The plea for a 36-year-old Valelevu man alleged to have been found in possession of 1.4 kilogrammes of methamphetamine (ice) was yesterday deferred by the High Court in Suva.

Kritesh Kumar, who appeared before judge Justice Thushara Rajasinghe, represented by a private lawyer.

The defence counsel submitted in her bail application that the accused was a widower whose wife passed away in 2013.

She said the accused had two children aged nine and five years old and there was no one willing to look after them.

She said Kumar’s two children were under the care of the accused’s brother-in-law and sister-in-law who had refused to care for the children because they were newlyweds and were having some problems.

In her oral submissions, Kumar’s lawyer stated that there was no shred of evidence adduced by the State to prove that the accused had breached his bail conditions in his previous case.

She said the accused had been punctual to court whilst he was on bail.

She invited the court to strongly consider the welfare of the accused’s two children when deciding his bail.

State lawyer Eoghan Samisoni said the charge against the accused was a serious one, which warranted a prison sentence of 10 years if convicted.

He said there were partial admissions in the accused’s statement, which the State was relying on.

His bail ruling will be delivered by Justice Rajasinghe on January 16, 2018.

The accused was further remanded in custody.

Edited by Rusiate Mataika

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