A video of a man who kept on asking why he was handcuffed and pleading with police officers in Nadi Town to talk to his wife and children before he is taken to the Police Station for failing to wear a mask in a public place has gone viral on Facebook.
It is 5 minutes long and shows the handcuffed man being directed by two arresting officers.
As the two officers repeatedly ask the man to go with them, a crowd starts to gather and people can be heard screaming let him go.
One of the officers can then be heard urging people to move back and not obstruct them from doing their duty.
Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho says the officers handled themselves professionally in what had become an unnecessary tense situation as members of the public tried to interfere with officers who were conducting their duties.
He says in this particular case they were escorting an individual back to the station after he allegedly failed to cooperate and became confrontational with officers when asked about his failure to comply with COVID safe health regulations.
Qiliho adds people were quick to make assumptions based on the carefully edited video that had one intention and that was to discredit Police.
