Former Acting Commissioner of Corrections Salote Panapasa [Photo: Mollyn Nakabea]

Former Acting Commissioner of Corrections Salote Panapasa has told the court that security threats prompted the construction of a fence around her Kinoya home.

Panapasa took the witness stand today to give evidence in her defence against two counts of abuse of office and an alternative charge of general dishonesty causing a loss.

She told the court she had received reports from the Emergency Control Unit about threats to her safety, including claims of ex-prisoners parking their vehicles outside her residence.

Panapasa said an Emergency Control Unit officer recommended that a fence be built around her home after she was verbally informed of the threats.

She said she was told the materials used to build the fence were leftover materials from fencing works at the Veiuto grounds.

Panapasa also told the court the materials were funded through the staff welfare fund, which is deducted from Corrections officers’ wages every fortnight, and not from the Fiji Corrections Service project fund.

The prosecution alleges Panapasa instructed Corrections officers to use the materials at her residence between August 1st and September 30th, 2023.

She is also alleged to have instructed an officer to alter weekly reports between August 1st and October 31st that justified the use of the materials.

Panapasa told the court that on October 18th, she instructed legal officers to prepare a report for internal audit before she left the country on a work trip.

She said the report was to include written versions of verbal intelligence reports and the original weekly reports from the Emergency Control Unit officer.

However, Panapasa said she returned from the trip without receiving the report or any feedback on it.

The prosecution maintains Corrections officers were not consulted about using welfare funds to build the fence.

Panapasa said they were not informed because the materials were leftover and not newly purchased.

She also denied being given the option to move into official quarters for security reasons, saying she was not entitled to a lodging allowance in her position as Acting Commissioner.

The court is expected to deliver its judgment on November 16th.