NEW trial dates will be fixed on Friday for former Health Ministry workers charged in connection to the $10 million scandal within the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in 2012 and 2013.
This was after their trial which was scheduled to start on Monday 28 October was vacated due to an urgent family issue of the presiding magistrate Principal Magistrate Tearo Beneteti.
The matter went before Chief Magistrate Emma Garo on Monday 4 November who stated as a matter of case management this smatter should be prioritized for trial.
She suggested having this trial before another magistrate as the current presiding magistrate will not be available anytime sooner.
This matter will return to court on Friday 8 November for confirmation of the allocation of this matter to another magistrate and for the setting of the new trial dates.
Former finance controller Stephen Dalipanda, former Senior Accountant Randy Hatigeva, former Health Procurement Officer Robert Manu and former Accounts Officer Dalcy Maena for two counts of False Pretence.
Manu is also facing a separate charge of four counts of Official Corruption and is currently awaiting judgement after his trial concluded.
He was accused of using his position to expedite and authorize payments to Eroba Shipping by bypassing the proper procurement procedures in exchange for large sums of money that were deposited into his personal bank account.
It was alleged that on four specific occasions between November 2012 and March 2013, Manu processed payments to Eroba Shipping.
The four corrupt payments totalled up to $1, 608,371.
Manu, however, denied those allegations.
A private local contractor Tigi Sekele, who is also charged in connection to this health scandal, is waiting for his trial.
Sikele faces three counts of false pretence.
The prosecution alleged he fabricated invoices and submitted them to the MHMS to claim the services done.
It was alleged he received three payments worth over over $1million to his company for the freighting of materials, which were never done.
The prosecution alleged those payments were done because the defendant fraudulently submitted a fabricated invoice to the MHMS on each occasion between April 2013 and June 2013.
The former health workers allegedly caused a total sum of $1,594,935.10 to be paid to a ghost shipping service called the Joke Shipping Services.
The two shipping agents John Biliki and Wesley Poloso of Eroba Shipping Service and Joke Shipping Service defrauded the Solomon Islands Government for approximately $7.3 million.
Taxi driver, Poloso, was already convicted and jailed for two and a half years in 2014 for receiving $1.5 million of the fund.
The matter of the owner of the other alleged fake shipping agent, Biliki was discontinued in 2019 in the High Court after he died from an illness.
These millions of dollars were from the Solomon Islands Government and aid donors to support and improve rural health services.
The prosecution alleged that the defrauding of these monies severely affected implementation of health projects in the rural areas.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
