A retrial before a new Magistrate has been ordered by the Lautoka High Court in the case involving a former Land Transport Authority officer.
FICAC initially filed charges against Filimoni Bola with one count of Bribery after it was alleged that he accepted $50 from an individual for passing a vehicle without carrying out the required inspections.
Former Magistrate Mosese Naivalu presided over the hearing and at the end of the case, acquitted Bola in October 2017.
Dissatisfied by this, FICAC appealed to the High Court on nine grounds of errors of law committed by the former Magistrate.
In delivering his Judgment, High Court Judge Justice Aruna Aluthge agreed with FICAC’s submission on eight grounds and allowed the appeal.
He said there was a fundamental error in judgment from the very beginning not only with regards to the relevant law and legal principles, but also in assessing the evidence.
The matter has been adjourned to 3 December 2018 in the Ba Magistrates Court for Mention.
