Commissioner of Police and Prisons Auapa’au Logoitino Filipo has defended their decision not to prosecute a 24-year-old woman who stowed away on Fiji Airways the day after Christmas last year, in an effort to get to Australia.
Auapa’au said it is the view of the Attorney General’s office not to prosecute the woman, but rather fix the security breaches at the international airport.
“We only investigate criminal matters in my view it’s a civil matter for failing security at the airport,” said the Commissioner.
The Samoan woman managed to pass through immigration and airport security got on the Fiji airways aircraft, hid in the lavatory, and made her way to Fiji.
This happened on 26 December 2022.
The woman was caught sleeping in the lavatory by flight attendants when the plane arrived in Fiji.
She was trying to board a flight to Australia without any legal documents claiming she was an Australian citizen.
Fijian Authorities reached out to Australian Immigration to determine if she was an Australian citizen, but it was confirmed she was not a citizen of Australia.
The woman has been banned by Fiji Airways worldwide as a result.