by: Rita Narayan
A bribery case involving a former staff at the Prime Minister’s Office has been transferred to the Suva High Court for a trial.
Rudra Maharaj who was a former information officer public relations at the Strategic Framework for Change Coordination Office in the Office of the PM has been charged with one count of bribery.
The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) made an application for the case to be transferred to the High Court for several reasons.
It argued on the grounds of the nature and seriousness of the offence, nature of employment of the respondent as a public officer, the amount of bribery allegedly accepted is substantially high and the public interest factor.
The defence counsel objected saying the trial would be delayed in the High Court.
Resident Magistrate Hettiwattege Shageeth Somaratne said although, Maharaj was presumed innocent the charge is serious and agreed with the prosecution’s application.
Maharaj allegedly accepted an advantage of $2000 cash and two cheques amounting to $10,000 as a reward from Avin Prakash on account of using influence in procuring the contract pertaining to a tender.
This article was written by Rita Narayan and originally published on fbc
