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Masere v State [2026] FJHC 100; HAM21.2026 (26 February 2026)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI
AT LAUTOKA
MISCELLANEOUS JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. HAM 21 OF 2026

ANA MASERE

[Applicant]
-v-

STATE

[Respondent]

_______________________________________________________________________________
RULING
[IN RESPECT OF TEMPORARY RELAXATION OF BAIL CONDITION]

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. On 8 October 2025, the applicant was granted conditional bail by the Magistrates’ Court at Nadi. One of the conditions of bail was that the applicant must not engage with social media, namely TikTok, by posting information regarding the allegations, whether under her own name, anonymously, under a false name, or by permitting a third party to post such information on her behalf.
   
2. The applicant is a businesswoman who operates a company under the name and style of Ana Masere Events Pte. Ltd. She wishes to use her TikTok account, namely @events Fiji, for the purpose of marketing and promoting her business project known as “Hope Carnival.” The applicant therefore seeks a temporary relaxation of her bail condition, as it is crucial for her to inform members of the public about the carnival.
   

APPLICANT’S ASSURANCES

3. The applicant assures the court that the use of her TikTok account will be confined solely to the professional marketing and promotion of the “Hope Carnival,” its sponsors, entertainment, and programme, within the confines of the respective laws.
   

COURT’S CONSIDERATIONS

4. Upon hearing counsel for the applicant and counsel for the state, and upon reading the affidavits filed herein, this court is satisfied that the applicant’s bail condition may be temporarily relaxed to permit her to use her TikTok account from 26 February to 16 May 2026 for the purpose of marketing and promoting the “Hope Carnival.”
   

5. The conditions of use are as follows:

1. The comments and talkback section of broadcasts through the applicant’s TikTok account shall be switched off. The broadcasts will be view-only.
   
2. The TikTok account shall be used exclusively for the marketing and promotion of the “Hope Carnival” and for no other purpose.
   

100. Any live broadcast shall relate solely to the carnival itself, including entertainment, sponsors, programme, participation, and the queen contest, in accordance with the applicable laws governing broadcast and publication.
     

4. The temporary relaxation shall operate from 26 February 2026 to 16 May 2026.
   
5. Upon the lapse of this relaxation period, the original conditions of bail granted by the Magistrates’ Court at Nadi shall resume in full effect.
   
6. At no time shall the applicant, or any person acting on her behalf, or any third party, engage in online talkback or exchange of comments during the period of this relaxation on the TikTok account @events Fiji.
   
7. The applicant is at liberty to permit a representative appointed by her to use her TikTok account for the marketing and promotion of the “Hope Carnival.” Such representative must be fully briefed by the applicant as to the consequences of any breach of the court’s orders, which would directly affect her.
   

........................
Sunil Sharma
Judge

At Lautoka
26^th February, 2026

Solicitors
Messrs. Saneem Lawyers, Suva for the Applicant.
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the Respondent.