Tai Nicholas fined $15,000

The Oceania Football Confederation secretary Tai Nicholas has been ordered to pay $15,000 after he pleaded guilty to contempt of court in relation to his comments about Fiji’s judiciary.

Tai Nicholas made these comments in the Sunday Star Times in New Zealand which was published in November 2011 and a day later was reprinted by the Fiji Times.

Nicholas has also been ordered to arrange for an apology directed to the judiciary of Fiji to be first drafted and submitted to the court for approval prior to being published in the Fiji Times within 28 days from today.
 
The court heard that in 2011, Dr Shamsud Dean Sahu Khan was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Independent Legal Services Commission and his name was struck from the roll of legal practitioners and at the same time Sahu Khan was also the treasurer of OFC and held a position in FIFA.

In November, a Sunday Star Times newspaper telephoned Nicholas regarding the eligibility of Dr Sahu Khan to hold official positions in both organizations and during the conversation Nicholas made a few comments about Fiji’s judiciary.

Judge William Calanchini said comments made by Nicholas scandalizes the court and the judiciary as there is a real risk that their effect will be to undermine the authority of the courts and discourage citizens from relying on the judiciary to settle their disputes.

The High Court Judge also said that Nicholas should have known that in his position, comments coming from him as a secretary of the body responsible for soccer in the region would almost certainly be picked up from the online publication and published in Fiji.


Story by: Praneeta Prakash