MAGISTRATE Seini Puamau has warned those engaging in uncivilised and harmful activities they will be held to account to reflect their anti-social and society-harmful conduct.
Ms Puamau gave the warning today after handing suspended schoolteacher Kishore Kumar a 12-month jail term suspended for three years.
In this case, Kumar posted a video in which he uttered abusive words towards Employment Productivity and Industrial Relations Minister Agni Deo Singh.
The trial was to have commenced but Kumar sought to plead guilty to the offence that occurred on December 12 three years ago.
The court records show Kumar secured access to a Facebook account which did not belong to him and used it to post a video on social media platform titled Power In His Voice.
He uttered vulgarities against Mr Singh who was the Fiji Teachers Union general secretary at the time.
Kumar also pleaded guilty to absconding bail and breaching his bail conditions for which he was discharged with a strong warning.
Yesterday, Kumar was remorseful and sought forgiveness from Mr Singh and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka who was also ridiculed in that post.
“You intentionally invaded someone’s privacy by hacking into their Facebook account and you then posted virulent and unpleasant commentary for public consumption and by your words and conduct inviting others to do the same,” Ms Puamau said.
“Not nice, and below the standards expected of civilised decent people, engaging in civilising discourses in the public space. What you did in the virtual space, you would not have been able to get away with in reality.
“Why it is entertained in the virtual world, I do not know.”
Ms Puamau cited section 24 (1) (a) of the Online Safety Act 2018 as a “law grounded on common sense”.
She said that despite the subjective seriousness of the offending and high moral culpability, she took into consideration Kumar’s mental condition, his guilty plea, expression of remorse, time spent in remand and his undertaking to not recommit the offence.
“For those who might be interested, if you do not have a mental condition, and you behave like (Kumar), expect a criminal record and jail time,” she said.
Kumar’s matter involving indecent claims he made against Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Lenora Qereqeretabua will be called tomorrow (April 16).
