Republic v Tautebwa - Sentence [2006] KIHC 138; 52-05 (4 May 2006)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KIRIBATI
Criminal Jurisdiction
Held at Betio
Republic of Kiribati

High Court Criminal Case No. 52 of 2005

THE REPUBLIC

v

TAUATEBWE TAUTEBWA

For the Republic: Ms Olga Guillen
For the Accused: Mr Aomoro Amten

Date of Hearing: 3 May 2006

SENTENCE

Tauatebwe Tautebwa: you have pleaded guilty to 16 separate offences - four counts of forgery of a valuable security with intent to defraud, four counts of forgery of a document with intent to defraud, four counts of uttering and four counts of theft.

You have been with the Ministry of Finance since 1997 and became Accounts Clerk at TTI in 2002. At four times between February 2004 and August 2004 you forged a tutorial allowance form and a payment voucher, took the forged documents to Finance claiming that you had the authority of the tutor whose name you had forged on them and received cash payments. The total you received in this way was $2,495.23. The prosecution had difficulty in getting the dates right on which you committed the various offences but that now does not matter. You have admitted the four sets of occasions on which through forgery and uttering you obtained money to which you were not entitled. What you had done was discovered by revenue officers from Finance when they checked the TTI books in November 2004. Mr Amten told me you took the money to lend to someone at work: it was not for yourself or your family.

You repaid last April the whole of the money you had wrongfully received. Despite Ms Guillen complaining that it took you 18 months or so to make restitution, that you have made it is much in your favour and will mean a lesser penalty than otherwise. I notice that it was more than 12 months after discovery of your wrong doing that you were charged.

You have no previous convictions and that, too, is in your favour.

You pleaded guilty only yesterday when you were arraigned as your trial was to begin. It was a late plea. The Republic did not know of it, assumed you were going to plead not guilty and had to go to the trouble and expense of getting prosecution witnesses to Court including bringing one witness from Christmas Island. A plea of guilty also means a lesser penalty but the later the plea the less the reduction in penalty. You get some reduction but not as much as you would have if you had indicated your plea earlier.

You are 30 years old, married with three young children. Your husband works but is not in settled employment. You have living with you your mother and a younger brother and sister. I assume you are the main financial support for the whole family. Mr Amten says you are now in the third month of pregnancy.

The Ministry of Finance has continued to employ you. Mr Amten has confirmed that if you are imprisoned you will be dismissed.

Offences of dishonesty such as these mean a term of imprisonment. It is very serious to steal money from an employer: an organization, Finance, which trusted you. And it was a course of conduct over six months. The term will be reduced because you are a first offender, you have repaid, you have pleaded guilty and you will lose your job.

The most serious of your offences is forgery of a valuable security with intent to defraud: that has a maximum term of imprisonment of 14 years. Taking into account the matters which I have mentioned leading to a reduction in your penalty and taking into account your personal circumstances, on each count of forgery of a valuable security with intent to defraud you will be imprisoned for six months: on each count of forgery of a document with intent to defraud you will be imprisoned for two months: on each count of uttering you will be imprisoned for two months: on each count of stealing you will be imprisoned for three months. As all offences were part of one course of conduct, all sentences will be served concurrently. The sentences will run from yesterday, 3rd May, when you went into custody.

Dated the 4th day of May 2006

THE HON ROBIN MILLHOUSE QC
Chief Justice