TEVITA Tora and Leveni Vuetibau pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and murder before the High Court in Lautoka yesterday.

The two men are alleged to have had carnal knowledge of an 18-year-old woman between December 4 and 5, 2025 and to have engaged in conduct intended to cause her death.

Appearing before Justice Riyaz Hamza, State lawyer Praneeta Prakash informed the court that information and disclosures were filed on September 14 but transcribed and translated copies of video-recorded caution interviews remain pending.

The court heard that the caution statement for Mr Vuetibau was recorded manually rather than video-recorded.

Justice Hamza granted the State 21 days to complete and disclose the pending documents.

Both accused formally entered not guilty pleas upon the reading of the charges and Ms Prakash confirmed that the prosecution will rely on the caution statements of both men during the proceedings.

Mr Tora’s lawyer informed the court that the defence would not seek a voir dire hearing to challenge the admissibility of the interview, maintaining instead that the encounter between his client and the deceased was entirely consensual.

The court also addressed bail applications submitted by both accused but there were minor issues that needed to be addressed by the respective defence lawyers.

Justice Hamza ordered the defence lawyers to file their supplementary affidavits within 14 days.

Ms Prakash confirmed the State was objecting to bail for both men.

The matter has been adjourned to October 12 for mention.