A businessman who repeatedly produced medical certificates each time his case was called has been warned that a medical doctor would be summoned if he again failed to appear for trial.
Suva Magistrate Yogesh Prasad noted a pattern of last-minute medical reports being presented whenever the 42-year-old’s case was called.
The accused faces 12 counts of posting intimate visual recordings and one count of criminal intimidation involving his 37-year-old wife. It is alleged that he uploaded intimate visual recordings of his wife to a pornographic website without her consent. The woman later became aware of the videos and reported the matter to the Police Cybercrime Unit, leading to the charges.
The businessman pleaded not guilty to all charges on August 26, 2024.
Mr Prasad set aside a one-week trial to begin in May this year and stressed that no further delay would be tolerated, noting the case has been before the courts since 2021.
He reminded the court that the accused remains innocent until proven guilty.
Senior State prosecutor Pooja Mishra said the State is ready to proceed to trial.
Bail for the accused was extended and the matter adjourned to March 17 for a pretrial conference.
