Epeli Asaisea, 22, was travelling in a private vehicle from Siberia to Malau with four others.
His younger brother, Akuila Matawaqa, said there were five people in the vehicle. Asaisea was asked to sit in the boot and had fallen asleep when he accidentally smashed the boot window.
After the incident, he and his brother were assaulted by two men. The assault, which took place along the Natokamu stretch in Labasa on Saturday, was caught on camera.
In the video, Asaisea, who appeared to be drunk, is seen being punched and kicked along the main road while bystanders looked on.
One of the men can be heard telling the other to throw Asaisea to him so the assault could continue.
A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media, showing Asaisea at Labasa Hospital with bandages around his body. The footage has sparked anger online, with many condemning the level of violence and calling for stronger action to prevent such incidents.
An inside source at the Labasa Police Station confirmed that the matter over the broken boot window was resolved after reconciliation, with the group paying for the damages.
Police said a report of the assault had been lodged and they were continuing to investigate. It is understood that the report was lodged by Asaisea himself at the Labasa Police Station around 3am yesterday.
