Drug-accused Thakor Punja’s application to travel to Australia for medical treatment has been dismissed, with a Suva magistrate ruling that the proposed overseas treatment was neither essential nor necessary.
In delivering his ruling yesterday, Magistrate Yogesh Prasad found there was no evidence of an immediate medical emergency and accepted the evidence of Dr Luke Nasedra that Mr Punja’s condition was not life-threatening and that the required procedure could be performed in Fiji by his preferred neurosurgeon.
Mr Punja faces three counts of unlawful possession of illicit drugs, including 0.841 grams of methamphetamine on May 11, 2024. It is also alleged that on the same occasion, he possessed 5.447 grams of cocaine and 16.6 grams of cannabis.
His bail was extended, with the matter adjourned to August 26 for a pretrial conference.
