Daniel Kingston Whippy, managing director of Carpenters Fiji Limited, has submitted a new application for bail variation to seek medical treatment in the United States. Whippy, who is currently facing charges for counseling the commission of an offense, appeared in court yesterday morning using crutches and was accompanied by his wife.
He appeared before Magistrate Sufia Hamza at the Suva Magistrate’s Court alongside co-accused, former National Fire Authority (NFA) chief executive officer John Masi O’Connor, who faces a charge of abuse of office.
Both individuals are charged under Section 45 in conjunction with Section 139 of the Crimes Act of 2009. The court was informed that between January 1 and September 28, 2018, in Suva, O’Connor, while serving as chairman of the NFA board, instructed his officers to alter findings in a Fire Investigation Report concerning an incident that took place on April 8, 2018, in the Morris Hedstrom warehouse at Walu Bay for personal gain. During the same timeframe, Whippy allegedly counseled O’Connor in committing the same offense while serving as director of W R Carpenters (South Pacific) PTE Limited.
During the proceedings, lawyer Sera Fatafehi from the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) expressed opposition to the bail application, stating they had only received it the previous Wednesday and needed more time to verify an affidavit from orthopedic surgeon Dr. Enosi Don Taloga. Whippy’s attorney, Stephen Stanton, explained that the procedure is minimally invasive and only available in the U.S. He also mentioned that if Whippy’s U.S. visa application were denied, they would consider seeking treatment in India.
The court will reconvene on October 28 to hear FICAC’s response to the bail variation request, while Magistrate Hamza has postponed O’Connor’s plea date to January 13, 2025.