The pain of losing her eldest son is something 42-year-old solo mother, Dorotea Balata is still trying to come to terms with.

Her 21-year-old son, Sitiveni Qali, died after he was allegedly assaulted by a group of men at a service station in Nakasi, Nasinu, on Wednesday night.

He lived at Chadwick Place – about 350 metres from where the alleged incident happened.

“I came home after work on Wednesday night when I heard the news that my son is being admitted at the hospital after he was involved in a fight. I thought it was just a small injury,” she said.

“I quickly went to the Nausori Health Centre to check, but was told that he was not there. I then went to Nausori Police Station and asked an officer if they had any report of a young man who was involved in a fight at a service station in Nakasi.

“The officer replied and said they had a murder report which was from Nakasi.

“I told the officer, ‘No my son is not dead, he is just being admitted.’ The officer then made  some telephone calls and when he returned, he asked me to sit down. From that moment, I had a feeling that my son was dead.

“I had no idea that I was bidding my last goodbye to my son when I left home on Wednesday morning to go to work. I always have the dream that one day my son will find a good job and look after himself.”

Ms Balata was at Colonial War Memorial Hospital mortuary yesterday to identify her son.

Meanwhile, Police said the post-moterm result revealed that Mr Qali died from multiple head injuries sustained from the alleged assault.

Three men are in Police custody as investigations continue.

Edited by Maikeli Seru.

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