Magistrate Puamau rejects Kishore Kumar’s request to play video which was doctored using AI

Magistrate Seini Puamau decided against playing a video of what former school teacher, Kishore Kumar alleged featured Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lenora Qereqeretabua.

Kumar is charged with allegedly making false claims on his Facebook page, Kishore Kumar Publications regarding a porn video of Qereqeretabua in 2020.

Kumar who is representing himself told Magistrate Puamau that he would like to play a porn video to identify if it is Qereqeretabua in the video.

However, the DPP Lawyer Moira Konrote objected to playing the video asking if a copy of the video could be given to verify if it is true.

The court was then adjourned for a few minutes where Kumar presented the video to the magistrate and the prosecution in the chambers. However, after viewing the video, Magistrate Puamau ruled that the video cannot be played in court as it is not a relevant video to the trial, and had Qereqeretabua's current facial features which depicts that it was doctored by Artificial Intelligence.

Kumar also told the court that when the police took his phone and laptop, they did not find any videos of him against Qereqeretabua.

Kumar was earlier told by the magistrate to stop posting the trial proceedings, or he will be remanded as the prosecution stated that Kumar posted a video after the first day of the trial.

The trial continues today.