The Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption (FICAC) Commissioner Rashmi Aslam asked SODELPA Member of Parliament, Salote Radrodro if it was unethical to submit her free-of-charge travel ticket.

Mr Aslam had presented in court a boat ticket that had free of charge (FOC) written on it and was used by Radrodro in one of her claims from Nabouwalu to Natovi.

Radrodro said she submitted the ticket with a letter stating she was not sure if she could claim it or not as it was a FOC ticket.

Mr Aslam said with her long-term experience, she should have known she could not claim it. Mr Aslam then asked again if she was attempting to claim using the ticket, Radrodro said no adding she had written a letter to clarify things.

He asked her if she wrote a letter to the Parliament secretary-general to clarify the situation, to which Radrodro said yes.

Mr Aslam corrected her saying that the letter was written to Opposition caucus clerk, Peniasi Daveta (Ben Daveta).

Radrodro then said yes she wrote to Ben Daveta to submit it to the secretary-general. Radrodro’s BSP ATM statement was scrutinised in court where the court heard that she used the ATM 103 times between January 1, 2019, and April 30, 2020, including the alleged offending dates.

However, Radrodro said she had used the ATMs during her travel from Tacirua Heights to Natovi to withdraw cash beforehand as there were no ATMs in Nabouwalu.

The court also heard that out of 274 days during the offending period, Radrodro spent 57 days in Namulomulo to which Radrodro agreed.

When asked by the FICAC Commissioner why Tacirua was yet her temporary home, Radrodro said it was because of Parliament sittings, committee sittings, family functions and commitments, and her constituency work.

When questioned by Mr Aslam if she spent most of her time in Namulomulo after she was charged by FICAC, Radrodro said it was not her own making as Parliament became creative and took the initiative to host virtual meetings.

When questioned by Anti-Corruption High Court Judge, Justice Doctor Thushara Kumarage, about why Radrodro had gone to Namulomulo for one or two days during the period, she testified that she went because her son and family were there.

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