BY ROMINAH FAKA
The Magistrate Court has heard the closing submissions for the health ministry scandal case on Tuesday morning, July 22, 2025 and has adjourned the matter for August 19, 2025 for judgement.
Former finance controller, Stephen Dalipanda, former Senior Accountant Randy Hatigeva, former Health Procurement Officer, Robert Manu and former Accounts Officer, Dalcy Maena are charged jointly with two counts of false pretence each.
They pleaded not guilty and the trial was conducted at the Magistrate Court before Principal Magistrate Ishmael Kekou.
Prosecution called five witnesses and after crown completed its case, all four defendants through their defence lawyer opted to remain silent.
Manu who was charged separately with four counts of official corruption was convicted for using his position to expedite and authorise payments to Eroba Shipping totaling up to $1,608,371 by passing the proper procurement procedures in exchange for large sums of money that was deposited into his personal bank account.
Manu was sentenced to two years suspended sentence for receiving $195,000 in exchange for facilitating payments to a shipping company.
A private local contractor, Tigi Sekele, who was also charged in connection to the scandal, was charged with three counts of false pretence.
Prosecution alleged that he fabricated invoices and submitted them to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) to claim the services done.
It was alleged that he received three payments worth over $1million to his company for the freighting of materials, which was never carried out.
Prosecution alleged that those payments were made because the defendant fraudulently submitted a fabricated invoice to MHMS on each occasion between April 2013 and June 2013.
These former health workers allegedly caused a ghost shipping service, “Joke Shipping Services” to receive a total sum of $1,594,935.10.
The two shipping agents John Biliki and Wesley Poloso of Eroba Shipping Service and Joke Shipping Service defrauded the Solomon Islands Government of approximately $7.3 million.
Taxi driver, Poloso, was already convicted and jailed for two and a half years in 2014 for receiving $1.5 million of the fund.
The matter of the owner of the other alleged fake shipping agent, Biliki was discontinued in 2019 in the High Court after he died from an illness.
These millions of dollars were from the Solomon Islands Government and aid donors to support and improve rural health services.
Prosecution alleged that defrauding this amount of money had severely affected the implementation of health projects in rural areas.
John Wesley Zoze is prosecuting and defence includes – Jim Seuika for Manu, Ms Happliyn for Dalipanda, Mr Taupongi for Hatigeva and Ms Pama for Maena.
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