Mitigation, sentencing subs for Tauohu today
ONE Link Pacifica’s manual stream manager Gerrad Tauohu will front the court again today for the mitigation and sentencing submissions on his matter.
This followed his conviction last week on the five counts of simple larceny against him after a trial.
The mitigation and sentencing submissions will be made before Deputy Chief Magistrate Ricky Iomea at 9am this morning.
The court had found Tauohu stole almost $400,000 from five mentors who deposited customers’ monies into the manual stream between December 2019 and March 2020.
Tauohu was also found to have interfere or jeopardized the monies deposited by the five mentors when he used the monies to order cars from Japan.
Mr Iomea also did not believed Tauohu’s version that it was the scheme’s operator Charles Dora who keeps the monies invested into the manual stream.
Dora in his evidence said monies collected in the manual stream from December 2019 to March 2020 were kept by Tauohu.
He said Tauohu did not deliver any of the monies to him and that the monies were kept by Tauohu in a safe place.
Dora also told the court that he authorized Tauohu to keep the monies invested in the manual stream because banks did not allow him to open accounts with them.
Mr Iomea had found that the monies invested in the manual stream by the five mentors on behalf of their customers between 1 December 2019 and 29 February 2020 were never given to Dora.
He also disregard the evidence of Tauohu’s brother who told the court that Tauohu and his family invested through him and after three investments Tauohu through his wife received 1.96 million.
He found that Tauohu’s brother is not an honest witness and is not telling the truth.
Dora is currently serving a two year jail term for operating the scheme without a bank’s licence.
He was sentenced last month after he pleaded guilty to one count of operating unlicenced banking business.
Police had collected more than $300,000 from the two defendants and kept those monies as exhibit at their exhibit facility at the Rove Police Headquarters.
However, last October that money went missing and an officer looking after the exhibit facility was suspended.
His case is currently with the Office of the Director of the Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for assessment and review.
The total amount of money deposited into the scheme from the period it started to the time it ends totaled to about $56,440, 475.
Private lawyer Ronald Dive represents Tauohu while Public Prosecutor Jonathan Auga is prosecuting.
Alleged Chinese thief to front court
THE Chinese national accused of stealing cargoes from his employer’s shop in Honiara will appear in court today.
This is for the pre-trial conference on the matter of Liu Huan who faces one count of simple larceny.
Dates for the trial will be fixed during the pre-trial conference as well.
Huan had on the last court date pleaded not guilty to the offence against him.
He was charged after variety of cargoes in various quantities went missing from the shop.
Prosecution alleged Huan was responsible for stealing the missing cargoes.
The complainant and his employees found that the cargoes were missing after they conducted an extensive stock check at the shop.
The accused was employed by the Unique Shop Enterprise as a Sales Assistant and later as a Sales Manager.
He came into the country in April 2019 and had worked for Unique Shop Enterprise until he was arrested and charged.