The Nadi Magistrates Court has issued a suspended sentence to Justin Ho. Last month, Ho admitted guilt to an amended charge of submitting false or misleading documents.
According to the court summary, Ho provided two tax identification numbers belonging to other individuals to a Senior Customs Officer while knowing they were false, in order to facilitate the release of a consignment.
The court originally sentenced Ho to 18 months in prison, but after considering mitigating factors and his guilty plea, the sentence was reduced to nine months and suspended entirely for three years.
In its decision, the court took into account that Ho was a first-time offender and noted that there was no financial loss incurred by the government. This consideration outweighed the necessity of a custodial sentence for deterrent purposes.