A former Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) employee has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by the Nadi Magistrates Court for a corruption-related offence.
Sairusi Nageti was sentenced today by Magistrate Mareta Tikoisuva after pleading guilty to one count of Obtaining a Financial Advantage.
The court heard that between the 1st of July, 2018 and the 31st of October, 2018, Nageti, while employed as a Technical Assistant for Rural Projects at WAF and based in Lautoka, was responsible, along with another WAF officer, for delivering water tanks to approved applicants in the Western Division under the Rain Water Harvest Tank (RWHT) Project.
The project is a government grant initiative that provides free water tanks to families without water meters and to those experiencing intermittent water supply.
During this period, Nageti sold water tanks allocated to approved applicants for between $125 and $320 per tank.
He also unlawfully obtained an additional $1,940 by selling six RWHT water tanks to Nadi residents, knowing he was not entitled to receive that financial benefit.
The court also heard that Nageti admitted to the offence during a caution interview following his arrest.
Magistrate Tikoisuva noted that the maximum penalty for Obtaining a Financial Advantage is 10 years’ imprisonment.
While the court considered that Nageti was a first-time offender, his guilty plea, entered on the day of trial, four years after the charge was filed, was not deemed an early plea.
Nageti was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years.
He has 28 days to appeal the sentence to the High Court.
