Prosecution discontinues case, accused awaits deportation
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has filed a nolle prosequi in the High Court against 37-year-old Yang Xian Jiong, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Robert Fong.
Jiong appeared before Justice Daniel Goundar yesterday. State prosecutor Meli Vosawale told the court that the State filed a nolle prosequi (a formal notice to discontinue or dismiss legal proceedings) against Jiong.
He also told the court that the Permanent Secretary for Immigration, through the Prime Minister’s Office, granted an order for Jiong to be deported back to China.
He also told the court that Jiong was a Chinese national and his passport was taken by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the point of the arrest. Justice Goundar discontinued the proceedings against Jiong and discharged him from the matter.
On June 30, 2015, Jiong was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years imprisonment to be served, before a pardon may be considered by the President of Fiji.
death.
Mr Fong was rushed to hospital, but died thereafter. Jiong appealed against his conviction and sentence on the grounds that:
The learned High Court judge erred in law and fact by failing to give reasons on why he failed to accept during the voir dire as well as the trial proper that the appellant’s confession had been obtained unfairly;
The learned trial judge’s directions on the elements of murder in his summing up lacked fairness and objectivity when he used examples that fitted the prosecutor’s case;
The learned trial judge caused the trial to miscarry when he unfairly commented in the summing up that the appellant had admitted the offence; and The learned trial judge caused the trial to miscarry when he commended in the summing up that the appellant was aiding and abetting the commission of murder despite the appellant being the only person in the information. The three-judge panel of the Fiji Court of Appeal on March 7, 2019, made the decision to allow the appeal and quashed the conviction.
The panel also ordered a new trial in the matter and remanded Jiong in custody. The three Fiji Court of Appeal judges panel consisted of Justice Chandana Prematilaka, Justice Anthony Fernando and Justice Priyantha Nawana.