Loud music from Albert Park affecting one court room and unbearable stench from the holding cells in another court room forced the adjournment of the trial against former Fiji Audio Visual Commission CEO Taniela Bolea this afternoon.
The hearing resumed before Magistrate Thushara Rajasinghe this morning in a court room close to Albert park however loud music from the stalls from the grounds was causing problems with the recording device in court and made it difficult to clearly hear the answers from the witness.
Magistrate Thushara stood down the matter to consult the Chief Registrar to ask the stall owners to put their music low, however it was then decided to move the case to another court room.
The second court room has stairs leading down to the holding cell at the Suva court house and there was an unbearable stench of waste food and human waste which filled the entire court room.
When Magistrate Thushara presided, Defence Counsel Qoriniasi Bale requested that the matter be adjourned till the end of the Hibiscus festival and that the stench in the court room from the holding cell was unbearable and his client was being punished before being convicted.
Magistrate Thushara than was left with little choice and adjourned the hearing to September 4th.
The Magistrate is expected to raise the issue of the stench from the holding cell with the chief Registrar.
Story by: Roneel Lal
