The leader of the Fiji Labour Party, Mahendra Chaudhry, has criticized the handling of a Ferris wheel accident at the Fiji Showcase last year. The incident took place on the first day of the Showcase and led to the tragic death of a 21-year-old woman who fell off the wheel.
The Suva City Council has announced that no Ferris wheels will operate at the Hibiscus Festival this year. The council’s special administrator, Opetaia Ravai, stated that safety will be a top priority during the festival.
Chaudhry criticized the authorities for not publicly reporting the tragedy. He stated that Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh is accountable to the people and accused Singh of failing to deliver justice to the victims, hold accountable the officials who inspected the Ferris wheel machinery, and ensure specialized treatment or trauma counseling for the victims and their families. Chaudhry also claimed that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had been sitting on the report for six months.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is still waiting for the police investigation file concerning the incident from last June. The Ministry of Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations submitted its findings with proposed changes to the ODPP on December 18, 2023.
After a comprehensive analysis of the file, the ODPP recommended that the police complete their parallel investigation and submit the file for further analysis of all evidence.
While the ODPP makes the decision on potential charges, it has not yet received a corresponding file from the police regarding their side of the investigation.
