A convicted Australian fraudster who cut his head on a boat propeller as he tried to escape police in Fiji will be discharged from hospital on Monday, a doctor said yesterday.
Peter Foster, 44, has been handcuffed and under police guard at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in the Fijian capital Suva since he was admitted with head injuries on Wednesday, Dr Ifeireini Waqainabete said.
Police had been hunting him for three weeks before his capture near Suva on Wednesday. They said that Foster cut his head on a boat propeller after diving into a river in an attempt to flee arresting officers.
Foster, who gained notoriety for promoting fake slimming products and dating 1980s British glamor model Samantha Fox, is a suspect in three criminal investigations involving international fraud, spreading false information and immigration violations.
"We decided that we'll keep him over the weekend, and he'll be discharged formally on Monday," said Waqainabete, who is treating Foster.
Fijian police agreed to let Foster remain in hospital until Monday before questioning him, even though doctors said he was fit enough to be discharged.
A doctor treating Foster said it was agreed he could recuperate at the hospital over the weekend, as he had nowhere else to stay.
Separately, Foster's lawyer said he plans to file a complaint against the police that they assaulted Foster after his arrest this week.
"He says that he was assaulted," Mehboob Raza told reporters in Suva. "I've got all the faith in the police force that they'll do the proper investigation."
Raza did not provide details of the alleged assault.
Foster has served jail terms in Australia, Britain and the US, mostly for fraud convictions. He once advised Cherie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in a property transaction.
Although there was never any suggestion the deal was illegal, she had to apologize after trying to cover up the extent of her dealings with the Australian.
Earlier this month, Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase asked his Home Affairs Minister how Foster had managed to slip into the country even though he has been barred since 2002.
Fiji's Immigration Department terminated Foster's work permit last week.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in