A former civil servant currently serving a prison sentence has had his non-parole period reduced from 22 years to 20 years by the Supreme Court. Viliame Katia, who previously held the role of acting deputy official receiver, was convicted in 2017 for corrupt practices that resulted in a significant financial loss of $4.1 million to the bankruptcy and liquidation accounts of the Office of the Receiver.
Initially sentenced to 14 years by Magistrate Shageeth Somaratne, Katia faced multiple charges, including 11 counts related to corruption, three counts of abuse of office for personal gain, four counts of forgery, and additional charges of embezzlement and making false statements to a public servant.
In 2018, following an appeal from the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, Katia’s sentence was increased to 23 years, with a non-parole period set at 22 years by Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo. Katia subsequently appealed this sentence to the Supreme Court, which held a hearing on August 16.
In their decision, Justices Anthony Gates, Dame Lowell Patricia Goddard, and Alipate Qetaki noted that although the embezzled funds had not been returned, Katia is still relatively young and expressed hope that he could eventually redeem himself and contribute positively to society after serving his time.