The 77 Chinese nationals deported from Fiji by uniformed Chinese police in August were sex workers, not an online gambling fraud ring as officials claim, a source has told the ABC. The 77 people who are suspected to be involved in a massive online fraud syndicate were rounded up and flown from Nadi to China last week.
The ABC understands the deportees were mainly young women brought to Fiji to service the Chinese diaspora, but the Fijian government has refused to confirm or deny these claims. Residents from the area said the inhabitants were primarily young women aged between 15 and One of those deportees was a young mother with a baby. In the two weeks before their deportation, witnesses reported seeing Fijian police officers moving in and out of the compound - including movements that resembled a changing of the guard, and overnight shifts.
According to one local, who asked not to be identified, several of the women had attempted to escape, but were chased and caught by local police. Lawyer Aman Ravindra Singh said the deportation had serious implications. Previously, one of Singh's clients had complained about Chinese police officers working in the city of Lautoka, a move Singh describes as "a direct violation" of Fijian sovereignty.
This is so unreal. Almost like there had been an invasion of our jurisdiction. When asked why Fiji police had not publicly released any information about the group's deportation, commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho said they had not wanted to jeopardise the operation, but declined to comment further. Neither the office of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama nor the Chinese embassy in Suva would respond to allegations the deportees were teenage sex workers.
In , according to statistics from Investment Fiji, half of all foreign investment in the Pacific Island nation came from China, making it the single biggest source of direct foreign investment. The spending largely goes towards large infrastructure projects: including ports, bridges and utility companies.
