‘Trivial’: Fiji magistrate grants convicted former PM 'absolute discharge'

Former Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama will not spend a day in prison after the Magistrate Court granted him "absolute discharge" on Thursday - two weeks after being found guilty of corruption by the high court.

While suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho has been fined $1500 with no conviction recorded. The fine must be paid within 30 days and failure will result in 30 days' imprisonment.

The ex-military commander and coup leader was sentenced alongside Qiliho, who is also a former army officer amid tight police security near the Suva Magistrates Court today.

Bainimarama, middle, arrives to court with his wife, Mary, right, for the sentencing. Photo/ RNZ Pacific

Bainimarama, 69, was found guilty of one count of attempt to pervert the course of justice and Qiliho was convicted of one count of abuse of office by High Court judge Salesi Temo on 14 March.

In 2020, Bainimarama ordered Qiliho to stop an investigation into a complaint filed by the University of the South Pacific.

Justice Temo overturned the not guilty judgement by Resident Magistrate Seini Puamau on 12 October 2023.

Under Fiji’s Crime Act, Bainimarama was facing up to five years in prison while Qiliho risked a maximum of 10 years.

An absolute discharge is the lowest punishment the court can grant, and while he has been found guilty, no conviction will be registered.

In her ruling, Puamau highlighted Bainimarama's failing health which the former PM has “undergone a heart operation, suffers sleep apnea and needs a machine and electricity for its running, has a pacemaker for his heart and needs his mobile app for it”.

She said Bainimarama’s charge was a “trivial violation” and he would have been subjected to significant stress, poor diet, and inadequate exercise in prison.

She said this would likely result in an “incredibly diminished quality of life and potential death as a result of a heart problem, acute sleep apnea” for Bainimarama including his reliance on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure treatment, and his high risk of a heart attack.

Puamau said a sentencing tariff was no more than a guideline and “it's frequently said that guidelines are different from tariffs”.

The public has been urged to remain calm, with acting police commissioner Juki Fong Chew calling on Fijians to maintain law and order.

He said the police would ensure there were no disturbances or disruptions.

He urged the public to respect the rule of law.

In its appeal to the high court, after both men were acquitted on 12 October, the prosecution said the “magistrate had erred in law and in fact on several evidentiary and procedural issues, thereby resulting in an unfair trial and an erroneous verdict”.

Justice Temo then ordered the matter be brought before Magistrate Puamau on 18 March for her to abide by the High Court decision and pronounce both men guilty as charged, and to convict them accordingly.

Local media reported on Thursday that lawyers for both Bainimarama and Qiliho had sought leniency in their submissions to the court.

A proposal for “non-custodial sentences” was made for the former PM and police chief.

But the submission was opposed by the State, which was represented by acting Director of Public Prosecutions Laisani Tabuakuro.

The prosecution argued that “immediate custodial sentences toward the higher end of the tariff range” were warranted for the convicted pair.

Local media also reported that the court was adjourned after the prosecution counsel disrupted the defense counsel's submission to “caution the court to stay within the bounds of the high court ruling and what it accepts to be facts of the case”.

Bainimarama served as prime minister from 2007-2022 under the Fiji First Party, which he founded in 2014, the same year he left the Fiji Military Forces after 39 years in the army.

On 5 December 2006, he acted as PM after overthrowing the government of the late Laisenia Qarase in a military coup.

Qarase, who died in April 2020 aged 79, was appointed to the position following the civilian coup led by George Speight on 19 May 2000, ousting the democratically-elected government of Fiji’s first Indian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry.