FUNAFUTI (Pacnews) — Tuvalu’s chef de mission to the recent South Pacific Games is concerned with reports from Apia that some beddings and mattresses missing from the games village were taken by Tuvalu athletes.
Radio New Zealand International reported that more than 80 of the 4,000 mattresses and 42 of the 2,000 beds bought for the athletes were missing. The report said some of the missing mattresses and beds were found to have been sold to local households.
It has been alleged that five mattresses were taken by Tuvaluan athletes.
The head of the Tuvalu team, Monise Lafai, said all the beddings were checked by security at the games village before they were loaded into the containers for safe keeping.
Lafai said he will lodge a formal complaint against media reports for what he called inaccurate reporting.
The government of Samoa and the South Pacific Games Authority have planned to auction the sleeping gear to the public but that has now been put on hold until police inquiries are completed.