THE High Court in Suva has acquitted former Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) commissioner Ifereimi Vasu and acting deputy commissioner Peniasi Kunatuba. They were both on trial for abuse of office charges.
Both men appeared before Justice Riyaz Hamza who said he had examined the evidence during the trial and found that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt their case against both men.
Justice Hamza concurred with the unanimous not guilty opinions of the assessors and found both men not guilty of the charges.
It was alleged that Mr Vasu between July 11, 2013, and December 23, 2014, abused the authority of his office and did arbitrary acts for the purpose of gain, namely facilitating and approving the purchasing of goods in the amount of $131,683.33 from the Naboro Mart Ltd.
Mr Kunatuba’s abuse of office charge was for facilitating and approving the purchase of goods in the amount of $54,734.65 from the Naboro Mart Ltd.
It was alleged that both men’s offences were contrary to the Procurement Regulations 2010 of the Financial Management Act 2004 and the Finance Manual of the Fiji Corrections Service.
