A Senior Police Officer facing charges of failure to render assistance and resisting or obstructing officers was advised in the Nadi Magistrates Court yesterday to inform his lawyer to file his mitigation submissions.

The accused Pita Keni appeared before Magistrate Peni Dalituimua for sentencing. However, the defence lawyer was yet to file mitigation submissions.

Keni was then told to inform his lawyer to file submissions before the next court date.

He was charged for the two counts by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC).

In December last year, Magistrate Mohammed Azhar found him guilty of the count of “Failure to Render” and convicted him accordingly.

However, he was found not guilty on the second count of resisting or obstructing officers.

It was alleged that whilst employed as a public servant by the Fiji Police Force without reasonable excuse he failed to render assistance to FICAC by refusing to provide information requested that applied to a bribery case against a former Acting Inspector of the Fiji Police Force, Timoci Naulu.

The case has been adjourned to April 3, 2018, to check on mitigation submissions by the Defence.

Edited by Mohammed Zulfikar

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