Court

Former Post Fiji boss withdraws appeal on corruption charges

May 29, 2019 7:08 am

The Former Post Fiji Board chair convicted of corruption related offences has informed the Court of Appeal that he wishes to withdraw his matter.

In court yesterday, Mahendra Motibhai Patel through his lawyer over an email indicated his intention to withdraw his appeal against his conviction and sentence.

Patel was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment for being guilty of abuse of office, however, since the trial – Patel flew over to Australia for medical purposes and failed to return.

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Patel was charged alongside former Managing Director, Peni Mau and the then General Manager, Dhirendra Pratap.

The three men conspired to pay Mau over one hundred thousand dollars in salaries upon his resignation as well as twenty four thousand dollars in gratuity.

The Post Fiji was never informed or consulted on the payment and false records were shown to government auditors who scrutinized the company’s finances.

Patel served a previous sentence for one year, in 2011, after he was found guilty of purchasing a $50,000 clock for Post Fiji, from Prouds Fiji, the store he owns.

The Judge stated that a ruling would be given on notice.