Preliminary report on Fijian boxer’s death with sports minister

The Commission of Inquiry set up to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of Fijian boxer Ubayd Haider said it will only work with evidence.Ed Wainiqolo told RNZ Pacific on Wednesday that claims Haider, formerly known as Nathan Singh, was suffering from brain damage before his fight in Nadi last October are “third-party issue” for them at the moment, as no one has approached them with concrete evidence.Wainiqolo, whose team have tabled a preliminary report with Fijian Sports Minister Jese Saukuru on Monday, said they cannot rely on third-party information and would only investigate the claims if those in the know advise them.There were social media reports sharing a medical report allegedly detailing the late boxer’s admission and release from the Liverpool Hospital in Sydney in November 2023.”There’s a lot of reports going on within the social media forums, particularly in terms of the demise of the boxer,” he said.”But we’ve encouraged all parties that if they had substantive evidence pertaining to this death or anything that actually contributed or aggravated towards this demise they should actually come forward with it and produce it with us.”We won’t be able to rely on third-party evidence. Our report is actually based on the record of interview conducted with everyone in person directly.”RNZ Pacific reached out to Liverpool Hospital to verify the report circulating online but was advised that the hospital could not divulge patient’s information to a third party.The report claimed Haider was admitted in early November 2023 with suspected subdural haemorrhage, with severe headaches following sparring sessions he was involved in.Haider lost by TKO to Australia-based Runqi during their IBO Asia Pacific Super Featherweight title fight on 26 October in Nadi.He collapsed after leaving the ring and was rushed first to Nadi Hospital before being admitted to the Lautoka Aspen Hospital.Wainiqolo said they will leave the matter be unless it is brought to their attention by those in the know.Preliminary report inWainiqolo said while they have submitted the preliminary report to Saukuru, they are yet to finalise their work because of delays in speaking to the promoter of the boxing program, Freddy Chand, and securing an interview with the pathologist who carried out the surgery on the late Haider.He said they are working on those two issues now and hope to have the final report before the Fiji parliament sits on 5 February 5 in Suva.”We’ve completed the preliminary report and we are actually on the verge of making the final report before the end of the week,” Wainiqolo stated.”At the moment, the current preliminary report lacks the interview of the promoter together with the confirmation on the pathologist report of the surgeon that actually conducted the surgery after the night’s event.”He said Chand had engaged a lawyer and the team has been working on answering queries from the legal team before they can carry out the interview.An interview with the pathologist is also being arranged, he added.