Jack Fraser walks free

A Lautoka man, Jack Fraser, who was serving life imprisonment for the murder of Nadi jeweller Kamalesh Nanda, is a free man today after the Fiji Court of Appeal allowed his appeal and quashed his conviction.

In April 2010, Fraser was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a non parole term of 16 years.

Today, the judgement was made by Acting President for the Court of Appeal Justice William Calanchini, Justice Basnayake and Justice Kumararatnam.

Justice Calanchini said Judge Justice Paul Madigan overturned the assessors’ unanimous opinion of not guilty.

He added the evidence upon which the judge relied in order to find Fraser guilty was the confession made in the caution interview conducted in 2006.

Justice Calanchini said it is quite clear that the circumstantial evidence alone could not support a finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

He added that when considered with the evidence from the medical report and the detention of Fraser from 3rd to 8th October 2006, it is apparent that the State had not established beyond reasonable doubt that the confession was voluntary.

As a result, the confession should have been excluded.

He said without the confession there was insufficient evidence for the High Court Judge to have arrived at a guilty verdict.


Story by: Ronal Deo