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Fiji’s High Court today denied a bail application for Josetaki Waqa, a referral supervisor with the Immigration Department who has become the first person to be charged under the country’s bribery promulgation.
High Court judge Justice Daniel Goundar also ruled that Nadi magistrate Saimoni Naivalu had erred by not transferring the case straight to the High Court when the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) prosecutor had asked for it.
Toga will be held in remand by FICAC for 14 days until his next bail application hearing.
FICAC prosecutor Aca Raiyawa told Justice Daniel Goundar that Toga could hinder a current investigation if he was not remanded.
Toga’s lawyer Rajendra Chaudhry submitted there could be other measures taken by the court because remanding him would be in violation of Toga’s basic rights as stated under Fiji’s Bail Act.
Toga is alleged to have accepted $500 as well as a new mobile phone from a Stephen Mallerich, for uplifting travel history of a Mohammad Fanam Ali from the Immigration Department.
The court ordered that FICAC officers arrested Toga from the McDonald’s restaurant in Nadi, where he was allegedly exchanging the documents and later that night they executed a search warrant and seized documents from Toga's residence.
