Former Permanent Secretary for Agriculture Peniasi Kunatuba wants his conviction and sentence set aside so that he could get full employment in the Civil service and is appealing the matter in the Fiji court of Appeal.

Kunatuba was sentenced to four years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to two counts of abuse of office in relation to the $16 million agriculture scam.

While making submissions before the three Appeals Court Judges this afternoon, Lawyer Isireli Fa stressed that the matter for which Kunatuba was convicted was a Government approved scheme, which was the Farming Assistance Scheme.

Fa said there are documents to show that the payments made under the scheme through Kunatuba, were approved by the Ministry of Finance and signed off by the then Permanent Secretary for Finance.

Fa told the Judges that these matters were sealed by the court as there was too much reliance on the purported confession by his client and not enough attention was given to the wider issues in the case for which his client was sent to prison.

Fa said there was a disconnection between the case that was heard in the High Court and the actual charge laid against his client.

He highlighted the fact that his client was found guilty in relation to the scheme and the wording of the charge was wrong.

However, the judging panel then asked Fa as to why these issues relating to the wording of the initial charge were not raised, why no stay order was sought by Kunatuba's former lawyer and why the lawyer had not asked these certain questions during Kunatuba's trial.

Fa then replied that he was not questioning the competence of the then ruling Judge and the counsel, but rather was stating that certain facts had been overlooked and errors committed thus it was the duty of the Appeals Court to correct the errors.

Meanwhile, Fa also highlighted the issue as to why the assessors and the High Court had not taken into account the fact that there was no personal gain by his client and that the only ones who benefitted were the companies involved.

Kunatuba is currently working for the Prisons Department under the Yellow Ribbon Project and last year was appointed Chairman of the Pacific Fishing Company Limited.

Former High Court Judge Justice Nazhat Shameem while handing down the sentence in 2006, described the case to be the most serious abuse of office case to be brought before the Fiji courts so far given the millions spent on what was an unauthorized scheme.

The Matter has been adjourned until tomorrow morning.