A sales and marketing executive for Fosters group today told the High court that former commissioner central Inoke Devo had allegedly requested two cartons of beer from the company saying he had too much grog and wanted some >wash down=.

Devo's abuse of office case resumed in the high court this morning and Malakai Ravai told the court that their company applied for three occasional liquor licenses in the year 2006.

Ravai said on one occasion he had applied for the license and after following all the requirements, he met Devo to discuss the reason for the application.

He said a few months later, a lady by the name of Alumita from the Commissioner Central=s office called him and made a request for some beer for the Commissioner.

Ravai said after getting approval from his superiors, two cartons of beer was given to Devo who had come to pick it up with his driver in a government vehicle.

Ravai recalled that after they applied for another permit in late 2006 and after the permit was issued, Alumita called him again to request alcohol for the Commissioner’s Office Christmas party.

Ravai said on this occasion, Alumita came with a driver and picked up some wine from their office in Walu Bay.

According to the witness, it was not long after that the Company decided to stop donating alcohol.

During cross examination by defence counsel Rajendra Chaudhry, Ravai stated that Fosters Group often donated alcoholic beverages to sports and social clubs, government departments and corporate bodies upon requests.

Ravai also said on the first occasion, the beer was given to Devo and it was a donation to the Commissioner’s Office and not to gain something out of it.

However, he stated that when Devo had gone to pick up the beer, Devo had allegedly stated that he had too much grog and the beer was for wash down.

Chaudhry also questioned him on whether their requests for occasional license were denied or they were victimized after the company decided to stop making alcohol donations.

Ravai replied that they did not face problems in getting the permit and were not victimized either.

Another witness, Rajjat Chaudhry, the owner of Indar Jeet and Company told the court that he donated alcohol to the office of the Commissioner Central every year during Christmas.

Chaudhry said it was a tradition to donate alcohol as the Commissioner’s office was also his client during natural disasters.

During cross examination, the witness also said that because his father was a social figure, he often made such donations to various government agencies, the National Fire Authority, the Magistrates court, Air Pacific and private companies.

Two other witnesses, who were Managers and Supervisors of restaurants in Nausori told the court that Devo’s driver had made a request to collect waste food from them.

The witnesses said the driver or other staff working for Devo used to drop a bucket off at the restaurant and collected it every day after 5pm.

They said the waste food was for Devo’s dogs and they could not recall whether the buckets were picked up in government vehicles.

The case continues this afternoon.