Former FSC team leader jailed over farmer grant fraud

A former section team leader of the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) has been sentenced to 23 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of obtaining a financial advantage and falsification of documents.

Roneel Chand was sentenced by the Labasa Magistrate Court on Monday. He was charged by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC).

FICAC lawyer Joshua Prasad appeared for the prosecution, while Chand was represented by Legal Aid Commission lawyer William Lomaloma.

The court heard that Chand, while employed by FSC in 2019, was involved in the application, processing and assessment of sugar cane farmer grant applications.

During this period, he intentionally and dishonestly intercepted and converted for his personal use a $1,300 grant cheque intended for a farmer.

The court also heard that Chand falsified work orders to facilitate fraudulent grant payments for non-existent farm work.

Magistrate Amelia Korodrau said the evidence established that Chand used his knowledge of FSC procedures and years of experience to manipulate the system, deceive sugar cane farmers and obtain financial benefit.

She said the offending affected both FSC and sugar cane farmers, who were particularly vulnerable and relied heavily on grant assistance.

Due to a five-year systemic delay in the case, the court exercised its discretion under section 18(3) of the Sentencing and Penalties Act 2009 and declined to impose a non-parole period.

Chand was sentenced to 23 months’ imprisonment for count one and 18 months’ imprisonment for count two, with both sentences to run concurrently.