A 49-year-old man charged with sexual offences has had his case moved to the High Court and was refused bail by the Magistrate.

The accused appeared before Mag­istrate Sufia Hamza on Monday. He is charged with one count of sexual as­sault and two counts of rape.

It is alleged that the accused, on Febru­ary 9, 2019, in the Central Division, had indecently and unlawfully assaulted the complainant without her consent.

It is also alleged that on the same day, the accused unlawfully had carnal knowledge with the complainant with­out her consent.

Police prosecutor Woman Constable Priti Prasad had served the full phase disclosures and objected to the bail.

They were on the grounds that the matter was an indictable offence, the se­riousness and the nature of the offence, likelihood that the accused will not at­tend his court dates.

Also, that the accused had two pending matters before the Court, the accused had been evading Police since the time of the incident, and the matter was of high public interest.

She also told the court that the pros­ecution relied on the direct evidence of the complainant and made an applica­tion for the matter to be transferred to the High Court in Suva.

The matter was adjourned to March 1.

Edited by Ranoba Baoa