Land fraud case for trial, June 3
A MAN accused of forging the withdrawal of an objection letter regarding a land dispute over logging in Isabel, is facing trial next week.
The trial on the matter of Elliot Havilegu will start at 10am on Monday next week in the Honiara Magistrate’s Court.
Havilegu is facing trial for one count of Uttering.
He allegedly forged a document namely a withdrawal of objection letter.
The allegation arises from a logging dispute over a portion of land.
The land is owned by different tribal groups living in and around the vicinity of Biluro Village, Hongrano District in Isabel Province.
Vokias and co-accused trial starts Monday next week
The trial of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Northwest Guadalcanal, Jamie Vokia, his wife Ethel, and three others, who are accused of attempting to prevent a witness from giving evidence at an election petition hearing, will commence on Monday next week.
MP Vokia, his wife, and the three other co-accused—Rose Tala, a former Guadalcanal Provincial Assembly (MPA) member, Moses Beacon, and Polycarp Pereseni—face charges of conspiracy to defeat justice and interference with a witness.
The one-week trial was initially scheduled to begin on Monday, June 3.
However, the trial was postponed due to MP Vokia’s illness and has been rescheduled to start on Monday next week before Chief Magistrate Emma Garo.
The case pertains to an incident alleged to have occurred between January 20 and January 27, 2020, in Honiara.
The prosecution alleges that Mr. Vokia obstructed the due course of justice and that his wife and the three other defendants aided and abetted him by preventing a woman, who was lawfully bound to appear and give evidence at the High Court as a witness, from doing so.
This incident occurred during a High Court hearing of the election petition case lodged against Mr. Vokia.
Mr. Vokia lost his seat after the High Court found him guilty of three counts of bribery during the election petition hearing in 2020.
His loss of the seat led to a by-election later that year, during which his wife, Ethel, succeeded him.
The defendants are represented by Rano & Company, while the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Andrew Kelesi, is prosecuting the case.
Marau faces pre-trial conference on conversion charge
THE pre-trial conference and setting of the trial dates on the conversion charge against William Bradford Marau, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ulawa-Ugi Constituency in Makira-Ulawa Province, will be made in court tomorrow.
Marau has already pleaded not guilty to converting $5million of shipping fund for his own use on a previous court date.
His case was listed for a pre-trial conference yesterday.
However, the presiding magistrate adjourned the pre-trial conference hearing and setting of trial dates to June 6.
Marau is accused of converting SBD5million of shipping funds that the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) paid into the Ulawa-Ugi Constituency Account with Bank South Pacific (BSP) in 2016.
On January 22, 2016, the SIG deposited SBD5 million into this account as a shipping fund.
It is alleged that on February 17, 2016, the former MP advised BSP Bank to transfer the SBD5 million into his personal account with ANZ Bank.
Subsequently, 65 withdrawals were made from the accused’s personal account, totaling SBD6,023,326.70, and a further 10 withdrawals, totaling SBD4,550,000, were deposited into the business account of Aslan Stationeries with ANZ.
Aslan Stationeries is a private company owned by the former MP.
By the end of 2016, it is alleged that the remaining balance in Marau’s personal account was SBD27,868.87.
Jillian Soaika of Rano & Company represents Marau, while Public Prosecutor Olivia Ratu Manu appears for the Crown.
Former POB officer to be sentenced
The former Pan Oceanic Bank (POB) officer who admits to stealing over $300,000 from a ‘Landowner’s Association’ in 2021 and 2022 will be sentenced on June 20.
Shuyee Eli Yan is facing 12 counts of Larceny by Servant and three counts of Forgery which she had already pleaded guilty to.
Sentencing submissions and mitigation were already done previously.
The only issue left that counsels have had sorted out this week was the final amount she stole from POB customer.
The amount counsels had agreed to is of $310,000.
The defendant committed the offences between June 2021 and August 2022 when she was working as a Bank Officer for the POB.
She stole various amounts of money between those dates from the Saibuloa Landowners Association’s account by transferring them through Internet banking to accounts of some other POB and ANZ customers.
The defendant instructed the customers to withdraw the money from their accounts and gave them to her.
The total amount of money she stole was $310,000.
The money was never recovered to date.
The defendant also forged signatures purporting to be signed by three signatories to a Dangi Tughu Account in an application for the release of this Dormant Account.
She further forged a letter titled ‘Authorization To Transferring of Funds from Dangi Tughu Account to Saibuloa Landowners Association Account’ in which she forged the signatures of the signatories to the account.
Subsequently, she forged the signatures of the signatories to the Dangi Tughu account on a withdrawal slip for $25,000.00.
Public Solicitor lawyer Delilah Kukura is representing Yan whilst Public Prosecutor Vernon Taupongi is prosecuting.
