Former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho have been handed custodial sentences by Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo.
Bainimarama has copped a 12 months sentence while Qiliho has been handed a 24 months imprisonment sentence.
Bainimarama was found guilty of one count of attempt to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho was found guilty of one count of abuse of office.
According to the charges, Bainimarama sometime in July 2020 as the Prime Minister directed the Police Commissioner to stop the investigation into a Police complaint, in the abuse of the authority of his office, which was an arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of the University of the South Pacific which is the complainant.
Qiliho on the 15th of July, 2020 as the Police Commissioner directed the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department, Serupepeli Neiko and Inspector Reshmi Dass to stop investigations into the police complaint by the USP, in the abuse of the authority of his office, which was an arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of USP.
While sentencing Bainimarama, Justice Temo said the former Prime Minister breached the trust of the Fijian people and failed to keep his oath of allegiance.
He said Resident Magistrate Seini Puamau focused on the wrong and irrelevant matters and has quashed the ruling of the Magistrates Court in March.
