Former civil servant jailed for fraud, one year suspended

A former civil servant has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, of which one year is suspended, by the Suva Magistrate Court today after being found guilty of corruption-related offences involving public funds.

Anaseini Kalougata was ordered to serve 12 months immediately, while the remaining 12 months were suspended for three years.

Magistrate Shageeth Somaratne delivered the sentence after convicting Kalougata on one count of falsification of documents and one count of obtaining financial advantage.

The charges were brought by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption following a trial.

The court heard that between November 1 and November 30, 2017, Kalougata was serving as Head of the Department of Heritage under the then Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts. She was responsible for handling meal allowances and travel expenses for participants attending workshops in Suva and Levuka.

The funds were initially released to the director’s account before being handed to Kalougata to manage.

The court found that she submitted false claims for travel and subsistence allowances and dishonestly obtained $1,750 from the ministry.

While delivering sentence, Magistrate Somaratne described the offences as serious and said they involved a major breach of trust.

He said Kalougata was “not a morally blameless person” and noted the offences were more than technical breaches.

The magistrate also noted the funds involved were public money and said her previous good character carried little weight in mitigation.

Magistrate Somaratne said the partly suspended sentence was intended to punish and deter similar offending while still giving Kalougata an opportunity for rehabilitation.

Kalougata has 28 days to appeal against her sentence.

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