The High Court in Suva has further remanded 32-year-old Lui Bale Vuibereta after he admitted that derogatory remarks about Information Minister Lynda Tabuya were made during a TikTok livestream that was later shared widely on social media. Vuibereta will reappear in court today as proceedings continue over a single charge of causing harm by posting an electronic communication, which relates to a livestream on September 14, 2025.
Vuibereta earlier this year entered a guilty plea to the charge, but new details presented to the court described the substance of the livestream. According to the summary of facts, he repeatedly accused Minister Tabuya of being a “homewrecker” and an adulteress and said the remarks were intended to humiliate her. The video was subsequently circulated in ChatFiji, a public Facebook group with more than 41,000 members, amplifying its reach and the impact on the minister and her family.
The court heard Vuibereta was heavily intoxicated at the time of the livestream and only realised the seriousness of his conduct the following day when the video began to spread online. In a victim impact statement, Ms Tabuya told the court the footage had caused humiliation and emotional harm to her family and urged the judiciary to send a clear message that social media must not be used to humiliate others.
Vuibereta’s lawyer, Eroni Navuda, told the court his client accepts full responsibility for the comments and the consequences. Navuda said Vuibereta — a father of two who previously lived in Australia, completed high school there and worked as a construction worker before being deported — now helps on his family’s farm in Fiji and runs a small online business. The family has indicated it is prepared to offer a traditional apology to Ms Tabuya as part of efforts to make amends.
At the hearing, Navuda asked the court to treat the 46 days Vuibereta has already spent on remand as time served. He also suggested a penalty in the form of a fine between $1,000 and $2,000 or, alternatively, a suspended sentence. Prosecutors opposed bail when the matter first came before the magistrates’ court; it has since progressed to the High Court where sentencing options are being considered following the guilty plea.
This latest remand is the most recent development in a case that highlights growing concerns about the misuse of social media in Fiji. The dissemination of the TikTok livestream through a large public Facebook group exemplifies how online content can quickly extend beyond its original audience and cause real-world harm, a point underscored by Ms Tabuya’s plea for the courts to deter similar behaviour. The court is expected to address these points further when Vuibereta returns to the High Court today.
Leave a comment