The managing director of Carpenters Fiji Limited, Daniel Kingston Whippy, has submitted another request for a bail variation to seek medical treatment in the United States. Whippy, who is facing charges for counseling the commission of an offense, appeared in court yesterday morning with crutches and was accompanied by his wife. He appeared before Magistrate Sufia Hamza at the Suva Magistrate’s Court.
Alongside him was former National Fire Authority (NFA) chief executive officer John Masi O’Connor, who is charged with one count of abuse of office. Both charges relate to violations of 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 the chairman of the NFA board, instructed his officers to alter the findings of a Fire Investigation Report concerning an incident that occurred on April 8, 2018, at the Morris Hedstrom warehouse in Walu Bay, for personal gain. Whippy, who was the director of W R Carpenters (South Pacific) PTE Limited during that time, is alleged to have counseled O’Connor in committing the same offense.
During the proceedings, lawyer Sera Fatafehi from the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) stated that they were opposing the bail application as they had only received it on Wednesday afternoon. Fatafehi requested time to verify the affidavit supporting the application from orthopedic surgeon Dr. Enosi Don Taloga before filing a response. Whippy’s attorney, Stephen Stanton, explained to the court that the medical procedure is minimally invasive and only available in the U.S., and indicated that if Whippy’s U.S. visa were denied, they would seek treatment in India instead.
The court will reconvene on October 28 to hear FICAC’s response regarding the bail variation application. Meanwhile, O’Connor’s plea date has been rescheduled to January 13, 2025.