Former NFP Provisional Candidate Pleads Not Guilty To All Counts

It is alleged the man approached the woman and asked if he could spend the night at her house because he was too tired after a wedding and could not go back home.

Adentist and former National Federation Party provisional candidate charged with 11 counts of sexually related offences yesterday pleaded not guilty to all counts.

The 66-year-old man is charged with seven counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault.

The accused appeared before Justice Daniel Goundar at the High Court in Suva yesterday.

It is alleged the man raped his 53-year-old sister-in-law in Nasinu on June 28. It is alleged the man approached the woman and asked if he could spend the night at her house because he was too tired after a wedding and could not go back home.

The man allegedly started knocking on the woman’s bedroom door in the middle of the night and then forcefully got into the room.

He then allegedly raped the woman. The woman managed to free herself and locked the man in the bathroom and sought help from a friend who then informed the Police.

State lawyer Swastika Sharma has sought 14 days for the proposed agreed facts.

She also informed the Court that the accused had not made any admissions in his caution interview. Ms Sharma said they intended to call four witnesses for the trial proper, submit medical evidence and also call the doctor who examined the victim as a state witness.

The matter was adjourned for a pre-trial conference to December 4. The accused’s bail was extended.