The Suva Magistrates Court has given a partially suspended sentence to the former Acting Field Statistician of the Fiji Bureau of Statistics Kelera Nokelevu.
She has been sentenced to two years imprisonment with two months to be served in prison and the remaining 22 months suspended for two years.
Nokelevu was charged by FICAC last October with one count each of Obtaining a Financial Advantage and Using Forged Documents and pleaded guilty to both offences.
In his sentence, Chief Magistrate Usaia Ratuvili said that a deterrent sentence was recommended as she defrauded the state and breached the trust given to her as an employee and civil servant.
He said that because the offences are prevalent, a sentence that acted as a deterrent to likeminded offenders was necessary.
In mitigation, he acknowledged her guilty plea.
Nokelevu forged 11 receipts pertaining to the hiring of a Rural Service Licensed vehicle and a taxi, along with the fake signatures of the supposed drivers.
These fake receipts were then presented to the Chief Statistician who thought they were genuine and so approved it, enabling her to acquire $1,588 from November to December 2015.
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