The Nadi Magistrates Court has issued a suspended sentence for Justin Ho. Last month, Ho admitted guilt to the revised charge of submitting false or misleading documents.
According to the facts presented, Ho provided two Tax Identification Numbers belonging to other individuals to a Senior Customs Officer in order to facilitate the release of a shipment, fully aware that the information was incorrect.
The court imposed an 18-month prison term, but after considering mitigating circumstances and Ho’s voluntary guilty plea, this was reduced to nine months, which has been completely suspended for a period of three years.
In its decision to suspend the sentence, the court took into account Ho’s status as a first-time offender and noted that no loss had been incurred by the government entity involved, indicating that a custodial sentence was not necessary for deterrence purposes.