FORMER HEALTH MINISTRY WORKER JAILED FOR RAPE
A former Ministry of Health Project Officer raped a cleaner inside his office at the construction site of the new Ba Hospital on July 13, 2017.
Kamal Kapoor, 50, was sentenced to 10 years 11months and five days imprisonment with a non-parole period of nine years.
At the High Court in Lautoka, Justice Sunil Sharma heard that Kapoor had called the cleaner to his office during lunch hour and raped her.
She reported the matter to Police on the same day after telling her friends about it.
Justice Sharma considered the aggravating factors that the victim trusted the accused because he was a senior officer.
He was undeterred and bold when he used force to overpower her and there was some degree of planning by him to take advantage of her when all the other workers were out having lunch.
The victim’s impact statement said she feared him and still had flashbacks of the incident. She claimed that her personal problems with her in-laws was further aggravated to the point that she had to leave her matrimonial home.
She now fears re-joining the workforce because she was terminated from her employment after reporting the matter to the Police.
Justice Sharma said rape left lifelong scars of psychological devastation, self-blame and hopelessness in victims.