The Fiji Police Force (FPF) is strongly refuting an international media report that quotes a local freelance journalist’s false information of an incident involving Police Officers during the 51st Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Suva.

The Guardian News article “Police remove two Chinese defence attaches from Pacific Islands Forum meeting” is riddled with false information about the conduct of Fijian Police Officers.

The FPF stresses that at no point during the Forum Fisheries Agency meeting was anyone “kicked” out, nor did “Fijian Police escort two men from the room”, as claimed in the article.

Independent witnesses have confirmed the information provided to be false and we are calling on The Guardian to make the necessary corrections and issue an apology.

The actions of the reporter are irresponsible as journalists have a duty of care to verify information provided by their sources.