January 9, 2008
By Michael Field
A badly beaten Fiji-New Zealand businessman discharged from a Suva hospital is fighting a bid by police who want to arrest him as the alleged leader of a plot to kill military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama.
It turned into high farce last night as frail IT millionaire Ballu Khan went to bed in his home in Suvaıs exclusive Domain home as three policeman sat outside on the deck trying to arrest him.
His lawyer, Auckland QC Peter Williams, was inside the house but made only a brief comment.
"The situation is changing hour by hour," he said.
Police were trying to find a Fiji doctor to certify that Mr Khan was healthy enough to be arrested.
Mr Khan was one of 17 people seized on November 3 by police over the alleged plot to kill Commodore Bainimarama and his Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.
He was severely beaten by soldiers at the police post outside Suva and put into Colonial War Memorial Hospital. He was briefly released from hospital.
Held
overnight at Suva Central Police station, his condition apparently
deteriorated. He was returned to hospital and later moved to the Suva
Private Hospital where he remained until yesterday.
A well-dressed Mr Khan left the hospital with Mr Williams yesterday, looking frail.
At first Mr Khan walked to a car and was about to leave when police tried stopping him. When the party left anyway for Domain police followed across Suva and then erected a roadblock in the street near the home.
Diplomatic sources say the situation around Mr Khan has become ambiguous amidst a belief some kind of plot was underway to remove the commodore who overthrew the democratically elected government of Laisenia Qarase on December 5, 2006.
Medical
sources familiar with Mr Khan's file said this week that Mr Khan has
sustained serious kidney damage and needs care outside of Fiji.
Mr Williams has been in Fiji seeking Mr Khanıs freedom, and ability to
travel to New Zealand, under the ancient common law Writ of Habeas Corpus.
The Fiji High Court is expected to rule on this tomorrow afternoon.
Although Mr Khanıs plight was won headlines outside Fiji, in the country most attention has centred on the other 10 accused who have been bailed on conspiracy to murder charges.
The most prominent has been Naitasiri paramount chief Inoke Takiveikata. He had been convicted of conspiracy to mutiny in November 2000 in which rebel soldiers tried to kill the Commodore. Last year he was freed on bail and soon after arrested in the conspiracy allegedly linked to Mr Khan.
The Fiji Director of Public Prosecutions Office this week told the court they are seeking to have the bail orders revoked.
Hearings are expected next week.
Copyright: Michael Field
