A PUBLIC officer accused of obtaining more than $40,000 from two men under false pretence will return to court on September 9.
Frank Sade Bilau faces 14 counts of false pretence.
He was brought to the Honiara Magistrate Court on Tuesday evening for remand but his lawyer successfully applied for bail.
Principal Magistrate Shepherd Lapo have him bailed on a cash bail of $1,000 with strict conditions attached.
Bilau was an officer working in the Marketing and Promotion Division within the Ministry of Commerce, Labour and Immigration at that time of the alleged offending early this year.
Police alleged that on February 19, this year, the first complainant went to the ministry hoping to discuss how to access Taro market overseas.
The complainant saw the accused and after their discussions assured the complainant that there was one market available in New Zealand.
On February 20, Bilau alleged called the complainant and advised him that in order to acquire further information into the market website they are required to pay $500 for subscriber fee.
The complainant gave him that amount of money.
The following day, Bilau called the victim again and this time for him to prepare a five kilogram bag of taro.
The complainant and his wife were selling taro at the market when he allegedly called them up.
He said the taro would be used as samples to be tested by buyers in New Zealand.
That day Bilau allegedly collected the bag of taro and $850 which he allegedly claimed for freight and treatment charges of the taro sample before the actual sending is undertaken.
Bilau allegedly took the money and promised the complainant that the sample will be sent via express mail at the General Post Office.
On February 24 and 25, this year Bilau collected additional money from the complainant for DHL express mail.
He told the complainant that the Post Office has no direct flight to New Zealand.
Again he told the accused that the sample will be sent on February 26.
The accused then allegedly fabricated a number of emails addressed to a New Zealand buyer confirming the taro result and to an Organisation that certifies company who wants to export fresh product.
It was alleged that he further obtained money from this complainant to obtain the test result.
Police alleged the fabricated emails convicted the victim but he became suspicious of Bilau when he did not provide him with payment receipts he asked him to provide.
Bilau allegedly never responded to the complainant after attempts to call him.
He later found out that the accused lied to him and all the emails made were deceitful when his brother went to see the Director of the said ministry.
The director told the complainant’s brother that there was nothing such as the Taro market.
It was alleged that Bilau also played the same tactics on the second complainant who went seeking for Kava market overseas.
Hubert Fugui of Public Solicitor’s Office represents the accused while standing on behalf of the State is Police Prosecutor Iete Tebakota.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
