South Pacific Boxing promoter Fredy Chand is one of the five stakeholders yet to be interviewed by the Board of Inquiry as investigations continue into the death of late boxer Ubayd Haider.
BOI chairman Edwin Wainiqolo in a press conference yesterday revealed that they have interviewed 12 out of the 17 stakeholders involved in October’s promotion in Nadi.
The five remaining included Chand who has lawyered up as the probe continued into Haider’s case.
“We’ve sent invitations to the promoter and the financier in the last two weeks,” he said.
The promoter has engaged legal counsel to defend him during the investigation.
“So, we must reach out to his legal counsel to reach out to him.”
This has resulted in the delay of what was supposed to be a 30-day investigation prompting the Board of Inquiry to extend it to another week.
“We’ve extended a few invitations for him to be interviewed but we are awaiting a date for them to be issued, we’ve given the end of this week as a deadline because we must submit our report to the minister (Minister for Sports Jese Saukuru).
“The deadline was supposed to be 30 days, but we have extended for about a week because the Minister wants a wider spectrum of people to be interviewed.
“We had 10 people and extended that to 17 trying to capture those that were part of the promotion and that included not just the promoter but the ringside doctors, the judges, people inside the changing room.
“So, we did not only cover people involved during the boxing day but people prior to the event and to November 10 when he (Ubayd Haider) passed away including the pathologist,” Wainiqolo added.
Wainiqolo pointed out they may submit the findings of their report at the end of the extended period even if Chand and others do not come forth for interviews.
“It is within their right to seek legal counsel, and we are negotiating with their counsel on the convenient time to interview them,” he said.
“In the event they refuse to come forward at the end of this deadline, we will proceed with whatever information we have gathered over the last three weeks of our investigation, before the Minister for and Sports for parliamentary scrutiny.
The minister will have the final say if our findings will be directed to the appropriate authorities for further action.”
Haider passed away on November 10 at the Lautoka Hospital after collapsing in the changing room at Nadi’s Prince Charles Park, following his defeat to China’s Runqi Zhou in October.
