Photo: 123rf
A 24-year-old Fijian man has faced a magistrates court in Nadi, Fiji, over the alleged rape and sexual assault of a Virgin Australia crew member in the south Pacific nation.
Ilaisa Tanoa Degei is accused of raping the 21-year-old Melbourne woman, who was in Fiji over New Year's Eve as a crew member of a Virgin Australia flight during a layover.
Degei was denied bail during his appearance in court on Monday afternoon. He will appear in the High Court in Lautoka on 20 January.
If convicted, the farmer could serve up to 20 years in jail.
He was charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of digital rape.
According to police documents, the alleged victim was returning from a bar on Martintar, a popular entertainment district in Nadi, when police will allege that Degei offered her a ride in his unregistered taxi.
The victim was returning from this bar on the night of the attack. Photo: ABC News / Lice Movono
He is alleged to have taken her to the entrance of her hotel and assaulted her there.
Police officers reportedly apprehended the suspect on the same night and, after two days of investigations, Degei was charged. He has been in custody since Friday night.
In a separate incident, a male member of the same flight crew was robbed and sustained injuries after returning from the same club.
Police investigations into that incident continue.
-ABC