Atulaga v State [2012] FJHC 1354; HAM165.2012 (4 October 2012)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI
AT SUVA
MISCELLANEOUS JURISDICTION

Criminal Misc. Case No: HAM 165 of 2012

BETWEEN:

JONE DI ATULAGA
Applicant

AND:

THE STATE
Respondent

BEFORE : HON. MR. JUSTICE PAUL K. MADIGAN

Date of Hearing : 4 October 2012
Date of Ruling : 4 October 2012
Counsel : Mr. M. Vosawale for State
Applicant in person

RULING

1. The applicant applies for bail pending trial, he claiming that he has been held in remand for more than 2 years, and should therefore have the benefit of s.13(4) of the Bail Act which states:

"If a person charged for an offence has been in custody or over 2 years or more and the trial of the person has not begun, the court must release the person on bail subject to bail conditions the court thinks fit to impose."

2. That provision of the Bail Act must logically exclude any periods that the applicant has been serving for other offences (Lepani Maiwaqa HAM 38/03).

3. Within the last two years the applicant has been convicted of two offences of escaping from lawful custody for which he was sentenced to terms of 5 months and 6 months respectively.

4. The applicant has been in remand since 23 July 2010 for this offence which is some 2 years and 3 months. The eleven months sentence for the 2 escapes must be excluded meaning that he has been in remand for 16 months for this matter and is therefore not to be a beneficiary of section 13(4).

5. Looking therefore at the general merit of his application for bail, the Court can see that it is a hopeless and frivolous application.

6. The applicant has 31 previous convictions for serious offences of house breaking and robbery and those convictions include six convictions for escape from lawful custody.

7. With a serious record he poses a threat to the community and with multiple convictions for escape, he has no respect for authority and there is every likelihood that he will abscond.

8. The application is dismissed for being frivolous.

Paul K. Madigan
JUDGE

At Suva
4 October 2012