Plea For Military Facility Remand Refused

Adefence lawyer representing a military officer who allegedly tried to murder his de facto partner has asked the Nasinu Magistrates Court if the accused could be remanded at a military facility instead of the Suva Remand Centre. The accused appeared before Magistrate Sufia Hamza represented by private lawyer Gavin O’Driscoll, with Sergeant Apenisa Keresoni prosecuting.

The accused is charged with one count of attempted murder of the 35-year-old complainant at a Colo-iSuva pool after they agreed to go for an early morning swim on September 15, 2018. Magistrate Hamza questioned Mr O’Driscoll if there were any provisions in the Bail Act of 2002 that permitted an accused to be remanded at a separate facility.

Mr O’Driscoll responded in the negative, saying it was only a request since the accused is a military officer. Sergeant Keresoni served the accused with full phase disclosures and informed the court that the accused had been in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with the accused for nine months.

He also objected to bail on the ground that the accused was charged with an indictable offence and further made an application for the case to be transferred to the High Court. Magistrate Hamza issued a domestic violence restraining order protecting the complainant with noncontact orders.

She also rejected the request made by the defence to have the accused remanded at a separate facility and remanded the accused in custody at the remand centre.

The case has been adjourned to September 21, 2018, for first call in the High Court. Edited by Epineri Vula