Ashna Kumar has the following pubic interest cases:

1. An Australian, who is currently serving time in Fiji’s prison after being convicted of importing and being in possession of illicit drugs and arms, will only proceed with appeal against sentence. This is after former horse trainer John Nikolic’s counsel, Thomson Lee from the Legal Aid Commission told the Fiji Court of Appeal Judge Justice Chandana Prematilaka today that his client had made the decision to withdraw his appeal against conviction and proceed with appeal only for his sentence. Nikolic is currently serving a 23-year prison term after losing a year-long court battle.

2. It is a crime to carry out any development works without an approved Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report, Environment officer tells court in her evidence. State witness, Environment officer for the Ministry of Environment, Kelera Tokalau took stand yesterday in the trial of the Director of Public Prosecutions against Freesoul Real Estate Development (Fiji) PTE Limited. The trial commenced today before Magistrate Seini Puamau.

Grab your copy of the Fiji Sun tomorrow for the full details on these cases and more. You can also subscribe to the E-Edition by clicking on this link: https://eedition.fijisun.com.fj/subscriptionplans