CJ’s aide gets four years for theft, breach of trust

By DAPHNE WANI
A FORMER employee of the National Judicial Staff Services (NJSS) was jailed for four years on Friday for using a senior judge’s name to misappropriate K25,844 for vehicle hire.
Acting judge Justice Nicholas Miviri jailed Rachael Tony, 27, from Rigo in Central, who was Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia’s private secretary at the Waigani National Court.
Tony falsely used the Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika’s name and secured the hire of two vehicles from a private company, billing up to K25,844.50 for her own use from Feb 1, 2016, to March 4, 2016. She pleaded guilty and later apologised to Justice Salika and her colleagues for what she did and asked to repay the money.
The judge found aggravating that she committed the offence with no regard to the integrity of that office or of the office of the deputy chief justice or even other judges who also used her services for administrative arrangements.
Justice Miviri said she drew all that integrity down by her criminality without paying attention to or regard of that fact of the office she work in.
The court also found that “for two years, two months and 17 days she had not paid any money to Islands Mobile Hire Cars which she owed money to. Justice Miviri said her case was the most serious breach of trust by a public servant and in particular section 169 of the Constitution that establishes the office of the chief Justice.
“She had no excuse to do what she did and she was no ordinary secretary and her conduct was very serious.” Miviri said.
He said the term would be a deterrent and punitive on her as well as others with similar or like inclinations.