Judge allows application for leave to appeal

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Justice Alipate Qetaki. Picture: FILE

A man serving time for stealing 153 varieties of alcohol valued at more than $1000 from a business in Navua has had his application for leave to appeal against sentence granted.

Eparama Lesumaivavalagi and three others were jailed for 38 months with a non-parole period of 32 months for a count of aggravated robbery and theft last year.

They stole from The Establishment in 2023, a business owned by Australian businessman Benjamin James Tenderick.

An witness saw the accused persons moving about suspiciously with a sack filled with alcohol valued at $1126.

Justice Alipate Qetaki ruled Lesumaivavalagi’s grounds of appeal were arguable and granted him leave to appeal .