Former TLTB officer jailed for taking bribes

Former iTaukei Lands Trust Board (TLTB) officer Josaia Waqairatu has been jailed for seven months after being convicted of soliciting and accepting bribes from a land lease applicant.

Waqairatu was convicted on two counts of bribery under the Prevention of Bribery Act 2007 by the Suva Magistrates Court on Friday.

He was also fined $200 and ordered to repay $200 to the complainant.

The court heard that Waqairatu, who worked as a Senior Research Officer at TLTB’s head office in Suva, solicited and accepted payments of $250 and $200 from businessman Varun Anand between September and December 2019.

The payments were intended to secure his assistance in fast-tracking or bypassing procedures for pending land lease applications.

During sentencing, the prosecution argued that the offences involved a serious breach of public trust and warranted imprisonment.

The defence sought a non-custodial sentence, telling the court Waqairatu was a first-time offender, the sole breadwinner for his family, had cooperated with investigators and had already spent time in remand.

The court classified the offending as a lower-culpability bribery offence, finding no evidence of extensive planning, organised activity or substantial financial gain.

However, the magistrate stressed that corruption by public servants undermines public confidence in institutions and requires sentences that deter similar offending.

The court also rejected Waqairatu’s application for a non-conviction order, finding insufficient evidence that recording a conviction would cause exceptional hardship.

Waqairatu had spent about six weeks in remand custody, which the court credited towards his sentence, leaving an effective custodial term of five months and two weeks.

He has 28 days to appeal the sentence.

Senior lawyer Setefano Komaibaba represented FICAC while Simione Valenitabua of Valenitabua Law & Associates appeared for Waqairatu.