Apenisa Waqairadovu 
The woman accused of distributing explicit photos of another woman has been granted bail by the Suva Magistrates Court this afternoon.
Swastika Payal Chand is charged with one count of Traffic in Obscene Publication, contrary to Section 377(1)(a)(b) of the Crimes Act 2009.
It is alleged that Chand extracted explicit images of the 23-year-old complainant from a phone belonging to her partner, and then sent those images to the complainant. She also allegedly threatened to further circulate the photos to others.
The matter reportedly came to light last Friday when the complainant was informed that one of the images had been sent via a messaging platform.
Chand’s lawyer, Mohammed Saneem, has indicated an intention to challenge the charge, arguing that it is defective.
He also alleged that his client’s rights were infringed when police officers allegedly entered her office, seized her phone by force, and instructed her to unlock it.
An application has been filed for the return of the phone to the complainant, with a request for any deleted content to be restored. Additionally, the defence is seeking a domestic violence restraining order against Chand’s partner.
Chand has been granted non-cash bail of $500, with strict conditions including non-interference with the complainant and prosecution witnesses.
The case has been adjourned and will be called again on Monday.
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