The man who pleaded guilty to stealing and selling 3 Fiji Junior Certificate Exam (FJCE) papers has been sentenced to 18months behind bars.

Iliasa Vakadranu who pleaded guilty to contravening with the examination act and stealing and selling the exam papers was today sentenced to 18 months in prison by Magistrate Amaniasi Katonivualiku.

Magistrate Katonivualiku while passing sentence stressed that Vakadranu betrayed the trust of his employer when he was assigned to guard the storage room at the Government Printery and overlook the printing of the FJC papers for this year.

Katonivualiku also highlighted that it is not known that if the students he sold the stolen papers to, also copied it and distributed it to others but all he can say is that the future of these students is at stake, as they will be dealt with by their schools.

Magistrate Katonivualiku said that such crimes have become prevalent with reports surfacing every year before exams and a stern warning must be sent out that such crimes which infringe on a student's education will not be tolerated.

The Magistrate said that he is going out of his way to hand down a custodial sentence with Vakadranu being a first offender to ensure that others are deterred from committing such crimes.

Vakadranu was sentenced to 6 months each for stealing the three exam papers and 18 months on the fourth count of selling these papers to students.