Police Chief of Operations, ACP Livai Driu says they want to assure the family of the Tavua taxi driver, Nitesh Kumar who was allegedly murdered, that investigators are pursuing those involved and have established a few leads.
ACP Driu says they cannot stop members of the public from accessing taxi services, as PSV providers, however in the event the drivers do not feel safe at any point in time, they encourage them to stop at their nearest Police Station or Community Post or stop a police officer on the road for assistance.
His comments follow serious concerns raised by the Fiji Taxi Association.
The Fiji Taxi Association is seriously concerned about the alleged murder of the taxi driver from Tavua, and are threatening to take strike action if urgent action is not taken to protect taxi drivers.
General Secretary, Ashwin Lal says this is the third incident where a driver has been assaulted and murdered.
Lal says the Tavua taxi driver’s body was found in a creek in Tavua.
He says the association has been raising concerns from the taxi industry but nothing has been done.
Lal says there has been a lack of police patrols and check points from Tavua to Suva.
They are also calling for a harsh punishment to be given to the people involved in such crimes.
Lal adds the Traffic Department on the roads just use the radar guns for speeding to collect revenue.
However ACP Driu says the Divisional Traffic Officers have regular meetings with the Fiji Taxi Association members.
He says the Fiji Police Force conveys its condolences to Kumar’s family for their loss.
He dismisses claims made about lack of Police action, focusing solely on radar operations, during the conduct of any traffic operations.
ACP Driu says apart from radar operations, traffic officers have also detected other crimes during both radar operations and snap checkpoints and these have resulted in the arrest of those involved in drugs and other offences.
He says the traffic operations are multifaceted as officers are doing more than just focusing on traffic related offences.
