Woman left laying on the road for more than an hour, but Police say they were following strict procedures

Is it right to leave a body for more than 1 hour and 15 minutes in the middle of the road after a fatal accident?

Fijivillage has raised this question after the 77-year-old woman who died in the road accident outside Lami Police Station just after 10am Saturday, was left in the middle of the road until about 11.15am.

We have asked Police why this was done as they could have chalked the area where the woman’s body had landed and removed the body to give her some respect and dignity after her tragic death. 

In her response, Police Spokesperson Ana Naisoro said that this was due to the work of their forensics team and this was also relayed to the family which they understood and no complaint has been raised by them in the manner in which the investigation was conducted.

The forensics team in the Southern Division is only based in Nasova and Naisoro says that they have strict procedures not to remove the body from the scene until the forensics team finish their work.

We again raised the issue if they could relook at the matter even if the complaint has not been filed by the woman’s family, as it is not right to leave a body on the road for such a long time.

Fijivillage raised the issue about respect and dignity.

Naisoro later said that they will look at their response time as well.