Despite being a civil servant for 36 years and a seasoned politician, Social Democratic Liberal Party Member of Parliament Salote Radrodro failed to adhere to the laws of the country.

Anti-Corruption High Court Judge Justice Thushara Kumarage made the comments while finding SODELPA MP Salote Radrodro guilty of one count of giving false information to a public servant and one count of obtaining a financial advantage.

Radrodro has been found guilty of breaching the Parliamentary Remuneration Act of 2014.

Radrodro falsely stated that her permanent residence was in Namulomulo village, Nabouwalu, Bua, and stole $37,920 between August 2019 and April 2020.

The judge said that Radrodro had only changed her place of permanent residence for parliamentary records, however, had not changed her address in any of the statutory organizations.

The judge went on to say that it is evident that Radrodro knew that the Parliament Secretary General would not approve her claims for travel and accommodation allowances if she knew that she was staying in Tacirua Heights.

It was noted that in the Land Transport Authority and Fijian Elections Office database, Radrodro’s residence is stated as Tacirua Heights.

The Judge also said she disregarded the legal obligation under the existing law of the country.

The Judge highlighted the evidence of the witnesses and stated that even Radrodro’s e-passport also has Tacirua Heights as her residence.

Justice Kumarage also said that of the 274 days between August 2019 and April 2020, Radrodro stayed in Namulomulo for 57 days while the rest of the days were spent in Tacirua Heights, Western division or abroad.

The Judge also said that she had admitted that she spent more time in Tacirua as she had to attend parliament duties.

Following the judgment, Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption requested Radrodro to report to their office as per her bail condition as she had not been consistent in her reporting.

Radrodro will be reporting to the FICAC office every second day.

Radrodro is the third SODELPA MP who has breached the Parliamentary Remuneration Act by providing false information about her place of residence and obtained travel and accommodation allowances.

Two SODELPA MP’s Ro Filipe Tuisawau and Simione Rasova were also present in court during the judgement.

The matter has been adjourned to next Tuesday for mitigation submission.