BY ROMINAH FAKA
Trial of a woman accused of deceiving two women and obtaining money from them is set to begin today.
However, this depends on the prosecution’s position regarding a proposal submitted by the defendant and her lawyer.
Loana Sisifiu is charged with 15 counts of simple larceny and has pleaded not guilty.
The trial was initially set to commence earlier this week, but prosecution made amendments to the charges. Hence, the defence lawyer sought an adjournment in order to explain the amended charges to his client and prepare for trial.
Following the discussion with the defendant, the defence counsel submitted a proposal to the prosecution in relation to the charges.
The crown then requested time until this morning to review the proposal and confirm its position on whether to concede it or not. The outcome of that decision will determine whether the trial proceeds as scheduled today.
Sisifiu was charged in relation to an incident that allegedly occurred between January and April 2023 in Honiara.
During this period, she allegedly deceived two different women and obtained over $20,000 from them.
It was further alleged that Sisifiu collected the money in various amounts on different dates, claiming it was for airfares to Australia, visa proceeding and train fares in Australia.
According to the allegations, one of the victims claimed that the accused gave her a fake plane ticket.
Both alleged victims reported the matter to the police after the accused failed to fulfil her promise to assist them in securing airfares and visas, despite having received money from the two victims.
John Wesley Zoze of ODPP is prosecuting and Lazarus Waroka of PSO act for the Sisifiu.
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