The Nadi Magistrates Court has issued a suspended sentence for Justin Ho. Last month, Ho admitted to the amended charge of submitting false or misleading documents. According to court documents, he provided two Tax Identification Numbers belonging to other individuals to a Senior Customs Officer for the release of a consignment, fully aware that the information was false.
Initially, the court sentenced Ho to 18 months in prison; however, after considering mitigating factors and his guilty plea, the sentence was reduced to nine months, which has been fully suspended for three years. In deciding to suspend the sentence, the court took into account that Ho was a first-time offender and noted that the government entity did not suffer any loss, which outweighed the necessity for a custodial sentence as a deterrent.