Taxi drivers from Natokamu, Labasa, have rejected claims circulating on social media that a teenage boy was unfairly assaulted in a viral video filmed along the Cawaira stretch.

They say the boy was part of a drunk group of five who allegedly threatened a driver and damaged his vehicle on Saturday afternoon.

Natokamu villager Sainiana Tabualomani conveyed the drivers’ account, saying online comments and some media outlets had presented what she described as “one-sided” reports of the incident.

Tabualomani said the driver had initially refused to take the group because of their numbers, but agreed after they pleaded with him and suggested that one of them could sit in the boot for the trip to Malau.

She said the drivers claim the group later became rowdy and allegedly threatened the driver before one of them smashed the rear windscreen with a speaker and his foot.

She added that the men seen in the viral video were taxi drivers trying to restrain the teenager after he allegedly ran into nearby cane fields to avoid waiting for police following the damage caused to the vehicle.

According to Tabualomani, the matter was resolved on Saturday after the youths sought reconciliation with the drivers and paid for the damage, as they were the ones responsible for breaking the rear windscreen.

However, she claimed that a girl from the group later uploaded the video to social media on Sunday morning with personal intentions and then phoned the taxi base, threatening the man shown in the footage, despite the issue already being settled.

Taniela Maafu, one of the 5 who was with the Epeli Asasisea

Meanwhile, one of the youths involved, Taniela Maafu, told FBC News at the Labasa Police Station that the group had been drinking earlier in the day at a local bar, and that the rear glass was damaged by Epeli Asaisea when “his head hit it.”

He also alleged that each of the group members was slapped and struck with a wooden stick by the men, before the scene ended up in a drain after

Asaisea attempted to escape into the cane fields while resisting a citizen’s arrest.

Police have confirmed that an investigation is underway after the group of youths lodged a complaint.

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