A New Zealand man was taken into police custody in Fiji and questioned about the deaths of a family of five.
Police made an unsuccessful court application to hold Muhammad Raheesh Isoof, also known as Kamal, for longer than 48 hours.
Authorities are currently obtaining a “stop departure order” to prevent Isoof and his wife from returning to New Zealand.
A second person, a woman known to both the family and Isoof, had also been questioned,
The five members of the Kumar family were found lying at the base of a mountain range, about 20 miles from where their car had been abandoned.
A post mortem showed the deceased had ingested a toxic substance.
Before moving to New Zealand, the man questioned and the Kumar family had been neighbours in Legalega, a subdivision near Nadi airport.
Kamal now lives with his partner in a flat in the east Christchurch suburb of Linwood.
A close friend of the family whom Stuff spoke to said Kamal was a healer who was highly sought in the Legalega community for his “special” abilities.
The informant said the Kumars had used Kamal at least three times to heal his wife’s abdominal pains.
Kamal could “fix a problem” by praying for people from all walks of life who came to him for healing, the informant said.
“Headaches, sores on the leg, any type of pain – he had this special power to fix it by praying for people.
And he knew about herbal medicine – sometimes he would give that too.”
Many communities in Fiji use healers to help with a medical problem by the use of prayer, rituals and traditional or herbal medicine, he said.
A family friend said Kamal was a good man and the whole Legalega community was in shock over what had happened.
The funeral for the family was held in Votualevu, near Nadi, on Saturday.
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