* Sentence for elderly man, Feb 25
* One Link’s bail ruling next Monday
Sentence for elderly man, Feb 25
THE 57-year-old man who had unlawful sexual intercourse with his 11-year-old granddaughter in 2019 will be sentenced on February 25.
The sentencing submissions and mitigation on his matter was made yesterday before Justice Maelyn Bird.
Lazarus Waroka of the Public Solicitor’s Office had asked the court to consider his client’s health whom he said is in a “sickly condition”.
He added that at one time his client had been admitted to the National Referral Hospital (NRH) whilst in custody.
Having heard from both counsels, Bird adjourned the matter to February 25 for the sentence.
Bird also ordered Waroka to provide the doctor’s report on the accused’s condition.
The accused had pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse of a child under 15.
The offences occurred on two occasions, one on an unknown date between 1 February 2019 and 1 April 2019 and another on 26 April 2019.
The incidents happened in Isabel.
The victim was an 11-year old girl attending a primary school in Isabel at the time of the offending.
Public Prosecutor Patricia Tabepuda appeared for the Crown.
One Link’s bail ruling next Monday
RULING on the bail application made for the director of One Link Pacifica Gerrad Tauohu will be delivered next Monday.
This followed the bail hearing yesterday before Deputy Chief Magistrate Ricky Iomea.
This is Tauohu’s fourth attempt at bail after his arrest and remand last April.
Ronald Dive of Ron Law who represents Tauohu applied for bail on behalf of Tauohu.
The ground for the bail application is to have Tauohu released from custody so that he and his lawyer can discuss and go through documents regarding his charges.
This was because Dive was not able to visit his client at Rove due to the Covid-19 restrictions put in place.
Therefore, the only avenue to contact his client at Rove is through Telephone.
Prosecution on the other hand is objecting to bail.
Tauohu faces 38 counts of false pretence and one count of operating an unlicensed Financial Institution.
This is in relation to the complaints from five mentors involving more than $461,000 between December 2019 and February 2020.
The money belongs to One Link customers.
One Link customers were advised through the mentors by One Link directors to invest in the scheme and that they will be paid triple the amount they pay in a month’s time.
Tauohu, however, allegedly failed to repay One Link’s customers their money with its interest and escaped to Malaita.
Police arrested him and charged him after receiving complaints from the scheme’s mentors and customers who are yet to receive their money.
One link Pacifica customers had allegedly invested more than $56M in the scheme but police had only managed to recover $336,891.20.
However, that $336, 891.20 which was kept in the police exhibit facility at Rove Police Headquarters went missing last October.
A Police officer looking after that exhibit facility is now on suspension awaiting the outcome of the Police’s Professional Standards Internal Investigation (PSII).
