ON January 5, 1970, an article published by The Fiji Times reported that a villager had run amok and stabbed two police officers, seriously wounding them, as they attempted to arrest him in an early morning raid at Tacilevu Village near Savusavu on Vanua Levu.
A team of armed police officers from Labasa was dispatched to Tacilevu on January 4, 1970, to assist the Savusavu police with the case.
The wounded officers, Corporal Jese Ulacake and Constable Isikeli Ligairi, were critically injured and had to be urgently transported back to Savusavu and later to Labasa Hospital for emergency surgery.
According to the article, Mr Ulacake sustained two strikes on his right elbow and left arm, while Mr Ligairi suffered a five-centimetre gash on his skull.
They were part of a team of four officers enroute to Natewa to investigate a report of shop break-ins.
Upon reaching Tacilevu, the officers, led by Mr Ulacake, had decided to raid the house of a man accused of setting fire to a house in the village two weeks before Christmas. The article stated that the suspect had been evading arrest since then and witnesses reported that when the officers arrived at the suspect’s house around 5am, he emerged wielding a cane knife.
Despite attempts to arrest him, the suspect attacked Mr Ligairi first, striking him on the head, causing him to seek cover. The suspect then turned his attention to Mr Ulacake, swinging the knife aggressively.
Efforts to subdue him proved futile, as the assailant managed to escape into the bush. It was reported that the wounded officers were assisted by villagers into a police vehicle and transported back to Savusavu. A team of police reinforcements, armed with guns, were dispatched from Labasa to Tacilevu to search for the assailant.
Dr Asaeli Matairavula had led a medical team to treat the injured officers.
He described Mr Ulacake’s injuries as severe, with a deep gash across his right arm and damage to his elbow joint.
Despite their critical condition, both officers had been described as stable after surgery.
