with drunk driving offences after she crashed into the gates of the Government House on early Sunday morning with a car reportedly owned by former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. The Mercedes was later taken by the police, but released under suspicious circumstances. The police also initially refused to release any information to the media about the reasons for the driver not being charged and for the release of the vehicle. All questions were directed to the office of the Police Commissioner. But after public pressure, yesterday the police spokeswoman stated that the driver would be charged.

In another case, highlighted by today's Fiji Times, the police failed to attend to a report of a car robbery in Suva. A police post is located less than 5 minutes from the scene of the robbery. When the car was found, the police also did not attend to the scene and failed to find fingerprints.

Yet again, yesterday a TV report stated that the police failed to apprehend a thief who had stolen from a business outlet in Suva. The theft was recorded on surveillance video. But upon reporting, instead of viewing the video and apprehending the culprit, the police allowed the thief to go. The spokesman for the company said that the police released him because he may have been a `kaivata' - a relative or of the same stock. He also stated that a similar tape of another theft in February was given to the police but the police failed to asrrest the thief. He stated that the business community has lost confidence in the police force.