The court was told there were 42 prosecution witnesses in the case against a former Ministry of Health employee and a businessman charged in relation to corrupt practices.

Semisi Havea and Nilson Narayan are charged by the Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption for conspiring to defraud-causing a loss and three counts of general dishonesty- causing a loss.

Havea at the time of the incident was the acting executive officer in the ministry and Narayan was the director of Aashees Motor Repairs.

The alleged incident occurred between November 1, 2012 and January 31, 2013 where Havea and Narayan conspired to dishonestly cause a loss or a risk of loss to the Ministry of Health knowing or believing that the said loss will occur or that there is a substantial risk of the loss occurring.

The two appeared at the Suva Magistrates Court yesterday before Magistrate Neel Rupasinghe with their lawyers for plea however the Defence lawyers asked for more time.

FICAC lawyer Sera Fatafehi served disclosure certificates in court and advised the court that the disclosures were served and the two accused persons were on bail.

Havea’s lawyer Nancy Tikoisuva and Narayan’s lawyer Jiten Reddy informed the court that they needed two months to go through the disclosures. The matter has been adjourned for January 5, 2016.

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