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State v Lawaca [1990] FJHC 77; Hac0002t.90s (27 November 1990)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI
At Suva
Criminal Jurisdiction

Criminal Case No. 2 of 1990

STATE

v.

SAMUELA LAWACA

SENTENCE

This case is a sorry indictment of the accused and his inability to resist the temptation that he found himself in whilst holding the dual responsible positions of Chairman and Secretary of the Wainimarama Methodist Church Committee.

He has pleaded guilty to 11 counts of Forgery and 11 counts of Obtaining Money on a Forged document. Both offences are felonies that carry a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment.

The evidence and facts led by the prosecution reveals that on 11 occasions between the 26th of June 1986 and the 4th of May 1987 the accused forged the signatures of co-signatories onto 11 withdrawal slips and withdrew a total of $9,860 from the 2 bank accounts of the Wainimarama Methodist Church Committee maintained at the Westpac Banking Corporation. The balance of the 2 accounts presently stand at $56.12 and $96.11 respectively.

The accused in mitigation has asked to be given time to repay the amount but such a course does not commend itself to this Court.

In the first place the accused has had more than 3 years in which to do that if he was genuinely concerned to do so but more especially because this case discloses a gross abuse of trust not only in respect of the church committee to which the accused belonged and in which he held responsible positions but also the bank officers who trusted that a person in the accused's position in the church would not defraud the church.

It is noteworthy that these offences were committed during a time when the accused was in regular employment as a civil servant and it strikes this court as a somewhat "hollow" apology by the accused that he could not attend to committee meetings because of his postings around Fiji. Needless to say by then these offences had already been committed.

The accused has also raised the difficulties he has supporting his family and aged parents but there are many in this country who are faced with those difficulties and more and yet do not resort to dishonesty.

In his favour the accused has pleaded guilty and shown some remorse for what he has done but it is cynical to suggest as the accused has said that the lesson to be learnt from this affair is: "not to trust one another", instead the lesson to be learnt is that "dishonesty and abuse of trust never pays".

I have considered everything that the accused has urged before this Court but am unable to avoid a custodial sentence in this case. The sentence of the Court is one of 12 months imprisonment.

(D.V. Fatiaki)
JUDGE

27th November, 1990.

Assessors thanked and discharged.

HAC0002T.90S