Magistrate Puamau acknowledges Acting CJ’s guilty verdict for Bainimarama and Qiliho

The oral sentencing and mitigation submissions for former Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended Police Commissioner, Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho will be heard this Thursday after their conviction by Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo in the High Court last week.

Magistrate Seini Puamau says she acknowledges the conviction entered by the High Court and asked the State and the Defence to file written sentencing and mitigation submissions on Wednesday and oral submissions in court on Thursday.

When the case was called in the Suva Magistrates Court this morning, Devanesh Sharma, the lawyer for Bainimarama and Qiliho, said that he had filed an application for a stay on the guilty judgement of the High Court in the Fiji Court of Appeal, and also asked if there can be a stay on the sentencing process.

After taking a short break, it was decided that a stay on the sentencing process cannot be ruled upon by the Magistrates Court after the higher court had made the ruling.

Magistrate Puamau also stated that she will simply be acknowledging the findings of the High Court.

This was in relation to her entering the conviction of Bainimarama and Qiliho.

State prosecutor, Nancy Tikoisuva highlighted that they are bound by the decision of the High Court.

Magistrate Puamau says you can only convict a person once, and it has already been done in the High Court.

She says it cannot be done the second time.

Magistrate Puamau has also asked the state counsels, Laisani Tabuakoro and Nancy Tikoisuva and the Defence to file their submissions for sentencing and mitigation.

The prosecution did not ask for a remand pending sentence for Bainimarama and Qiliho.

The bail conditions stand for the two as they await their sentencing later this month.

Magistrate Puamau has acknowledged that both Bainimarama and Qiliho have been found guilty by the High Court.

Bainimarama and Qiliho’s hearing is scheduled for Thursday from 11am to 1pm.

Bainimarama has been found guilty of one count of attempt to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho has been found guilty of one count of abuse of office.

They were earlier found not guilty by Magistrate Puamau.

According to the charges, Bainimarama sometime in July 2020 as the Prime Minister directed the Police Commissioner to stop the investigation into a police complaint, in the abuse of the authority of his office, which was an arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of the University of the South Pacific which is the complainant.

For Qiliho’s charges, the charges say that Qiliho on the 15th of July, 2020 as the Police Commissioner directed the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department, Serupepeli Neiko and Inspector Reshmi Dass to stop investigations into the police complaint by the USP, in the abuse of the authority of his office, which was an arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of USP.

Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo had ruled last week that Bainimarama and Qiliho have to be sentenced by Magistrate Seini Puamau on the 28th of March.

Indepth on Case: https://www.fijivillage.com/indepth/Bainimarama-and-Qilihos-Acquittal-Appeal-f8rx54/