A Twist in the Theft as a Servant Case of Two Former Finance Staff of MJCA

Translated from the files of FaSamoa by Ganasavea Manuia. The case of two former staff of the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration’s (MJCA) Corporate Services Division alleged to have stolen over $300,000 tala from the Ministry, has taken a turn this week.

Prosecution has dropped all charges against one of the accused, who will now be a witness for the police case against the other.

Former MJCA Assistant Chief Executive Officer (ACEO) for Corporate Services Sera Skelton and one of her Finance staff officers, Hanna Fuatavai, first appeared in the Supreme Court in January 2021.

In March 2021 the case was called again with Prosecution confirming over 100 charges against Skelton and Fuatavai.

However this week in Court, Prosecution requested a further adjournment, announcing that all charges against Hanna Fuatavai had been dropped, as she would now be acting as a witness for Prosecution.

Another reason for the adjournment is that the lead prosecutor who had been handling the case is said to be on overseas travel.

The Supreme Court granted a further adjournment to allow Prosecution to collect statements from Hanna Fuatavai as their witness.

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