Court finds ex-Corrections chief has case to answer

The trial into allegations against former Fiji Corrections Service Commissioner Salote Panapasa will proceed after the Suva Magistrate Court found she has a case to answer.

Panapasa’s lawyer filed a no-case submission earlier this week, arguing that the State’s case had no merit because she did not seek any personal financial gain when she obtained the “discarded building materials” from the premises.

Panapasa faces two counts of abuse of office and an alternative charge of general dishonesty causing a loss.

It is alleged that between August 1 and September 30, 2023, while employed as a civil servant in Suva, Panapasa instructed officers to facilitate the use of Fiji Corrections Service building materials for her private residence in Kinoya.

It is also alleged that between August 1 and October 31, 2023, Panapasa instructed a Corrections officer to alter weekly reports to justify the use of the building materials at her home.

She appeared before Resident Magistrate Charles Ratakele today for the ruling.

The court found that government materials procured for official purposes could not be converted for an officer’s personal or residential use without formal Board of Survey approval and the required official purchasing process.

Magistrate Ratakele referred to direct testimony from several prosecution witnesses concerning alleged verbal instructions relating to Corrections materials.

He also considered evidence from the prosecution’s 11th witness regarding requirements for payments involving State health authority commissioners.

The magistrate said the evidence was sufficient to establish a case to answer, but stressed that this was not a finding of guilt.

The defence will begin its case on October 1 and is expected to call two witnesses, including Panapasa.