A former civil servant has been remanded in custody after being charged and pleading guilty to two counts of forgery and one count of obtaining money by false pretence and one count of obtaining a completion certificate by false pretence.


At a special court seating held in Sigatoka yesterday, former Nadroga Rural Local Authority Building Inspector, Jese Vatuwaqa pleaded guilty to the charges and waived his rights to counsel.

The court heard that during Arpil 2006 - March 2007, the accused, allegedly drew up a building plan on his own and tried to pass it off as an architectural plan by giving it an approval stamp, which only happens upon the completion of the project.

The accused is alleged to then have forged the signature of the secretary, falsifying a letter of town and country planning and allegedly receiving $1,500 from the owners of the building in order to get it certified.

The matter has been adjourned to next Friday for mitigation and sentencing.