The prosecution has made some cosmetic changes in the case of former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem.
Prosecutor Nancy Tikoisuva told the court this morning that she had emailed defence lawyers, Devanesh Sharma and Gul Fatima to alert them and seek clarification about the amendments.
Tikoisuva says that the changes were made to better particularize counts 1 and 2, as well as perceptions arising from evidence presented last week.
She says the perception in count 1 remains the same, but the particulars of the events were a bit out of place.
Tikoisuva says for count 2 sections 181 and 182 had been added, along with cosmetic changes to the particulars of the events but everything else remains the same.
Defence lawyer Devanesh Sharma requested more time to go through the changes with his clients and to decide whether to call any witnesses.
Chief Justice Salesi Temo has granted the defence until 2.30 this afternoon.
Sayed-Khaiyum and Saneem are charged with abuse of office and receiving a corrupt benefit, respectively, in 2022.
It is alleged that Sayed-Khaiyum between June 30th and July 12th in 2022, whilst being the Acting Prime Minister, signed a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government and the then Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem and that the approval for the government to pay the taxes of Mohammed Saneem was done without the proper approval of the Constitutional Offices Commission and the President of Fiji.
It is alleged that between the 1st of June 2022 and the 31st of July 2022, while being employed as the Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem without lawful authority and reasonable excuse, asked for and obtained a benefit for himself, that is the approval and payment/waiver of tax of more than $55,000 that was charged on his back pay as a Supervisor of Elections.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
