Bail Refused For Eight
Eight men, who are alleged to have threatened to kill a Police Constable and damaged Police property valued at $3095, were refused bail by the Magistrate Court in Suva yesterday. The accused men, Jone Vakarisi, Tevita Bulanaivalu, Ledua Gudru, Sekove Serukalou, Jese Sorovi, Toni Sokowasa, Chanel Antonio Afumarata and Mark Ross appeared before Magistrate Liyanage Wickramasekara.
Seven of the accused men requested for Legal Aid Commission representation while the first accused Vakarisi was represented by private lawyer Jitendra Reddy. They are charged with one count of going equipped for theft, damaging property, two counts of criminal intimidation and one count each of resisting arrest.
On August 3, 2018 the men were alleged to have been equipped with cane knives with the intention of committing theft.
Without lawful excuse and with intent to cause harm, they allegedly threatened to kill Police Constable Waisale Senikavika.
And they wilfully and unlawfully damaged the window of the left rear door, its outer moulding, the rear windscreen, front bumper bar, left head lamp and bonnet of a Police vehicle registration number GQ477.
They then allegedly resisted arrest from Police officers who were executing their duty.
Police prosecutor Corporal Raymond Filipe served the accused persons with first phase disclosures and sought time to furnish them with copies of their signed charge sheets.
Corporal Filipe strongly objected to bail on the ground that the charges against them were serious because they were armed with cane knives and stones and had attacked police officers.
He said public interest superseded the rights of the accused men thus they should be remanded in custody.
In relation to Vakarisi’s situation, Corporal Filipe submitted that he had pending cases in court and prosecution needed more time to determine whether he had breached his bail conditions by reoffending. Vakarisi’s lawyer Mr Reddy made oral bail submissions.
He said his client was innocent until proven guilty and the primary consideration for bail was the likelihood of him appearing in court. Mr Reddy stated that Vakarisi was a businessman and there were two sureties ready to commit to an undertaking to ensure the accused appears in court on all his court dates. He said the accused does not have a passport thus was not a flight risk and was willing to abide by all bail conditions imposed by the court including reporting to the Nabua Police Station on any given day. Magistrate Wickramasekara made an order for Bulanaivalu, Gudru and Serukalou to be escorted to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital for medical examination before being taken to the Suva Remand Centre.
He also ordered the accused men to lodge any complaints they have to the Officer In Charge at the Remand Centre and the Commissioner of the Fiji Corrections Service. The case has been adjourned to August 20, 2018 for mention.