The Fiji Court of Appeal has rejected a man’s request for permission to appeal his conviction due to a delay of four years in filing the application. Mosese Tarau, along with another individual, was convicted for stealing a vehicle, a mobile phone, and $120 on February 20, five years ago, and received a 10-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole.
Tarau submitted his application for appeal to the Appeals Court after the time allowed for filing had already lapsed. Justice Isikeli Mataitoga expressed in the ruling delivered on August 1 that Tarau failed to provide a reasonable justification for the lengthy delay, which amounted to four years, four months, and seven days.
The ruling stated, “This delay is substantial, and it is unlikely that leave to appeal out of time may be granted.” Although Tarau claimed that his appeal application was submitted on time and that a reception officer failed to forward it to the court registry, Justice Mataitoga dismissed this assertion as untrue. The judge noted that Tarau’s first application was dated May 16, 2022, which was over three years after the deadline had passed.
The court found it challenging to comprehend the reasons behind the delay, suggesting that Tarau may have been urged to appeal following his guilty plea. Ultimately, the court determined that there were no grounds to support his request for an extension of time to appeal, resulting in the denial of his application for leave to appeal.