Chinese national Ling Gao was refused bail in the Suva Magistrates Court yesterday after the court found her stay in Fiji was unlawful.
Referring to Gao as a ‘prohibited migrant’, Magistrate Jioji Boseiwaqa said it was not in the public interest to release her on bail.
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Gao is charged alongside co-accused’s Parvir Rattan and Sereima Rokovada for bribery and being in possession of a forged document.
She was produced in court on February 23, 2018 and Rattan and Rokovada were released on bail.
The court heard that Gao was in Fiji on a work permit which had expired in 2015 and she had been overstaying ever since.
Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) Prosecutor Anaseini Lomani objected to her bail on the grounds that the accused was a flight risk and there was a likelihood that she would abscond.
Her lawyer, Niko Nawaikula, submitted that his client’s passport and travel documents had been confiscated by FICAC and that she had lodged her work permit with the Immigration Department and Investment Fiji in 2014.
However, he said, they had not updated Gao about her application.
Mr Nawaikula also stated that the accused had lodged an application for naturalisation in May 2017.
Gao submitted that she is an investor and knows the procedure well adding that she had submitted her documents to Investment Fiji, but they were yet to return her investment report to enable her to renew her permit.
Defence further submitted that the accused had a right to bail and poses no threat to the safety and security of the community.
She vowed to abide by any bail conditions imposed by the Court.
While refusing the accused’s bail, Magistrate Boseiwaqa ordered that she may reapply for bail under Section 30 of the Bail Act 2002 or appeal the ruling to the High Court.
Gao’s case will be called again in the Magistrates Court on March 12, 2018.
Edited by Jonathan Bryce
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