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A New Zealand Jiu-jitsu champion has fled Rio de Janeiro for Canada amid fears for his safety, Newshub has reported.
The decision for Jason Lee and his girlfriend, Laura McQuillan, to move to Toronto in the build-up to the Olympics was prompted after three alleged run-ins with Brazilian military police. Bloody hell.
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Lee was said to have been bundled into a car by men, who he believed to be military police officers, and he was forced to withdraw cash from multiple ATMs.
A day after the initial incident, military police reportedly showed up unexpectedly at the Lee and McQuillan's Rio apartment, provoking them to call the civil police to seek assistance from the New Zealand Embassy.
The final visit, before the couple upped and left, was apparently made at midnight before the decision to leave the country was made, claiming that the visits were an obvious attempt at intimidation.
Meanwhile, Newshub has also reported that the country is going into the worst recession in 25 years and a massive bill to host the Olympics not helping matters.
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Last month authorities declared a state of calamity, and the president isn't much help because she is accused of corruption along with more than half (318) of the law makers in congress who are under investigation.
The sea is flooded with waste with only half of the sewage flowing into the Olympic sailing area being treated and now we hear that officials have been accused of kidnapping locals. What more could go wrong?
Words: Hamish Kilburn
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