Carpenters Fiji Managing Director Daniel Whippy and former National Fire Authority Board Chair John O’Connor, have been granted more time to enter their plea in the 2018 MH warehouse fire case.
The two appeared before Magistrate Sufia Hamza in the Suva Magistrates Court.
O’Connor is charged with one count of abuse of Office, while Whippy is charged with one count of counselling for the omission of the offence.
FICAC says these charges were filed by them in relation to the fire at Carpenters Fiji property, the MH warehouse in Walu Bay.
Both defence teams requested an extension for their plea, citing late disclosures of key documents.
FICAC’s Senior State Counsel, Sera Fatafehi, informed the court that the prosecution had only just received Whippy’s bail variation application.
Whippy is seeking permission to travel abroad for medical treatment, either to India for knee replacement surgery or to the United States for stem cell therapy.
The prosecution opposed the bail variation, requesting time to verify the supporting documents and to obtain a second opinion from another orthopaedic surgeon.
Whippy's counsel, Stephen Stanton, confirmed that his client prefers stem cell treatment in the US.
Magistrate Hamza directed the prosecution to respond to the bail variation by the 28th of this month.
The case has been adjourned to the 28th of October this month for the bail variation and O’Connor will take his plea on the 13th of January, 2025.
