Former court officer jailed for three years over $3,100 fraud

A former court officer has been sentenced to three years in prison after dishonestly obtaining $3,100 while working as a revenue collector at the Sigatoka Magistrates Court Registry.

Resident Magistrate Viniane Diroiroi sentenced Rauni Moceiovalau Bulivakacegu after he pleaded guilty to charges of Obtaining Financial Advantage and Falsification of Documents brought by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC).

The offences were committed between January and August 2018 while Mr Bulivakacegu was employed as a Revenue Collector at the Sigatoka Magistrates Court Registry.

During that period, he dishonestly recorded lower amounts on duplicate and triplicate copies of eight receipts compared with the amounts recorded on the original receipts.

Through the offending, he obtained a financial advantage of $3,100.

The Court said Mr Bulivakacegu occupied a position of trust and was expected to be truthful, honest and ethical in carrying out his duties.

It found his actions were calculated and well planned and involved offending on eight separate occasions.

The Court adopted an aggregate starting point of three years' imprisonment and increased the sentence by two years for aggravating circumstances.

It then reduced the sentence by one year for mitigation and previous good character, with a further one-year reduction for his guilty plea.

This resulted in a final aggregate sentence of three years' imprisonment.

The Court fixed a non-parole period of two years.

Six months Mr Bulivakacegu spent on remand was treated as time already served, leaving one year and six months to be served.

He has 28 days to appeal to the High Court.