Police have now confirmed that there were no Asian men trying to kidnap a primary school student in Valelevu last week, and based on CCTV footage, and also confirmed by the student, the people in the white van in question, were not the ones trying to kidnap her.
Police have stated that all three cases of alleged kidnappings reported to date have turned out false and due to the seriousness of the allegations, all investigation files will be sent to the DPP’s Office for their independent legal advice.
Police say the unwarranted attacks on the Chinese community is of great concern and they are advising parents and guardians to talk to their children about the consequences of making up stories which have caused nationwide panic and resulted in the Chinese community being unfairly victimised.
The investigation file into the alleged kidnapping incident involving the 11 year old student will also be forwarded to the DPP’s Office.
Investigators reviewed the CCTV footage where only one white van was sighted in the lane heading towards Nadera opposite Gospel Primary contrary to earlier information provided of it being sighted in the opposite lane.
A man and a woman were seen seated in the front and three children were seen seated in the back.
Investigators managed to extract the registration number and traced the vehicle to a family residing in Nadera.
The family of five including three students were brought in to the Valelevu Police Station where they identified themselves after viewing the CCTV footage.
The family confirmed that they were returning from Kalabu and heading towards Nadera on the morning of the alleged incident when their car was captured on camera as they were caught in the morning traffic where the student was also seen next to the van.
Police say the 11 year old student was asked to come in again and in the presence of her parents viewed the footage again and positively identified herself standing next to the van. She has also positively identified the five occupants who were all at the Police Station and admitted that there were in fact no Asian men in the car.
The victim's parents have been advised to seek counselling for their child.
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