MOTHER’S Day should be a time for matriarchs to celebrate with their children and loved ones.
But this year, Mother’s Day for Lanieta Talemaibau was anything but that because of armed thugs who have terrorised her family in the past week, she claimed.
The mother of four claimed the thugs first assaulted and repeatedly threatened her son, Meli Cabebula blaming him for stealing a phone. Fearing for his safety, Mrs Talemaibau sent her son to be with his father in Lakeba in Lau and has made arrangements for him to commence school there in the second term.
And despite reports to police, Mrs Talemaibau claimed no arrests or help have been forthcoming with the 54-year-old further claiming that two officers who saw the initial beating stood by and laughed.
She claimed they only intervened after being called to do so by her daughter who feared he could be killed by the ongoing assault.
Mrs Talemaibau also claimed the thugs had visited their flat twice throwing rocks at their door and brandishing knives, threatening to kill her son.
She claimed two men initially accosted her son on May 1, pulling him out of their flat on McFarlane Rd and — with more than seven others assaulted him — at the Raiwaqa Cake Shop located at the top of Milverton Rd.
Mrs Talemiabau claimed her son was then taken to the police station but the same group of men came to the station and attempted to continue the assault.
“While we were there, these men came into the police station and it was as if they had taken over the place,” she claimed.
“There were two female officers and one male officer there and they couldn’t do anything.”
“This group of men didn’t care and they were yelling and swearing at my son. I was standing in front of the cell to protect him along with one of the female officers,” she claimed.
“The female officer had padlocked the cell, the men were swearing at my son and at me and it looked like they were trying to kill my son,” she claimed.
Mrs Talemaibau claimed the group of men visited the station three times that night attempting to assault her son.
“I remember asking the police can’t you do anything and one of the female officers told me that the group of men were often jailed at the police station cell,” she claimed.
“At about 1am they stopped coming to the station and I asked the police officer if he could spend the night in the cell for his own safety.”
Unbeknownst to Mrs Talemaibau, the thugs had allegedly visited her flat at McFarlane Rd and had made threats to her family there.
“And then on Tuesday night at 10, we were sitting in the house and they came up to call Meli but I had put him on the boat at 3pm to go to the village in Lakeba and he is there right now because we were scared for his safety.
“They came to the front of the flat, threw a block at the door and they had knives and sticks saying that they were coming to kill Meli,” she claimed. “They said that he had stoned their house earlier that evening but we had already put him on the boat so how could that be?”
Mrs Talemaibau said she had given names of the men behind the attack to Raiwaqa police – men she claims are known to the station officers.
“On Thursday morning I went back there and they told me to come back at 11pm because the officers handling the case would be back at 11pm that night and they would take my complaints on the issue.
“And it was funny to me because they had gone and searched on Thursday but they said that no one was owning up to the case, but they had already seen the men and had even shook hands with some of them when they tried to attack my son at the police station,” she claimed.
When contacted on the issue, police spokesperson Ana Naisoro said the victim was medically examined and statements recorded.
“We had attended to the report and investigations are continuing,” Ms Naisoro said.
“However, if they have issues against the conduct of our officers, they can lodge a complaint with our internal affairs.”
