| FIRST COUNT Statement of Offence ATTEMPTED TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE: Contrary to section 190 (e) of the Crimes Act 2009. Particulars of Offence JOSAIA VOREQE BAINIMARAMA sometime between July 2020 and September 2020 at Suva in the Central Division, attempted to pervert the course of justice by telling Sitiveni Tukaituraga Qiliho , the Commissioner of Police of the Republic of Fiji to stay away from the USP investigations that was reported under CID/HQ PEP 12/07/2019. SECOND COUNT Statement of Offence ABUSE OF OFFICE: Contrary to section 139 of the Crimes Act 2009 Particulars of Offence SITIVENI TUKAITURAGA QILIHO on the 15th day of July 2020 at Suva in the Central Division being employed in the civil service as the Commissioner of Police of the Republic of Fiji, directed the Director of Criminal Investigations Department Serupepeli Neiko and Inspector Reshmi Dass to stop investigations into the police complaint involving CID/HQ PEP 12/07/2019, in abuse of the authority of his office, which was an arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of University of the South Pacific which is the Complainant in CID/HQ PEP 12/07/2019. |  |
SENTENCE
*I start with a sentence of 2 years imprisonment. For the aggravating factors, I add 2 years, making a total of 4 years imprisonment. For the mitigating factors, I deduct 2 years leaving a balance of 2 years imprisonment.
*For Count No. 2, I sentence the second Respondent to 2 years imprisonment.
*As required by section 4 (1) of the Sentencing and Penalties Act 2009, the purpose of the above sentence was to punish you in a manner which was just in the circumstances; to protect the community, to deter others from committing the same offence and to signify that the court and community denounce what you did in Count No. 2.
In summary, the first respondent is sentenced to 1 year imprisonment, while the second respondent is sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. Both sentences are to take effect immediately.
*Both respondents have 30 days to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
*Before I leave this case, given the first respondent’s health conditions, I order and direct that the Commissioner of Prison and/or his nominee, with his/her medical team, to meet and work out a medical care plan, with the first respondent’s doctor, and/or Doctor Joji Malani, to map out the first respondent’s continued use of the CPAP machine therapy, the use and charging of his mobile phone for his pace maker recording, continued medication and other medical issues of concern raised by the first respondent’s doctor, while he is in the State’s custody. *Although he will be in the State’s custody, he is to be treated humanely. Both parties are at liberty to raise any medical care issues with the Court, at any time, on a three days notice.
I order so accordingly.
Salesi Temo
Acting Chief Justice
*I start with a sentence of 2 years imprisonment. For the aggravating factors, I add 2 years, making a total of 4 years imprisonment. For the mitigating factors, I deduct 2 years leaving a balance of 2 years imprisonment.
*For Count No. 2, I sentence the second Respondent to 2 years imprisonment.
*As required by section 4 (1) of the Sentencing and Penalties Act 2009, the purpose of the above sentence was to punish you in a manner which was just in the circumstances; to protect the community, to deter others from committing the same offence and to signify that the court and community denounce what you did in Count No. 2.
In summary, the first respondent is sentenced to 1 year imprisonment, while the second respondent is sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. Both sentences are to take effect immediately.
*Both respondents have 30 days to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
*Before I leave this case, given the first respondent’s health conditions, I order and direct that the Commissioner of Prison and/or his nominee, with his/her medical team, to meet and work out a medical care plan, with the first respondent’s doctor, and/or Doctor Joji Malani, to map out the first respondent’s continued use of the CPAP machine therapy, the use and charging of his mobile phone for his pace maker recording, continued medication and other medical issues of concern raised by the first respondent’s doctor, while he is in the State’s custody. *Although he will be in the State’s custody, he is to be treated humanely. Both parties are at liberty to raise any medical care issues with the Court, at any time, on a three days notice.
I order so accordingly.
Salesi Temo
Acting Chief Justice
*Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Qiliho are languishing in PRISON after Acting Chief Justice SALESI TEMO overturned NOT guilty verdicts and jailed the two for trying to stop investigation into USP affairs.
*As acting Deputy FICAC Commissioner Francis Puleiwai still had the powers at her disposal to arrest the evasive Fiji's Finance Minister BIMAN PRASAD. According to FICAC, he kept making excuses since Tuesday.
*The in-coming FICAC director Barbara Malimali had no powers to order, if she is the one who had directed Puleiwai not to arrest Prasad, until she had taken control of FICAC, and even then she should have stayed out.
*Basically, until Malimali had started as Commissioner, FICAC, Puleiwai putatively and legally remained in charge of FICAC and its staff.
*When she ordered fugitive Prasad's arrest, she had not tendered in her resignation as acting Deputy Commissioner.
*Puleiwai was under no obligation to inform Attorney-General Graham Leung and Justice Minister Siromi Turaga of her plan, for since both are in Cabinet, the likelihood of tipping off Prasad to evade arrest for more days until Malimali had physically taken control of FICAC, was a very real possibility. Out of courtesy, she informed Turaga in advance.
*Imagine an in-coming Chief Justice had ordered the acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo NOT to sentence Bainimarama and Qiliho because it was his task to review the trial evidence before sentencing - simply bullocks.
*Temo would have screamed that such order or instruction from an in-coming Chief Justice was Abuse of Office and the Attempt to Pervert the Cause of Justice.
*Who ordered Francis Puleiwai NOT to arrest BIMAN PRASAD?
*In recent weeks, we handed most of our evidence against Prasad to FICAC, to supplement its own investigation into BIMANGATE.
*We stand by our position that Fiji's Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Prasad must be charged under the Political Parties Act, even if some of the breaches were minor, which they were not, from 2014-2024.
