THE court will be handing down its ruling on a legal issue raised in relation to the $7.3 million fraud in the Ministry of Health and Medical Services case on September 31.
Public Solicitor Douglas Hou last Thursday raised the issue of double jeopardy on the charges against accused John Biliki.
Biliki is facing 14 counts of false pretence, 15 counts of money laundering and 15 counts of uttering.
Mr Houhowever, raised the issue regarding the charges of false pretence and uttering saying they are of the same set of facts with the charges of money laundering, arising out of the same transaction and should therefore be stayed.
He added that it is unfair to the charge as such.
Presiding Magistrate Edwin Saramo called for submissions to be made in relation to that issue and both prosecution and the defence presented their submissions.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Ronald Bei Talasasa, who appeared for the Crown responded to the argument,asserting that whilst he may re-consider the charges of uttering and will provide court the particulars including the documents to show what was the subject of the uttering charges, he did not agree that the question of double jeopardy arises in this matter.
He said false pretence charge is a predicate offence to money laundering and is available for the prosecutions to attack the criminality of both the predicate offence and the laundering of the proceeds of crime.
Biliki, 45, of Choiseul was charged in relation to the $10 million scandal in the Ministry of Health and Medical Service.
A taxi driver labelled as the “toy boy” in this scandal was sentenced early last year for defrauding the government of $1.5 million. Biliki was accused of defrauding the government of $7.3 million between 1 January 2002 and 20 September 2013.
Prosecution alleged he colluded with some public officers from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MoHMS) and then defraud the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) on 15 occasions which totalled up to $7.3 million.
Prosecution also alleged Biliki registered and operated a shipping agent called Eroba Shipping Services and allegedly assisted to set up the Joke Shipping Service, also a shipping agent, intentionally to make it look legitimate to unreasonable claims of payments from SIG.
These shipping services names were allegedly being used by Biliki and his associates and some officers from the MoHMS, to get several payments from SIG covering up Health Clinic projects in and around the provinces.
The shipping services were set up to ship materials to the various projects sites in the provinces, to which were never done.
The accused and his cohorts allegedly claimed payments from the SIG with fictitious services or services that were never provided.
Part of the money was already used by the accused and his cohorts.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN