PROSECUTION will today confirm its position to a proposal made in relation to the criminal charges against Eddie Funubana.
The court has heard that the defence counsel has made the proposal to the prosecution on a previous occasion.
Public Prosecutor Lyndon Adifaka who stood on instruction of one of his colleague however could not confirm if a proposal was made.
This was because there was no record on the file to confirm if the proposal was made to prosecution.
When asked to look for a proposal letter in the file, no letter was also located in the file.
Principal Magistrate Fatima Taeburi said the matter has been delayed for too long now and the accused is yet to enter his plea.
In order to speed up the matter, she made orders yesterday for the defence counsel to again serve prosecution with another proposal letter by the end of business yesterday.
She also gave prosecution until today to reply to the proposal and confirm its position to the court.
Funubana was previously represented by a private lawyer and is now represented by Sarah Karani of Public Solicitor’s Office.
The 31 year-old is yet to plea to the charges of abducting in order to subject person to grievous harm, grievous harm, demanding with menace property capable of being stolen, larceny from person, driver to be licenced and vehicle to be licenced.
He was alleged to be the bus driver in the bus used in the alleged offending and is he is co-accused with three others, David Rongota, 22, Philip Finiga, 20, and Joshua Rautofea, 23, who are all under warrant of arrests since last year.
Funubana was also under a warrant of arrest but police arrested him and have him remanded in custody recently.
The alleged incident occurred in June 2013, where Funubana and his co-accused allegedly abducted a Chinese national and demanded him to pay $100,000 before they would set him free.
The alleged victim got in the bus at the Ranadi round- about in east Honiara intending to return to China Town.
It was alleged that the bus driver then ordered the only two female passengers on the bus to get off and then changed direction heading up to East Guadalcanal.
At Guadalcanal Plains Palm Oil Limited (GPPOL) in East Honiara, the accused allegedly held the Asian at a knife point and ordered him to give them $100,000 or they would kill him.
Police alleged they beat him up and also stole his mobile phone and $200 cash.
They then allegedly took the Chinese to West Honiara and further to West Guadalcanal where he luckily escaped through a window when the bus had a tyre puncture.
The Chinese was picked up by a Hilux and dropped off at the Central Police Station where he reported the matter to police.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
