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Thursday, Aug 23, 2012
NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - A New Zealand policeman visiting Tonga died Thursday from injuries sustained after being beaten in a police cell, with two local officers among those arrested over the death, officials said.

Tongan police said Kali Fungavaka, a New Zealand police officer who reportedly won a bravery award in 2006, had travelled to the Pacific nation for a funeral and was arrested for "minor drunkenness" on Saturday morning.

They said he was assaulted by another prisoner in the cell and suffered head injuries, with medics turning off life support late Thursday.

Police said the prisoner who allegedly attacked Fungavaka had been arrested, adding in a statement: "Two Tongan police staff have been arrested for an earlier assault on Kali."

The statement did not say whether the police officers or prisoner had been charged.

The New Zealand Herald reported Fungavaka won a bravery award in 2006 after trying to help a woman who was fatally injured when she was doused in petrol and set alight by her former boyfriend.

Tongan police said investigations into Fungavaka's death were continuing.