Man free after conviction
A man convicted of stealing assorted items from three businesses in one day is a free man after the High Court ruled that he had served time while in custody during trial. Josaia Qeteqetelevu was given a six-month concurrent sentence for three counts of theft by Justice Waleen George. But since he had been held in custody for eight months during the course of the trial, Justice George concluded the man had completed his six-month prison sentence and ordered that he be freed. Qeteqetelevu was found guilty of three counts of theft committed between October 17 and 18, 2022, at Nakasi in Nasinu. He had stolen from Prasad’s Friendly Enterprise, Sultan Traders Pte Limited, and Zoom Fitness Centre and Restaurant. He then took the stolen items and kept them in a vacant house at Waimanu Settlement in Wainibuku where he was the caretaker.
Magistrate strikes out civil case
The Nadi Magistrate’s Court has struck out a civil claim against the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney-General. The case involved an August 2017 break-in involving plaintiff Vinod Kamal and following investigations, one David Goundar was charged. However, in May 2023 the matter did not proceed because the prosecutor did not have the case file, the adjournment was refused, and the accused was acquitted. Mr Kamal alleged the Police Commissioner failed in his duty, causing him mental anguish and financial loss. He sought general damages of $10,000, exemplary and punitive damages, special damages to be assessed, and costs. But on August 8 Magistrate Setavana Saumata ruled that the claim had no legal foundation. “The authorities are clear that the police and prosecuting authorities do not generally owe a duty of care to individuals in the conduct of investigations or prosecutions and that such functions are shielded from civil liability unless there are exceptional circumstances,” Ms Saumata said. “The claim is legally untenable and must be struck out,” she said. No order as to costs was made.
Rapist jailed
A married man convicted of raping a mother-of-five in 2023 has been jailed for nine years with a non-parole period of seven years. The father-of-three was found guilty by the High Court of raping the woman who had been drinking with him in Nadi on that day in September of 2023. While passing sentence at the High Court in Lautoka on August 28, Justice Aruna Aluthge said the prosecution proved all the elements of rape beyond a reasonable doubt. “You assaulted the victim not only sexually but also physically when you punched, stripped her naked and made her run along a public road,” Justice Aluthge said. “The assault was degrading and humiliating.”
