A MAN has been convicted of aggravated robbery and common assault after the Suva Magistrate’s Court found as reliable a former house mate’s identification of him during a restaurant robbery.
Earlier this month Magistrate Shageeth Somaratne convicted Peni Koroi following a trial for the January 30 incident that occurred at Vatuwaqa, Suva.
The court heard that on the day in question three men entered the restaurant around midday, where one of them pushed employee Manoj Prasad to the ground.
Mr Prasad told the court that the cloth covering the offender’s face slipped during the assault, allowing him to recognise Koroi, with whom he had previously lived with for about a month.
He said Koroi punched him when he called out his name.
The other men then took two nine-carat gold chains valued at $3000 and a Samsung A32 mobile phone valued at $1300 belonging to restaurant operator Doreen Kumar before fleeing.
Koroi denied the allegations and relied on an alibi, calling his brother and sister-in-law as witnesses. However, Magistrate Somaratne noted contradictions in their evidence about when Koroi returned from the village.
The magistrate found Mr Prasad’s evidence reliable, noting the unobstructed view at a distance of one to two metres and his immediate identification of Koroi during the incident.
