Guilty for the nine counts.

That is the verdict of the three assessors in former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s Fijian Holdings Limited trial.

After deliberating on the charges and evidence for about two hours, the assessors returned to court and found Qarase guilty of six counts of abuse of office and three counts of the charge of discharging his duty with respect to property in which he has a private interest.

High Court Judge Justice Priyantha Fernando will deliver his judgement at 2.30pm tomorrow.

Qarase shook hands with his legal counsel after the verdict and drove away in his waiting vehicle from the court house.

We will have full details in the next hour.


Story by:
Vijay Narayan, William Waqavakatoga & Ronal Deo