A Tongan national charged with allegedly raping a girl at the Suva seawall and throwing her into the sea was acquitted off the charges against him.

The victim in the case had claimed that on July 3rd this year, she was taken to the seawall at around 2am, raped by Saia Tauaho and thrown into the sea.

In her ruling, Magistrate Hudson noted that in her evidence, the victim admitted being drunk and could not remember how she had made her way to the seawall with Tauaho from the nightclub.

The victim also claimed in her evidence that another woman had accompanied them to the seawall where the accused had allegedly pushed the two of them into the water near Tiko's restaurant.

Hudson said there is no evidence of another woman being present.

A security officer had given evidence that he saw the victim in the water and thought it was a domestic dispute as Tauaho was seen trying to help her out of the water.

The evidence given by a doctor who checked the victim also concluded that while the victim had bruises on her thighs and ankles, there were no signs of her being raped as she claimed.

Magistrate Hudson questioned whether the injuries could have been sustained while she was trying to get out of the water.

Magistrate Hudson stated that the victim had changed her version of what may have taken place that night and her credibility is questionable.

She also said it is known that hallucination could normally accompany intoxication of any kind as the victim had confessed to being drunk.

Saia Tauaho was found not guilty on the charge of rape, however Magistrate Elsie Hudson found him guilty of other negligent acts causing harm, for which he was not charged by the police.

Magistrate Hudson said that knowing how drunk the victim was, the only civil thing Tauaho could have done would be either to have handed her over to her aunt when the nightclub closed or to ensure she gets home.