Court orders retrial in deception case
The High Court in Suva has ordered a retrial in the case of a woman sentenced to two years in jail for 26 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception. Zinaz Neha Buksh had pleaded guilty and was sentenced on September 30 last year, but later appealed. Justice Thushara Rajasinghe ruled that the summary of facts lacked detail to substantiate the charges and did not clearly outline the accused’s dishonest or deceptive conduct. “Consequently, I find that the summary of facts as outlined has not disclosed the main elements of the offences,” he stated on July 11. He found the plea was not unequivocal, and the Magistrate lacked jurisdiction to enter a conviction. “This is an allegation involving a breach of trust, and the appeal is allowed based on the legality of the summary of facts and the plea entered by the Appellant.” Buksh had already served nearly six months of her sentence before being granted bail in March. Justice Rajasinghe allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and set aside the sentence.
Man convicted of rape
The High Court in Labasa has convicted a man of raping a then 12-year-old girl in 2022. Justice Lee James Burney found the accused, who was in his 20s at the time, guilty of a count of rape committed after he came home drunk following a night out. The complainant had been sleeping when the accused raped her and told her not to tell anyone. A few days later, the victim disclosed the incident to her cousin. Justice Burney described the accused’s testimony as contrived and an attempt to minimise his reprehensible behaviour. He also found the accused’s admissions to police to be truthful. “I reject the accused’s evidence that the interviewing officer fabricated certain questions and answers,” stated the judge on July 11. “His detailed evidence about the answers he actually gave was wholly implausible given the lapse of time between his police interview and trial.”
Farmer gets prison term for child sex offence
A farmer convicted of performing oral penetration on a then five-year-old girl has been sentenced to five years in prison, with a non-parole period of three years and three months. Justice Lee James Burney, earlier this year, found the 60-year-old unmarried man guilty of a count of sexual assault at the High Court in Labasa. Court records showed the man, who lived with his mentally unwell brother, called the victim — who was playing in a church hall — to bring him a cup. When the child complied, he committed the act before the victim’s eldest sister intervened and pulled her away. The child and her sister ran home and informed their mother. The accused had been diagnosed with mild to moderate intellectual disability last year, as per a psychiatric evaluation. On April 5 this year, he was further diagnosed with schizophrenia. The psychiatric team recommended ongoing treatment and monitoring by nursing staff while in prison. He is to continue attending the stress ward clinic at Labasa Hospital. His initial sentence of eight years was reduced, taking into account the 25 months he spent in remand since June 25, 2025. That time is to be credited as part of his custodial sentence.
