TRIAL for one of the former employees of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) accused of defrauding the state of $1.6 Million under the multi-million-dollar health scandal in 2012 and 2013 has started.
Robert Manu is facing trial for four counts of Official Corruption before Magistrate Emily Zazariko Vagibule Pakoa.
Public Prosecutor Vernon Taupongi, after opening the Crown’s case on Tuesday, called the Crown’s first witness on Wednesday.
He will be calling the Crown’s second witness on Thursday.
In his opening address, Mr Taupongi said the crux of the Crown’s case is that Mr Manu used his position to expedite and authorize payments to Eroba Shipping.
He said Manu did so bypassing the proper procurement procedures in exchange for large sums of money that were deposited into his personal bank account.
“On four specific occasions between November 2012 and March 2013, Mr Manu processed payments to Eroba Shipping.
Mr Taupongi said the four corrupt payments totalled up to $1, 608,371.
“When each payment went into Eroba Shipping’s BSP account, the dates withdrawn are exactly the same dates that monies were deposited into Manu’s account.”
He said corresponding withdrawals from Eroba’s BSP bank account totalled up to $548,300.
Mr Taupongi further added that each payment was followed by corresponding large deposits into Mr Manu’s personal ANZ bank account, which totalled to $155,000.
“The timing and amounts of these deposits are highly suspicious and strongly suggest that these funds were bribes or kickbacks received in exchange for Mr Manu’s facilitation of the fraudulent payments to Eroba Shipping,” Mr Taupongi said in the Crown’s opening address.
The court heard that between 2012 and 2013, MHMS suffered from a 10-million-dollar scandal executed by officers within the ministry.
And within that same scandal, between November 2012 and August 2013, MHMS also made 15 payments to two shipping companies, Eroba Shipping Services and Joke Shipping.
“Both companies were managed by John Biliki and Wesley Poloso.”
Mr Taupongi said an internal audit by MHMS in August 2013 uncovered significant irregularities with these payments.
“The audit found all 15 payments to be fraudulent and suspected collusion between MHMS officials as well as shipping agents to defraud the Solomon Islands Government by bypassing the application process for project proposals.
“Notably, the accused, Robert Manu, who was a Procurement Officer at MHMS, was involved in raising 12 of these 15 payments. Specifically, there are allegations that Manu corruptly received money in relation to four of these payments made to Eroba,” he further added.
Mr Taupongi said this case concerns allegations of Official Corruption involving the accused Manu, who is charged for corruptly receiving money between November 2012 and March 2013 while processing four payments for Eroba Shipping.
Manu is also facing separate charge of two counts of False Pretence, which he is jointly charged with other former MHMS workers in connection to this MHMS scandal.
They are finance controller Stephen Dalipanda, former Senior Accountant Randy Hatigeva, former Accounts Officer Dalcy Maena.
Another local contractor charged in connection to this health scandal is Tigi Sikele who faces three counts of false pretence for allegedly fabricating invoices and receiving three payments which totalled to over $1million to his company for freighting of materials, which were never done.
They are awaiting trial in the Honiara Magistrate Court.
The two shipping agents John Biliki and Wesley Poloso of Eroba Shipping Service and Joke Shipping Service defrauded the Solomon Islands Government of 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.
Owner of the other alleged fake shipping agent, Biliki’s matter was discontinued in 2019 after he died due to an illness.
These millions of dollars were monies from donors and Solomon Islands Government to improve rural health services.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
