3 character witnesses take stand for Chaudhry

Three character witnesses have so far taken the stand for former Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry as mitigation continues before High Court Judge, Justice Paul Madigan.

The first character witness, Ratu Epeli Ganilau said that he came to know Chaudhry better when Chaudhry was the Minister for Finance while Ganilau was the Defence Minister in the Voreqe Bainimarama led cabinet. 

Ratu Epeli Ganilau said that he enjoyed working with Chaudhry as he was a very interesting person.

He said that he respected Chaudhry as a former Prime Minister.

Ratu Epeli Ganilau also said in court that Chaudhry was an honest and hardworking government minister. 

He said the former Prime Minister was a very knowledgeable person especially in finance, sugar and a whole range of topics.

Former Education Minister, Taufa Vakatale then took the stand, saying that she has known Chaudhry since the early 1970's. 

Vakatale said Chaudhry became a public figure when he joined the Fiji Public Service Association where he spoke for the rights of civil servants.

Vakatale said in 2008, she was appointed to investigate allegations against Chaudhry. 

She said they found that he was not guilty of breach of the Exchange Control Act. 

Vakatale said this was stated in the report.

She said Chaudhry had agreed to provide all the documents and the inquiry report was issued after discussions with Reserve Bank of Fiji and Fiji Revenue Customs Authority.

 

Father Kevin Barr was the third character witness for Chaudhry in court. 

Father Barr said that Chaudhry is an inspiring person and outstanding leader.

He said Chaudhry is concerned about the workers of the country and is a fighter for social justice.

Chaudhry's lawyer, Matthew Hutchings has asked for a non-custodial sentence. 

He said after the 2000 coup, the Indian Counselor provided Chaudhry with half a million dollars to settle in Australia.

Hutchings said Chaudhry came back to Fiji to serve the people.

He said Chaudhry was subjected to three coups and he was also abused and tortured. 

Hutchings said based on this, there might be resistance to return to Fiji with the funds.

He also said that Chaudhry's family suffered greatly when he was imprisoned in 1987 and 2000. 

Hutchings said there were questions on whether he would survive at the hands of the perpetrators.

Chaudhry will be sentenced tomorrow.

Justice Madigan had earlier highlighted that the penalty for such charges range from two years imprisonment to fines amounting to three times of the value of the original amount in the offence.

The first count against Chaudhry is in relation to failure to surrender foreign currency, where Mahendra Chaudhry between November 2000 and July 2010 retained the sum of 1.5 million Australian dollars for his own benefit without the consent of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

The second count is in relation to dealing in foreign currency without permission.

The third count relates to Chaudhry having the right to receive a sum of $1.5 million Australian dollars from the financial institutions in Australia and New Zealand, caused the delay of payment of the sum, in whole or in part, to himself by authorizing the continual investment of the sum together with interest acquired back into financial institutions without the permission of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.