The Nadi Magistrates Court has issued a suspended sentence to Justin Ho. Last month, Ho admitted guilt to an amended charge involving the submission of false or misleading documents. According to the case details, he provided two Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) for others to a Senior Customs Officer to secure the release of a consignment, knowing they were false.
The court initially sentenced Ho to 18 months in prison. However, considering mitigating factors and his voluntary guilty plea, the sentence was reduced to nine months, which has been fully suspended for three years. The court took into account that he is a first-time offender and noted that the government incurred no loss, deeming that a custodial sentence was unnecessary for deterrence.