Man charged for petrol bomb incident seeks bail
A BAIL application has been made for the man who was charged in relation to the petrol bomb incident that occurred in July at Kukum, Honiara.
Magistrate Emily Zazariko Vagibule Pakoa having heard the application yesterday, adjourned the matter to August 31 for the ruling.
Mostyn Maenu’u Jnr is facing the charges of possession of firearms, intimidation and malicious damage.
This is for an allegation that occurred between 4am and 5am on 2 July this year at the cross junctions to east Kolaridge, Kukum Market and Florence Young School at Kukum.
The prosecution alleged the defendant and others had attacked a couple with petrol bombs.
It was alleged that the couple were on their way to tow a car which had a mechanical problem when they encountered five masked men armed with knives.
The masked men allegedly threw petrol bombs at the two vehicles and started cutting the vehicles with bush knives and threatened to kill them.
An earlier police report stated that the victim of the incident received burns from the petrol bombs but was in a stable condition.
Maenu’u is represented by Private Lawyer Lazarus Kwaiga of L & L Lawyers, whilst Public Prosecutor Myrella Cleven is appearing on behalf of the Crown.
Fijian who was fined $1.5k to appeal case
THE Fiji National, who was fined $1,500 this week for entering the country without an exemption on a repatriation flight from Vanuatu in 2020 during the period of COVID-19 international travel restrictions, has appealed her matter.
Foreign Nationals were then restricted entry into Solomon Islands due to COVID-19 travel restrictions imposed by the government unless they were granted an exemption.
This means the Fijian will be paying the fine pending the decision of the Court of Appeal on her matter.
Natasha Neha Sharma was sentenced on Tuesday in the High Court for the charge of Prohibition of Entry of Non-Citizens.
This is contrary to clause 4 of the Emergency Powers (Covid-19) (Prohibition of Entry of Non-Citizens) Order 2020 as read with Regulation 8(1) (2) and (3) of the Emergency Powers (Covid-19) (N0. 2) Regulations 2020.
Sharma committed the offence on 1 July 2020, when she entered the country from Vanuatu without an exemption Order from the Prime Minister.
She was accompanying her husband who was a Solomon Islands law student at the University of the South Pacific Emalus Campus in Vanuatu.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Rachael Olutimayin said at the time of the offence, Sharma was married to the Solomon Islands law student.
Sharma had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge and a trial was conducted before Chief Magistrate Emma Garo in 2021.
On 12 January 2021, CM Garo acquitted Sharma for reasons that the charge against her was defective and that she had a good defence under section 10 of the Penal Code.
“The Court cannot enter a conviction against the defendant on the defective charge upon which she had been arraigned and tried,” CM Garo stated in her judgement at that time.
She accepted Sharma’s defence as honest and reasonable on the mistaken belief that she could enter the country without the exemption or approval of the Prime Minister.
CM Garo said she found that the combined and cumulative effect of the failure by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources (MEHRD to check her nationality.
She said the fact that MEHRD paid for her ticket and the only information required from her by MFAET (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade) was her name as it appears on her passport and the failure by MFAET to enquire about her nationality, sufficiently set out the evidential basis to raise the defence of mistake of fact in her favour.
“I find on the evidence that the defence of mistake of fact is made out.”
Following the acquittal, the DPP took up the matter in the High Court, saying Sharma did not have defence under section 10 of the PC because the offence is a strict liability offence.
The High Court hearing on the matter was presided over by Justice Maelyn Bird on 6 October 2022.
Justice Bird delivered her ruling on 4 July 2023, where she set aside CM Garo’s judgement.
In her judgement, Justice Bird said the defence did not have defence under section 10 of the Penal Code.
She then convicted Sharma and adjourned the matter for sentencing submissions.
On 11 August, the sentencing submissions were made in court and the sentence was delivered on 22 August this year.
Justice Bird has imposed a fine of $1,500.
However, Sharma appealed her matter to the Court of Appeal.
Public Solicitor George Gray represents Sharma, whilst the DPP Rachel Olutimayin appears for the Crown.
Tausoro murder accused back to court on Aug 31
THE man, who was remanded in custody for the attack on an elderly couple and another person at Tausoro in Central Guadalcanal which left the husband dead from multiple knife wounds, will appear in court on August 31.
The accused, Stanley Gegesi, is facing one count of murder and one count of unlawful wounding.
This is for the murder of Baltasare Basi in his 80’s and unlawful wounding of Michael Lea.
Police charged Gegesi in relation to the allegation on the night of 11 August this year at Tausoro, in Turarana, Central Guadalcanal.
The prosecution alleged that between 10pm and 12 midnight on the date of offence, Gegesi and another male person entered the couple’s house.
The couple were lying in their bed when the Gegesi and another male went into their house and demanded them for a large sum of money.
The deceased’s wife got her purse and gave $100 to him but he insisted on $4,000 from the couple.
Gegesi allegedly harassed the couple. He punched the mouth of deceased’s wife and grabbed her purse.
The wife then escaped for her life.
Gegesi then allegedly grabbed a bush knife from wall of the house and cut the deceased with it.
It was alleged he cut the deceased multiple times in the head, shoulders and backside.
When the villagers noticed what was happening, they allegedly chased Gegesi who ran from them to the house of his second victim.
The second victim, Lea, was still sleeping when Gegesi allegedly cut him with the knife.
At that time, several men started throwing stones at Gegesi.
He, however, escaped along the Turarana River down to Turarana village where he joined a dance that was going on in the village.
The villagers who chased Gegesi then called communities along the road by mobile phones to alert them about the incident.
A group of men residing at Purakachere Village caught Gegesi and held him until police arrived in their village.
The second victim was taken to hospital and was said to be in a critical condition.
Vokias and co-accused still awaiting appeal hearing
NORTH East Guadalcanal Member of Parliament, Ethel Vokia, her husband Jamie Vokia and three others who are facing criminal matters in court are still waiting for the High Court to hear their appeal.
Their matter was mentioned in the Honiara Magistrate Court yesterday and was further adjourned till November 30, pending the outcome of the appeal hearing.
The court yesterday heard that the High Court will be hearing the appeal next month.
MP Ethel, her husband who is the former for North East Guadalcanal, Jamie Vokia and three others, Rose Tala who is the Guadalcanal Provincial Assembly (MPA), Moses Beacon and Polycarp Pereseni, have appealed a Magistrate’s ruling regarding an application submitted for a permanent stay of proceedings.
Chief Magistrate Emma Garo had dismissed their application and ruled that there was no abuse of process as submitted by their lawyers.
Ethel and her co-accused are facing the charge of Conspiracy to Defeat Justice and interference with witness, contrary to section 116(b) of the Penal Code 9 cap 26 to be read with section 21(a) of the Penal Code (Cap 26).
The MP is also facing a separate charge of Election Bribery contrary to section 126(1)(a) and (b)(ii) of the Electoral Act 2018.
The prosecution alleged Jamie obstructed due course of justice and Ethel and the three other defendants aided and abetted him between 20 January 2020 and 27 January 2020, in Honiara, preventing a woman who was lawfully bound to appear and give evidence as a witness in the High Court from appearing.
This was during a High Court hearing of the Election Petition case lodged against Jamie.
Jamie lost his seat after the High Court found him guilty of three grounds of briberies at the Election Petition hearing in 2020.
A bye-election was held later that year and Jamie’s wife, Ethel, won the North East Guadalcanal seat.
The prosecution also alleged that on 7 January 2018, Ethel gave $250 to a person with the intention of influencing that person and two others to vote for her husband Jamie at the 2019 National General Election.
