A former Exemption Officer with the Department of Immigration pleaded not guilty to corruption charges at the Suva Magistrates Court yesterday.

Sereima Rokovada was charged by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) with one count of bribery and one count of using a forged document.

She was charged alongside business consultant Parvir Rattan and businesswoman Ling Gao.

Rattan pleaded not guilty to one count of bribery and told the court he would represent himself for the case.

Gao pleaded not guilty to one count of bribery and one count of possession of a forged document.

Magistrate Jioji Boseiwqa adjourned the matter to April 18, 2018, to fix a hearing date. Rattan and Rokovada are on bail while Gao is remanded.

Facts of the case:

It is alleged that Rokavada in January 2018, while employed at the Department of Immigration, accepted an advantage $100 without lawful authority or reasonable excuse in her capacity as a public servant from Gao and Rattan.

It is also alleged that Rokavada knowingly used an altered work permit on Gao’s Chinese passport with the intention of inducing an immigration officer.

Gao and Rattan were charged for one count of bribery for allegedly offering an advantage of $100 to Rokovada.

Gao was also charged with possession of a forged document for knowingly possessing a false document, namely an altered work permit on her Chinese passport, with intention to use the forged document.

Feedback: fonua.talei@fijisun.com.fj