.gif)
A Fiji court has refused to give in to pleas for mercy from a 53-year-old village headman convicted of stealing more than $4000 raised by his villagers for an electrification project.
Taitusi Tikoimacuata pleaded with Labasa Magistrate Ropate Cabealawa that he would apologise to his village and was willing to pay back the $4350 he stole.
Magistrate Cabealawa refused to be swayed by the grandfather of 13, sentencing him to 18 months in jail.
“I doubt the accused’s willingness to repay the amount is a genuine attempt because it was being offered some three years after the offence was committed,” he said while passing sentence
“In any event, the accused clearly does not have the means to reparation now or at any time in the foreseeable future.
“Though the amount is relatively small, I consider it to be a breach of trust.”
Tikoimacuata pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent conversion on September 28, 2009.
The court had heard that between September 12 and September 30 this year, Tikomacuata received $4350 cash from the Department of Energy for the electrification project for his the village, and fraudulently converted the money for his own use.
Tikomacuata had applied for a diesel lighting scheme through the Rural Electrification Unit of the Department of Energy in 2002.
He was advised that the capital cost of the scheme was $56,620 and the villagers were to contribute 10 per cent of the capital cost which was $5662.
In October 2004, the villagers organised a bazaar and raised $2150. Their second fundraising was by way of harvesting cane and raised $3500. A total of $5650 was collected and paid to the Department of Energy.
Between 2005 and 2006, the electrification scheme for Nacereyaga was changed from diesel lighting to solar lighting.
On April 18, 2006 Tikoimacuata wrote to the Rural Electrification Unit, in his capacity as ‘turaga-ni-koro’ requesting for the refund of $4350, being the balance for the change in the lighting scheme, to be deposited in his person bank account.
After it was deposited, he withdrew the money from his account on September 25, 2006 and used it on himself.
He was arrested on September 26, 2008 and later admitted to the offences in court.
