High Court Judge, Justice Salesi Temo will sum up the case of 31-year-old Ilaitia Nalawa who is charged with the alleged rape of a 9-year-old girl in Nakasi, in the next hour.
Stay with us for the summing up by Justice Temo before the three assessors retire behind closed to doors to deliberate on their opinion.
In her closing submission, DPP lawyer, Seini Puamau said that Nalawa had admitted in his caution interview with police that he had raped the girl on the 7th of July last year.
She says Nalawa had confessed in a detailed and comprehensive manner which even included the description of what the girl was wearing when the incident occurred.
Puamau told the court that Nalawa’s claims of assault had no proper basis to fall on as he was examined by three doctors who all found him with no signs of being assaulted.
While presenting the defence counsel’s submission, Legal Aid lawyer, Panapasa Tawake said that police have charged the wrong person.
Tawake says that Ilaitia Nalawa is innocent and he did not rape the 9-year-old girl.
Tawake told the court that Nalawa was assaulted while in police custody which would clearly point out that some of the recorded answers in the interview were not said by his client.
Earlier yesterday:
Four defence witnesses in the rape trial disputed what they had earlier said in their police statements.
Apenisa Vuni-ivi said that Nalawa was with them when they went to the shop to buy biscuits and when they returned home on the 7th of July last year.
The prosecution then read out Vuni-ivi’s statement where he said that Nalawa was not with them on that day.
This police statement was taken on the 9th of July last year.
Vuni-ivi said in court today that he was forced by police to say those things.
He also claims that he was assaulted by two police officers at the Nakasi Police Station.
Vuni-ivi says the two punched his ribs and banged his head on the table.
He says he went to file a complaint with Nausori Police however they told him to go back to the Nakasi Police Station.
Vuni-ivi claims that Nakasi Police said the issue will be resolved through a traditional ceremony on the same afternoon.
The second defence witness, Livai Navudi also said in court today that Ilaitia Nalawa was with them on July 7th last year.
Navudi says they went to the shop and returned home together.
He says when they reached home, Nalawa went to make their tea.
The prosecution said Navudi’s police statement from July 9th last year states that on their way back home, he gave Nalawa his phone so that Nalawa could call his girlfriend.
His police statement says that while Nalawa was on the phone, he started to disappear slowly at the back where Navudi could not see him.
Navudi told the prosecution in court today that he was forced by the police to say this.
He claims that he was told to hang on the window at Nakasi Police Station and an officer started kicking his back.
The third defence witness was Mataiasi Ligadivia.
He is the owner of the house in Nakasi where Nalawa was staying.
Ligadivia says he had sent Nalawa and other boys to buy biscuits from the shop.
He also says that Nalawa returned home with the boys.
The prosecution then pointed out that Ligadivia had said in the police statement that Nalawa did not return home with the boys.
Ligadivia said that he had signed the statement but half of it was not true.
He claims that it was fabricated by police.
Ligadivia said that he also filed a complaint with Nausori Police on July 27th last year saying that the statement was fabricated.
The final defence witness, Semisi Salusalu said that his police statement was not read back to him.
When asked by the prosecution on why he signed the statement, he said that he was forced by the police and his knees were beaten up with a stick by three police officers in Nakasi on the 9th of July last year.
Salusalu was in tears when he was speaking about the assault.
He said that he went to file a complaint at Totogo Police Station however they told him to go to Nakasi Police.
Salusalu claims that Nakasi Police told him that they will hold a traditional ceremony.
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